Welcome to Kindergarten Cafe!

I’m Zeba, and I’m here to help you find the *kindergarten magic* in your classroom. I create resources and share strategies to make your teaching easier, more engaging, and focused on those magical moments of growth with your students. Whether you teach kindergarten, preschool, or first grade, you’ll find ideas and activities to bring that *kindergarten magic* to life. Feel free to reach out—let’s make teaching kindergarten magical again!

recent

Is Kindergarten Still Developmentally Appropriate? What the Research Says ~ Ep. 154

No Letter or Number Knowledge What Now ~ Ep. 153

How I Teach Foundational Skills ~ Ep. 152

Mistakes in Teaching Letters and Numbers ~ Ep. 151

Why Students Fall Behind Early ~ Ep. 150

Classroom Activities and Lessons

No Letter or Number Knowledge What Now ~ Ep. 153

Literacy

Kindergarten Letter and Number Recognition: What to Do When a Student Is Starting From Scratch Kindergarten letter and number recognition can look very different from student to student at the beginning of the year. Some children arrive recognizing many letters and numbers, while others have had very...

How I Teach Foundational Skills ~ Ep. 152

Literacy

Teaching Foundational Skills in Kindergarten: What Small Group Instruction Looks Like Teaching foundational skills in kindergarten doesn't mean every student has to sit at your small group table and complete the same activity. Small groups can be flexible, targeted, and focused on exactly what your students need....

Mistakes in Teaching Letters and Numbers ~ Ep. 151

Literacy

Teaching Letters and Numbers in Kindergarten: Mistakes That Can Slow Student Progress Teaching letters and numbers in kindergarten is about more than getting through lessons or checking skills off your curriculum. Sometimes students struggle because the way a skill is being taught doesn't match what they need...

Why Students Fall Behind Early ~ Ep. 150

Literacy

Kindergarten Foundational Skills: How to Recognize Learning Gaps Early Kindergarten foundational skills do not have to be firmly in place on the first day of school. Children come into kindergarten with different backgrounds, experiences, knowledge, and abilities. Some may already know every letter and number, while others...

How I Launch Math and Literacy Centers ~ Ep. 148

Back to School

Launching centers can feel intimidating, especially during the first few weeks of school. You want students working independently, making good choices, and staying engaged, but that doesn't happen automatically. Successful centers are built through intentional teaching, consistent routines, and plenty of practice. The good news is that...

Getting Students to Add More Details in Their Writing ~ Ep. 128

Literacy

Adding Details in Writing in Kindergarten If you are teaching kindergarten writing, the main goal is still getting students to write one really good sentence. You want them using conventions, spacing, and the sounds they can hear in words. You also want them working on spelling trick...

Making the Shift to Systematic Phonics Instruction with Melanie ~ Ep. 126

Literacy

Simple Phonics Skills That Help Kindergarten Students Become Confident Readers Teaching kindergarten is full of magic moments, but one of the biggest is when reading finally clicks for a student. You can literally see the moment it happens. A child who has been slowly learning letters suddenly...

Kindergarten Addition Tips and Extensions ~ Ep. 125

Math

Kindergarten Addition Strategies for All Levels of Learners Addition is one of the foundational math skills in kindergarten, but it often comes with a wide range of student needs. In some classrooms, you might have students who are struggling to grasp what addition even means, while others...

Small Group Ideas for Kindergarten Reading Comprehension ~ Ep. 124

Literacy

How to Teach Kindergarten Reading Comprehension in Small Groups When you're working with students who have solid decoding skills, it's time to focus on building their comprehension. In kindergarten reading comprehension small groups, your instruction should center on helping students understand, discuss, and apply their understanding of...

Decodable Books vs Leveled Texts in Kindergarten ~ Ep. 123

Literacy

Decodable Books vs Leveled Texts: What’s Best for Beginning Readers? There's a lot of buzz in early literacy about whether to use decodable books or leveled texts, especially in kindergarten classrooms. It's an important topic—one that impacts how students learn to read and how confident they feel...