My Morning Routine {Daily Warm Ups}, Freebie + Giveaways!

Happy Friday!

I have been home sick the past 2 days, so its not so "happy" for me, but hey, at least I get four days off right?

I have been thinking a lot about what makes my morning time successful for my students, and I give credit to my consistent (dare I say rigid) morning routines and expectations. I have a set morning routine for my students that they are to complete every morning. I have found that providing lots and LOTS of practice in the beginning of the year, paired with visual checklists and personalized lists for their desks, helps to engrain routines into their little noggins.

This is a copy of their checklists they have taped to their desks for reference.

Part of their morning routine is to complete their Daily Warm Ups, single page worksheets I create. I insert them into their individual folders at the beginning of the week (or after school Friday, depending on when I get them done), and they are to complete one each day for the whole week. At the end of the week, I remove them from their folders, staple and pass in. I then insert a new set of Daily Warm Ups for the next week (if I'm prepared enough to have them done by Friday). I have just started this this year, and intend to use it again in the years to come. I found it's a great way to help energize their brains to get ready for school. It also helps with time management, as all students are arriving at different times, so some may not complete all the expectations, while others will whiz right through it. Adding a little calendar work and daily question helps to slow this process down and keep kids thinking!

This picture shows the 3-hole Folder I use to help organize their desks. In the left pocket, I have them put their daily point sheets. In the center, I fasten their Daily Warm Ups for the week. There is one for each school day. They are to complete one each day. For a Daily Warm Up freebie click here or the image at the bottom of this section! The right pocket is for their unfinished work they accumulate throughout the day. This is also an expectation on their morning routine checklist, provided they finish their other requirements.

I always print an extra set for me! This way, when I do this again next year, I don't have to recreate the wheel, nor do I search through my computer files looking for my Daily Warm Ups and reprint these warm ups. Also, this avoids the major hassle of reorganizing them by difficulty, as the daily question skills build upon themselves and increase in difficulty as the year progresses.

How do I organize them? It's simple.

I have a binder designated for my Daily Warm Ups on my teacher shelves behind my desk. I simply grab the binder and insert the current weeks' sheets. By the end of the year, I will have an entire school year of Daily Warm Ups that I can just copy for each week next school year!

Nothing fancy. In order to make this more manageable for me next year, I will add dividers for each month, that way I don't have to figure out where I left off each week.

As you can see I have a LOT of worksheets in this binder...Make sense considering it is 6 months of work! (and counting)

 I decided to change the format mid-year to keep it interesting :)

If you enjoy these, check out these freebies I created for last weeks' Peek at My Week Linky Visual Plans! Are these something you would be interested in seeing in my TPT store?

How do you all do your morning routines? Do you have a set routine, set morning work, visuals, checklists, etc? I'd love to hear about it!

For a freebie of my Daily Warm Ups click the image below:

And now, for some great giveaways!

Heather from Heather's Heart is hosting a wonderful, and quite generous Spring Blessings Giveaway, especially if you are an animal lover like me :)

Sent from My iPad is hosting a great giveaway with loads of prizes! It goes until Sunday March 24th, so make sure to head over there to enter!

Angela from Hippo Hooray for Second Grade is hosting a 200 Follower Giveaway! It has 5 packages to win from over 40 bloggers/teachers! Yes, 5! Check it out

And finally, check out All Things Teachery's giveaway! There are 4 awesome prize packs to win! I donated a Winner's Choice to the second K-2 prize pack! Make sure to enter :)

TTFN,