Tips for Getting Started with Morning Tubs
Tips for Getting Started with Morning Tubs
Morning Tubs are the perfect way for students and teachers to ease in their days. Morning Tubs have taken place of the traditional morning work my students did years ago. Morning Tubs allow students to work on fine motor skills, socialization skills, creative thinking, and so much more!
What are Morning Tubs?
Morning Tubs are the perfect way for students and educators to start their day! Morning tubs can also be called morning bins, soft starts, STEM tubs, etc. It is a way for students to ease into their day while providing time for hands-on learning, fine motor skill practice, and socialization. The skills are so important and often get pushed to the side. With Morning Tubs, students are excited to start their day with something engaging and FUN! Morning Tubs also allow educators to welcome their students and accomplish their morning tasks without having to assist students with morning work.
Morning Tubs create the perfect opportunity for students to ease into their morning.
Why Use Morning Tubs?
There are many benefits to using morning tubs! They can be used in the morning, but also during any part of the day. It is great for early finishers! Morning Tubs are a great way to offer play-based exploring into your classroom. It provides your classroom with the opportunity to play, build, explore, create, and learn! Here are some of the benefits Morning Tubs can offer:
•Fine Motor Skills
•Independent Practice
•Socialization Skills
•Hands-On Learning
•Classroom Community Building
•Increased Engagement
FUN!
What can I use for Morning Tubs?
The options are truly endless, but you find some of my favorites below. Don’t forget to check your classroom before purchasing all new items. Many of my Morning Tub materials came from manipulatives I already had in my classroom! I don’t switch my tubs often. Since students are playing with a new tub every day, they never seem to be bored!
•Connecting Cubes
•Brain Flakes
•Hashtag Blocks
•Play Doh
•Pattern Blocks
•Base Ten Place Value Blocks
How do I organize Morning Tubs?
This is easily one of my most asked questions and something I thought a lot about! I am the type of teacher who needs consistently and structure, which is what many of our students need too. With this in mind, I wanted to provide my students with structured choices.
Here is a step-by-step guide for setting up and organizing your Morning Tubs.
Use zipper pouches or some type of storage for each student to have their individual activity. My students grab a zipper pouch and take it to their seat to play with in the morning. You will need to think about your class size and how many bags or pouches you will need. I have 27 students this year. I put 6 zipper pouches in each of the 5 tubs (which we will talk about next).
Use large tubs to hold your zipper pouches. I have 5 tubs I purchased from Dollar General and they have held up for many years. Each tub holds one activity. I currently have a tub for connecting cubes, shapes, hashtags, Brain Flakes, and Play Doh.
Add student names to have a bit more structure to your morning tubs. I thrive on structure and I know students do too. Adding names to our tubs prevents confusions and any unwanted behaviors. I attach student names to each morning tub using velcro dots. Students will grab a bag from the tub where their name is. The velcro dots easily allows me to rotate student names. My students love this because they know they will see each tub once per week. I rotate the names each day!
Teach morning tub expectations and routines
Once you have the morning tubs prepped and assembled, we have to teach students HOW to use our morning tubs. We cannot expect students to know how to use our morning tubs without teaching routines, procedures, and expectations.
Here are a few things you will need to consider before introducing morning tubs to your students.
Where are you morning tubs located?
How will students get their morning tub?
Where will students complete their morning tub?
How long will my students play with their morning tubs?
Are their responsibilities your students will need to complete BEFORE beginning their morning tub?
How do you want your students to clean up? When do you want them to clean up?
I spend the first week (or so) practicing procedures and expectations before starting. We practice, model, practice, and model until we have it down. Just like any other classroom activity, this will take time to introduce.
I also use this practice time to introduce and practice our classroom quiet signals and classroom call backs. I love combining these two!
Grab your Morning Tub Activities for the entire year HERE!
Here are a few of my favorite Morning Tub Purchases from Amazon!
Brain Flakes
Connecting Cubes
Pattern Blocks
Play-Doh
Please note: The above are affiliate links. I will earn a small commission to support my classroom from your purchase.
I hope you found answers to all your morning tub questions, but if you have anymore, please reach out! Morning Tubs are such a passion of mine and I truly enjoy sharing this passion with others!
Happy Teaching!
