fbpx

Kindergarten Cafe, LLC

Welcome to Kindergarten Cafe - your home for teaching ideas, activities, and strategies to support you in teaching the whole child! I’m Zeba McGibbon, founder of Kindergarten Cafe, and current early childhood educator. I support early childhood teachers with classroom-tested strategies and materials that help take stress off our plates and support our students better from arrival to dismissal. My proudest moments as a teacher have been seeing my students using the strategies I’ve taught them to calm down, work with others, or stay on task with their work—and you can have this feeling too!

thekindergartencafe@gmail.com

Favorite Blog Posts

Favorite Blog Posts

8 Easy Impulse Control Activities for Kids

Zeba McGibbon
0
Kids don’t automatically learn impulse control and self-regulation – you have to teach them strategies to use! I have 8 impulse control...
Read more
Favorite Blog Posts

Sub Tub for a Smooth and Easy Absence

Zeba McGibbon
0
Most teachers will tell you that it is easier to come to work sick than make sub plans… enter the Sub Tub!...
Read more
Classroom Design

Ideas for classroom jobs and why they are important

Zeba McGibbon
0
Classroom jobs are a critical part of the classroom community. They teach students responsibility, independence and teamwork. Not all classroom jobs are...
Read more
Distance and Digital Teaching

5 Steps to Making an Interactive Seesaw Activity

Zeba McGibbon
0
Are you using Seesaw this year or considering it for any hybrid or remote learning? It is a wonderful website and app...
Read more
Distance and Digital Teaching

Quick and Easy Movement Breaks for Distance Learning

Zeba McGibbon
0
No matter if you are teaching in a classroom or on a computer, your students will need movement beaks and your normal...
Read more
Distance and Digital Teaching

Easy Morning Meeting Greetings and Activities for Digital and Socially Distant Classrooms!

Zeba McGibbon
0
Looking for easy interactive morning meeting greetings and activities that can work on a computer and/or in a socially distanced classroom? I’ve...
Read more
Favorite Blog Posts

2019-20 Favorite #1: Establishing Math Routines and Expectations

Zeba McGibbon
0
As we finish up a school year, and prepare for the next one, I wanted to re-share my top 5 favorite blog...
Read more
Favorite Blog Posts

2019-20 Favorite #2: Teaching the Alphabet

Zeba McGibbon
0
As we finish up a school year, and prepare for the next one, I wanted to re-share my top 5 favorite blog...
Read more
Favorite Blog Posts

2019-20 Favorite #3: Authentic and Meaningful High-Frequency Word Practice

Zeba McGibbon
0
As we finish up a school year, and prepare for the next one, I wanted to re-share my top 5 favorite blog...
Read more
Favorite Blog Posts

2019-20 Favorite #4: Kindergarten Phonics 101

Zeba McGibbon
0
As we finish up a school year, and prepare for the next one, I wanted to re-share my top 5 favorite blog...
Read more

Helping kindergarten teachers from ARRIVAL to DISMISSAL

I'm Here to Help You With...

Learn With Me This Summer!

Free Guides

Recent Blog Posts

How to Organize Your Kindergarten Morning Meeting

Classroom Community Zeba McGibbon
0
Kindergarten morning meeting is the best way to start your day. Morning meeting builds classroom community, gives students a sense of predictability and routine and helps them understand their upcoming day. Morning meeting also gives every student a chance to be greeted, which makes them feel valued and welcomed. I learned a lot about morning meeting routines...
Read more

Easy Activities for a Morning Meeting Greeting

Classroom Community Zeba McGibbon
0
Morning meeting is the best time of the day in any classroom to build classroom community. Children are all welcomed into the classroom and everyone starts their day feeling valued, special, and having some fun! After a while doing the same morning meeting greetings, the morning meeting greeting can start to feel stale. So I hope to...
Read more

Letting Kids Lead End of Year Activities

Classroom Activities and Lessons Zeba McGibbon
0
We all know that the end of the year can get overwhelming and stressful. The children can easily lose engagement and behaviors can increase. One of the best ways that I have found to help with the end of the year slump, is to let the students lead the end of year activities. At this point in...
Read more

 5 Simple Fine Motor Skills Activities

Classroom Activities and Lessons Zeba McGibbon
0
Fine motor skills activities are critical in every early childhood classroom as they set the foundation for future literacy skills. Children need fine motor skills to be able to write and draw. Additionally, fine motor skills are needed for cutting with scissors, zipping, buttoning, and tying - all important skills in life! So how do we help...
Read more

7 easy sensory table ideas for any classroom

Early Childhood Education Zeba McGibbon
0
The sensory table is a fantastic play area for all early childhood classrooms and this blog post has 7 easy sensory table ideas for you to implement in your classroom. Sensory tables not only fill a sensory need for many students, they also help all students learn about many things! Students learn about science and math from...
Read more

Supporting Children’s Worries in the Classroom

Social Emotional Learning and Supports Zeba McGibbon
0
 All children worry, but some children worry more than others. Sometimes children’s worries present themselves more obviously than others. Sometimes children with worries ask to go to the nurse frequently, have trouble interacting with peers or following directions, or cry more often than other children. If you want to learn more about anxiety in children, check out...
Read more

Teaching Kids to Draw in Three Steps

Literacy Zeba McGibbon
0
Teaching kids to draw is a critical literacy skill. Children need to be able to draw detailed drawings that when anyone looks at them, they will know what the drawing is of. Learning to draw is important because it helps children develop fine motor skills, the same fine motor muscles used for writing. Additionally, it helps students...
Read more

Easy Celebrations for Kindergarten Poetry Month

Literacy Zeba McGibbon
0
April is National Poetry Month, so what better time than to have a kindergarten poetry month! By this time in spring, kindergarteners are ready for new genres in reading and writing and so it’s the perfect time to let them explore with reading and writing poetry! In addition to kindergarten poetry month, you can check out a...
Read more

Fun and Easy Activities in Springtime for Kindergarten

Classroom Activities and Lessons Zeba McGibbon
0
Springtime for kindergarten is a special time of year. The children are much more mature and independent and have built a strong foundation of academic skills. They are ready to take the foundational skills they have learned and apply them to deeper learning. Additionally, the weather is getting nicer, and Mother Nature has a lot of natural...
Read more

What High Frequency Words Should I Teach in Kindergarten?

Literacy Zeba McGibbon
0
What is High Frequency Word and Why Should I Teach Them? A high frequency word is known by a lot of names (sight words, snap words, trick words, heart words, etc.) but they are words that are used a lot in the texts that the students are reading and...
Read more

Contact us: thekindergartencafe@gmail.com
© By using this website, you are agreeing that the contents are the property of Kindergarten Café, LLC. You May reference these posts and products in blog posts, on Instagram, at professional development workshops, etc., provided there is credit given to myself as the author. You May Not claim this work as your own, alter the files in any way, or remove/attempt to remove the copyright. Doing so is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).