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Here in Minnesota, we are having the most glorious fall! My kindergarten class had a really fun week studying the season and wrapped it up with a day we happily called “Leaf Mania”. As we explored layering different colors on our leaves, one student suggested we save our leaf colorings and roll in them during the Pencil Roll. Great idea!
Everyone was so excited to make more leaves to roll over at our group time rug space. That one little addition of student made work caused the Pencil Roll, the activity they have been doing daily for nearly 8 weeks, exciting to do again. My students happily rolled in the leaves during our S.M.A.R.T. time with laughter, cheering for each other, and of course, some hand-raking to make a fun pile.
Do you recall? In the S.M.A.R.T. workshop, we learn about how the brain learns best with frequency, intensity, and duration. Adding leaves in the fall, snowflakes in the winter, or flowers in the spring to the Pencil Roll brings the intensity that these developing brains crave for learning. What ideas are coming up in your mind? Share them with us in order to share with the S.M.A.R.T. community of educators. In the meantime, happy rolling in the leaves! Reference:
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Working on balance is huge for teaching the body the endurance and stamina needed for sitting still and comfortable at their tables or desks. Balance builds confidence and aid in self-regulation. As you see your students successfully moving across the Balance Beam, add in challenges like this to keep the activity fun, engaging, and challenging.
References: Children are built to move. Looking for a way to add some movement into homework time? Cross Patterning is an awesome movement to incorporate while practicing spelling words, math facts, or any concept/fact they are trying to memorize.
Movement helps to build the endurance needed in order to be still. Encouraging movement at home through fun games and activities helps to anchor the learning they are trying to master.
s.m.a.r.t. spacesHas this happened to you? In an effort to bring S.M.A.R.T. and a bit of fun into the classroom, I decided to put tape down on the floor to create a balance beam for the students. The tape worked perfectly for a while, but I soon ran into trouble when the residue left behind became a challenge to clean up AND the custodian fell silent at the sight of the tape remnants on the floor. This felt worse than a glitter explosion. Ooops! Even blue painter’s tape (the best tape to use in our opinion) needs to be pulled up every week or two.
*Pro tip - Affix the yardstick and borders to a tile floor using Sticky Tac to prevent the balance beam from shifting around.
Reference: “Go outside and play!” Parents, far and wide, have long since used this phrase. Do you find yourself saying the same thing to your child? There are an endless number of benefits to playing outside, from physical movement to fresh air to a boost of vitamin D. We are strong advocates of playing outside and know you can provide a little extra vestibular stimulation when you suggest these S.M.A.R.T.-type activities:
Younger children can do these activities with little to no help. Older children can do them independently and may enjoy the challenge of doing them consecutively like an obstacle course. Here in Minnesota, October offers a long weekend for MEA (Minnesota Educator Academy conference). So it may be a perfect time to tell your child(ren) to be S.M.A.R.T. and go outside and play!
We love a S.M.A.R.T. CORE activity that lends itself well for a brain break with little to no prep or space. Flamingos are poses used to promote better balance and control. They encourage core strength and stability while improving body awareness. These motor skills impact and improve our ability to focus and concentrate. This makes them an excellent brain break and burst of brain stem stimulation. Here is an idea to make it more fun. Go around your school and take photos of familiar people doing a flamingo pose for your students to mimic. They are going to love seeing the principal, librarian, gym teacher, and others posing just for them. Encourage the goal of maintaining the balance pose for 10 seconds. In the meantime, here is a quick stick figure set of poses to get you started. Download Here! BalancingPoses.pdf
Katie, a special educator from St. Paul, MN, has found a practical and engaging approach to using Slap/Creep Tracks that minimizes preparation time while maximizing student engagement. Her S.M.A.R.T. idea involves designing versatile content cards that keep students interested. Katie’s strategy is centered around creating cards that serve multiple academic purposes. Each set of cards is crafted to address various content areas—such as colors, shapes, and numbers—allowing the same set of cards to be used for a longer duration. This approach offers at least three weeks of material with just one set of cards.
Here is a sample of Katie’s cards. This set of cards can be used for colors, shapes, patterning or number recognition and skip counting. Each week, Katie instructs students in what she wants them to call out on the Creep Track.
Take a moment and think about how you might be able to incorporate several math or literacy skills into one set of cards. A month of no Creep Track card prep sounds pretty great! Download Here! CreepTrack_numbers_shapes_colors.pdf |
AuthorSCheryl Smythe Archives
December 2025
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