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Setting up your classroom? Maybe you’re already settled in and ready to start adding your S.M.A.R.T. elements. We’re here to help! The beginning of the school year is the perfect time to build a strong foundation and create the classroom culture you want to carry with you throughout the year. Remember, with S.M.A.R.T., we start small and build. We go slow to go fast. Taking the time to thoughtfully introduce each core activity helps children learn the routines and sets everyone up for success. One of the best places to begin is by looking at your classroom through a S.M.A.R.T. lens. Take a walk around your space and notice the walkways, open areas, and everyday spaces that could become opportunities for movement. After watching the quick classroom setup video, take a look around your room and ask yourself:
✏️ Pencil Roll Where do you have enough open space for children to roll approximately 16 feet? Look for a clear pathway that can become part of your daily S.M.A.R.T. routine. 🐊 Alligator Crawl This space can be narrow and, if needed, can even travel underneath furniture. The goal is approximately 16 feet. Is there a space along the back of the classroom, beside tables, or between learning areas where children could crawl? 👣 Balance Beam The Balance Beam is one of our most versatile S.M.A.R.T. elements! It can follow the edge where carpet meets tile, be created with floor tape, or curve and turn as part of your classroom rotation. Could you place yardsticks along a carpet? Is there a natural pathway where floor tape could lead toward the pencil sharpener, lockers, or another frequently used area? 🐢 Creep Track Pull out the tracks you created at training and start looking for a narrow walkway that can accommodate their length. Do you have a carpet where you can attach the track? Could you use foam squares underneath to create the right surface? The goal isn’t to create a perfect S.M.A.R.T. classroom. It’s to look at the space you already have and discover the possibilities within it. A little creativity can turn an ordinary walkway into an opportunity for movement, exploration, and a brain-building experience.
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As you begin exploring S.M.A.R.T., you’ll find that some of our resource spaces are ready to explore, while others are still under construction. Think of it as a growing toolbox—we are continually adding ideas and finding new ways to make resources easy to access when you need them.
Here are a few places to start:
Most importantly, S.M.A.R.T. is a community, not just a collection of activities. The best ideas often come from educators trying something new, adapting an activity for their group, or discovering a creative way to make an idea work in their own space. So, we invite you to be part of the growing conversation. Have an idea? Share it. Tried an activity? Send us a picture. Wondering how to adapt something? Ask a question. Found a creative way to use S.M.A.R.T.? We want to hear about it! Email us at [email protected] This year, you are one S.M.A.R.T. teacher. Using the training you received, you will take the time to understand the behavioral and academic clues each student is giving, using that insight to help every child reach their potential—because S.M.A.R.T. becomes not just what you teach, but how you teach. Sometimes a child’s characteristics are their way of telling us, “My body needs something.” A student may wiggle a lot, have trouble sitting still, or seem unable to settle into an activity or lesson. Instead of always thinking about how to stop the movement, it can be helpful to ask, “Could movement be exactly what this child needs right now?” This is where heavy work movements can make a difference. Heavy work includes activities that ask children to push, pull, carry, climb, crawl, or use their muscles against resistance. These movements give the body strong feedback through the muscles and joints, which can help a child feel more grounded, organized, and ready to focus.  When a child’s body gets the movement input it is seeking, it may be easier for the brain and body to settle and get ready to learn. A few minutes of crawling, pushing a heavy object, carrying materials, or doing another purposeful movement can sometimes be more helpful than asking a child to simply “sit still.”
The next time you see a student who seems to be struggling with regulation, pause and look beyond the behavior. Maybe their body is asking for movement. A S.M.A.R.T. movement opportunity may be just the reset they need to get back to learning, participating, and feeling successful. Here is a helpful visual to use in a classroom space, with a visual schedule, or hanging on your bulletin board as a reminder for you to plan for movement snacks everyday. Download: CalmCorner: Horizontal poster or CalmCorner: Vertical poster We’ve shared this before, and we’re excited to share it again! As you begin a new school year, it’s the perfect time to connect with families and introduce them to the movement, learning, and development happening through S.M.A.R.T.  Our printable “What is S.M.A.R.T.?” parent letter is an easy way to start that conversation. Send it home with families so they can learn what the S.M.A.R.T. movement program is all about and understand how the activities you’re doing in the classroom help support their child’s growing brain and body.
You can always find this resource on our website in the S.M.A.R.T. Downloads section: https://www.actg.org/smartdownloads.html And here’s the best part! Need the parent letter in another language? We can help! Simply email your request for a specific language to [email protected], and we’ll work with you to make sure every family has an opportunity to learn about S.M.A.R.T. Happy new school year! Download: S.M.A.R.T. PreK Parent Letter Elementary Age Parent Letter |
AuthorSCheryl Smythe Archives
September 2026
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