You’ll want areas of the classroom to be available for work and you’ll want areas available for play, but they can overlap.
~ Zeba from Episode 94 of The Kindergarten Cafe Podcast
Episode Summary
In this final episode of our Classroom Setup Mini-Series, I’m walking you through how to set up your classroom in a way that balances play, learning, and daily routines. Because yes, it’s absolutely possible to do all three without losing your mind or your floor space.
You’ll hear how I use key classroom areas (like tables, the rug, and even my teacher table!) for both academics and play, plus tips for setting up spaces that support routines like math stations, independent reading, and writing time. I’ll also share how to make your classroom layout work for you, from lunch procedures to bathroom routines to choosing the right spot for student supplies.
In this episode I share how to:
- Set up flexible spaces that serve multiple purposes
- Design routines that make classroom management easier
- Encourage independence with simple systems
- Create a learning environment that feels calm, clear, and kid-friendly
Related Learning:
- 7 Tips for Thinking of your Classroom Set Up for Kindergarten
- Setting Up Classroom Play Areas
- Balancing Curriculum and Development: Teaching with Young Learners in Mind ~ Ep. 62
- Balancing Curriculum and Play in Your Kindergarten Schedule ~ Ep. 48
Classroom Decoration Resources:
Connect with Zeba:
- Instagram – @kindergartencafe
- Facebook – @kindergartencafe
- Website – www.kindergartencafe.org
- Tik Tok – @kindergartencafe
Read the Transcript
[0:00] Hey, teacher friends, it’s Zeba from Kindergarten Cafe, and today we’re continuing our mini-series on classroom setup, and we’re talking about setting up a classroom that balances play, learning, and routine. If you didn’t listen to last week’s episode on setting up a classroom that invites curiosity and exploration, I do recommend you listen to that one first, because we’re going to be talking about some of those areas in today’s episode. So let’s get started.
You’re listening to the Kindergarten Cafe podcast, where kindergarten teachers come to learn classroom-tested tips and tricks and teaching ideas they can use in their classroom right away. I’m Zeba, creator and founder of Kindergarten Cafe, and I help kindergarten teachers with everything they need from arrival to dismissal in order to save time, work smarter, not harder, and support students with engaging and purposeful lessons. I’m here to cheer you on through your successes and breakthroughs and offer support and resources so you never have to feel stuck or alone. Ready to start saving time and reducing your stress all while using effective and purposeful lessons that students love? Let’s get started.
[1:21] I have done a lot of previous episodes. Well, I’ve done several previous episodes on balancing play and learning, and it really is such a tough and looming question for kindergarten teachers. I think most kindergarten teachers agree that we need time to play and that it’s what’s best for kids. but that is not the direction that most schools or administrators or curriculum designers follow. And so you are given demands or suggestions or requirements, whatever, that do not honor the need for children to play. And you, as a kindergarten teacher, want to follow those rules and requirements or whatever, but you also want to honor the kids’ need to play. And so how do you do that? I have listed out a bunch of different ideas for balancing that in two different previous episodes. So I will link those below. So if you are curious more about like how to in your daily schedule, or in your daily routines, balance play and learning, what does that actually look like? Those are good places to start. This episode will be about setting up the classroom to honor both need for play and for learning.
[2:37] So when you’re setting up the classroom, we’ve talked last week about wanting different play areas and we talked what could go inside different play areas or which play areas help the most for encouraging creativity and exploration. But let’s think today about the whole big picture of the classroom. So you’ll want areas of the classroom to be available for work and you’ll want areas available for play, but they can overlap. So for example, you want to make sure you have tables and chairs for kids to do their work on. I like to put name tags on there so that everyone has an assigned spot, but they don’t necessarily work in that spot all the time. Like in math, I’ll change up their spots and just tell them which table to go to. Or in reading, I have give them reading spots, but they have like a table to go to with their name on it or like a table number where I can put all of their table materials in one bin. And so it just works really well that way. But during playtime, those tables are also used for other play materials. Like one table might be for coloring, one might be for Play-Doh, one might be for Legos or magnet tiles. And so I have like what’s called table toys for the kids to choose from during playtime.
[3:53] So that’s an area that’s used for both work and play. But after they’re done playing with them, we put the materials away, so then the tables can be used for work. The next area that can be used for work and play is the meeting area. I use the rug space for morning meeting and for all of the lessons on the rug before they go off and practice at their tables.
[4:14] But during playtime, the rug can be used for maybe building a marble run or setting up a block area. It can be used for different things, and then you clean it up when the kids’ playtime is done. Same with my teacher table. I’m not pulling small groups during playtime. So I let that area be used for beautiful stuff, which is like a creation station. I should have mentioned that in last week’s episode. Oh, my goodness. Beautiful stuff. Yes. This is an area where kids are taking recycled things that I’ve brought in from literally my recycling, packaging, like that kind of things, and they turn it into their own creations, sculptures, inventions, anything. I’ll have different coloring tools there, kind of like an art station as well. And so that’s all there in beautiful stuff.
[5:03] But they’re using it when I’m not using that teacher area. When it’s learning time, I’m pulling small groups. I’m using that table to work with students. So it’s a space that’s able to be used for both. There’s a couple areas that I don’t overlap with playtime, like the sand table, sensory table, dramatic play, block area. I personally really enjoy having a block area that kids can leave up structures so they can start a structure and then be able to come back to it and keep working on it over a couple of days.
[5:37] But that being said, the dramatic play area has a table in it that the kids use for playtime. And if I need a kid to have a private workspace because they’re getting really distracted by like their classmates, that’s a great place to send them. So it does, in a way, work for both academic and playtime, but it definitely is more geared towards play. The library is set up as a space for kids to go and read, and it’s not like open all day. So it’s more for actually playtime, but kids obviously can read in there during reading or pick books from there for reading. So it’s definitely, definitely used for both. but you might think it’s more for academic area but kids really like being in there during play time too to take a break it’s a quieter area it’s where my like calm down corner is so it’s just away from like maybe the more energetic areas of dramatic play and blocks which is done on purpose so that when kids need a little break and they want to quiet down they can go in that little area of the library.
[6:39] Having a classroom that is built for not just play or not just academics, but also routine is important. You want a classroom that supports your routines of the day. So one of the things you’ll definitely want to have in every classroom is a schedule, a visual schedule with pictures of what to expect during the day. And you want to go over this every day because kids all kids benefit from hearing their schedule of the day but especially benefits neurodiverse kids or kids with trauma backgrounds to know what is coming in their day and what to expect throughout the day especially if there’s a change in the routine you can go over that but having that as part of your classroom setup is critical you could also have a calendar so if there’s days that maybe like our holidays are important to the kids or something special is happening, you can mark that on the calendar so kids know what’s coming up. And then you’ll want to think about how setting up your materials and supplies will support your routines.
[7:44] So this goes back to the episode two weeks ago where we talked about classroom organization, but thinking about your routines and what you want them to look like will be important to know how you want to set up your materials. So in the example from the classroom organization, I talked about setting up supplies and how will kids access those supplies? Is it something that everyone’s going to need or can someone pass it out? That kind of thing. So for example, when I am setting up my math stations, I take a bin that’s station one and I put it on table one. And that works really well for me. So station one goes on table one, station two goes on table two. It’s very clear. I have them set up on a shelf with the label that says station one, station two, so the kids know how to clean it up independently and where all the materials go.
[8:36] But so I only need one person to help or I have my kindergarten assistant help with this, but I’ve also had students do it too because they are very much able to do it. They grab the bin and put it on the table. Station one goes on table one. And so that is a way that is set up in my classroom. That space is there to enhance and support the routines of my classroom. Also right next to that area is other math materials like dice, chips, so that if I need to change out the station or if the kids are missing something, they know where to get the material. But also it’s right nearby in case I’m switching out the stations and need the materials for the new station. Another way you can set up your classroom to support a routine, let’s say, for example, is reading. In reading, like I said, I have kids going to reading spots. I don’t have them staying at their tables. And so I assign the spots ahead of time. But how are they going to get the books to read? Well, I give them book bags. I have the book bags in bins by their table number. So they go and grab their book bags and they go and write to their reading spot.
[9:42] So they’re bringing the books to their spot. before I’ve set up reading spots when we’re just beginning like the idea of what reading even is they are at tables and they’re just looking at bins of books so in that case I’m bringing the bin to the table but this is all like something that I have set up I have the bins set up with the table numbers and I have in a space where kids can access them but I don’t put out the book bags until I’m ready to give them the reading spots the book bags are hidden in the cabinet it until I’m ready for that. And in the meantime, I fill those same bins with books that I put out on the tables. If we think about writing routines, the kids, I want them to be able to get writing paper when they’re done with the story and they’re ready for a new page. I want them to be able to access that themselves. So I have a space in my classroom with clear plastic drawers that have lots of different kinds of writing paper in it. Something I used to do, which I haven’t really kept up with because I’ve changed my writing paper so much, but I do actually really like it in theory. So take this idea if you want it, is I photocopied the kind of paper that I had. And I, you know what, this just gave me an idea to make it a goal to do this again for next year.
[10:54] Because I reorganized my paper supplies. I’m gonna make this a goal. Anyway, what I did was I photocopied the piece of paper that I had, But I made it very small. I cut it down by 25% or something, 30%. And so it’s just a very mini version of the paper. And I cut it out and laminated it and put it on Velcro. And that way I put it on the front of the drawer so the kids that are coming up can see which drawer they want to pick from for the writing paper. So that’s make it easy for them to choose the kind of writing paper that they want. But that is another example of how my classroom is set up to enhance the routines in my classroom. So I have an area for them to go and take writing paper. Their writing folder, which is where their writing paper goes when they’re done, goes in their table bins. So my classroom has to have space for table bins that have folders, a different table bin that has all of their supplies that they can just bring out to their table. They just grab the bin and it has a cup of pencils, a cup of crayons, colored pencils, and a cup of markers.
[11:56] And they just grab the bin and bring it to the table. That way everything they need is right there. The only thing not in there is like scissors and glue, but I don’t need that all the time or like highlighters. So I have those in a separate supply bin. And we talked about that more in the organizing supplies episode two weeks ago. Other routines that you might need to set up in your classroom is like attendance or a sign-in. I don’t even use the sign-in for attendance. I do it as a way for kids to practice writing their name, but you can use it for attendance. You want a space for that. A space for ordering lunch, if that’s something you have to do. Also consider, like, how are students ordering lunch, if that’s something that they have to do? Like, do you want to have, I have, like, lunch numbers set up so that they can move their number to what they’re ordering. That’s a good thing to ask to see how other people in your school do it, because everyone, every school does it differently in terms of what’s expected for that. How are kids going to let you know that they need to use the bathroom?
[12:53] I have a bathroom in my classroom, so I don’t need a way to know that they’re leaving the room. But when I did have kids leaving the room, I had a way for them to sign out so that I knew where they were. But because I do have a bathroom in my classroom, I have a light in front of it. The kids push the light to say that they’re going in and that it’s full, so no one can just barge in. How are kids going to wash their hands before snack or lunch? Like if you have a classroom sink, you want to make sure there’s a big open area for them to line up to be able to access the sink. So there’s lots to consider when you are setting up your classroom and you want to make sure to balance out your classroom for play and learning and routines. As you are looking at your space and you are trying to figure out how to set it up and you want more support, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. I have lots of support in my summer learning for new kindergarten teachers, so definitely check that out. And you can always reach out with questions. I’d be happy to help. And this does conclude our mini-series on classroom setup, and from here on out the rest of the summer, we’ll be talking about launching into the school year. So stay tuned for that.
[14:10] Thanks so much for listening to the Kindergarten Cafe Podcast. Be sure to check out the show notes for more information and resources, or just head straight to kindergartencafe.org for all the goodies. If you liked this episode, the best ways to show your support are to subscribe, leave a review, or send it to a friend. I’ll be back next week with even more kindergarten tips. See you then.