ONE S.M.A.R.T. TEACHER - Dec. '23

Is S.M.A.R.T. starting to lose a bit of its excitement? Maybe the load of demands is taking a toll and you need a bit of fun to motivate your S.M.A.R.T. time.

Sometimes, a little creative twist is just the thing to keep students interested and engaged. Two of the S.M.A.R.T. programs' most passionate alums know just what to do. Amber and Sara are early childhood professionals from Pulaski, WI, who have been incorporating S.M.A.R.T. activities into the classroom environment for many years. To add a little excitement, they like to sprinkle in some thematic content to a few activities. Amber and Sara use children’s literature to inspire what new and exciting twists can be added to core activities. For example, when reading the classic The Mitten, these two creative educators will have their students walk across a Balance Beam and pick up mittens along the way. The Slap Track will have different colored mittens in the pockets. How about creating a “snowy path” to navigate through? Proprioceptive input is encouraged during a game where students move around like different animals. The student pictured below was flying like a bat.* How fun to encourage moving in new ways!

​The key to themes is to keep it simple and functional. You do not need to add a thematic twist to every single movement in your S.M.A.R.T. course. Just a few fun additions to core activities can make all the difference in the motivation of your students without feeling like too much prep for you.
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*The use of scooter boards is fun and novel but should never be used in place of the Alligator Crawl. They are not one and the same when looking at developmental movement. 

Themed Resources:

• S.M.A.R.T. Curriculum Guide pages 11-16
• S.M.A.R.T. Pre-K CORE Program Guide pg 104
• S.M.A.R.T. Pre-K MORE Program Guide pg 136