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

Why Your Routines Aren’t Working Yet ~ Ep. 146

Your One Week Before School Starts Plan (What to Do and What to Skip) ~ Ep. 145

How Nice Should You Be in Kindergarten? An Intro to Kindergarten Classroom Management~ Episode 144

Stop Over-Preparing Your Kindergarten Classroom ~ Ep. 143

What Actually Matters Before The First Day of Kindergarten ~ Ep. 142

Holidays

5 Favorite Winter Activities

Classroom Activities and Lessons

Not sure about you, but winter is my favorite time of year. I get so excited with the change of seasons and seeing snow. My students love this time of year too. I try and capture their excitement by channeling it in their play and academics...

A Digital Halloween

Distance and Digital Teaching

Halloween is a holiday that many American children look forward to every year, and this year children might be experiencing a range of emotions about the upcoming holiday. They may be worried about what they can’t do (like some towns are not allowing trick or treating)...

Earth Day Activities

Classroom Activities and Lessons

Earth Day is coming up! I have to be honest – growing up I never cared about Earth Day. I want my students to feel differently about this important holiday. The activity ideas in this post come from my Earth Day activities product on Teachers Pay...

Fun Valentine’s Day!

Classroom Activities and Lessons

Valentine’s Day is a busy and exciting day in any classroom, but especially an early childhood classroom! There are so many fun Valentine's Day activities you can do with your students! I am going to show you what I love to do in my classroom –...

Teaching Martin Luther King For Kids is Not Enough!

Holidays

I have felt really nervous to write this blog post about teaching Martin Luther King for kids, because I know that I definitely do not have all the answers here, so I try and include lots of resources and articles from educators I trust and that...

New Year’s Around the World

Holidays

As I was preparing for my Winter Holidays Around the World unit, I came across many unique and interesting traditions for New Year’s! I decided that after my students come back to school, we would continue our “travels” to learn about a few traditions for New...

Welcome Back from Winter Break!

Classroom Activities and Lessons

Don’t stress while you are on winter break! That’s your time to relax! I’ve got you covered with several tips that help me relax while I’m on winter vacation and provide an easy welcome back from winter break! No Regression for students when you welcome back from...

Winter Holidays Around World

Classroom Activities and Lessons

The week before winter vacation, many students are getting ready to celebrate holidays with families. Most of them are also getting very excited about the prospects of gifts or fun traditions, and they may be distracted in school. So, instead of pushing them to focus purely...

Gingerbread Man Stories Week

Classroom Activities and Lessons

One of my favorite weeks all year is my Gingerbread Week. I love reading all the different Gingerbread Man stories – there are actually so many different versions I know I just touch the surface! The students absolutely love doing fun activities throughout the day. Towards...

Pumpkin Math Fun!

Holidays

Are you looking for a way to combine some great learning with a fun fall activity? Pumpkin math is my favorite fall and Halloween activity. The children love observing their pumpkin, measuring their pumpkin, and scooping out the seeds and counting them (well… not all students...