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

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

Fixing a Classroom With No Routines ~ Ep. 149

Teaching Tips and Tricks

Tips for a Successful Kindergarten Field Trip ~ Ep. 127

Classroom Management

Kindergarten Field Trip Tips Every Teacher Should Know Field trips can be one of the most exciting parts of the school year for kindergarten students. They get to leave the classroom, explore a new place, and experience learning in a completely different way. For many kids, it...

Navigating Tricky Team Dynamics with Jenna ~ Ep. 122

PODCAST

Teacher Grade Level Team Communication: How to Build Strong, Supportive Teams That Actually Work If you have ever struggled with teacher grade level team communication, you have probably wondered how to make collaboration smoother, more respectful, and more productive without feeling like you have to change who...

How to Stop Tattling and Build Problem-Solvers ~ Ep. 121

Classroom Management

How to Handle Tattling in Kindergarten: Teach Problem Solving and Reduce Interruptions Tattling can quickly take over a kindergarten classroom. Every few minutes, a student is reporting what someone else did, and it can feel exhausting to decide which situations truly need your attention. The good news...

Unpacking Mid-Year Assessment Data ~ Ep. 120

Classroom Activities and Lessons

How to Use Kindergarten Mid-Year Assessments to Guide Instruction and Support Students Mid-year assessments can bring up a mix of emotions for kindergarten teachers. You’ve worked hard for months, and now it’s time to evaluate student progress. But what if the data doesn’t reflect the growth you...

Top Strategies for Teaching Personal Space in Kindergarten ~ Ep. 118

Classroom Management

Teaching Personal Space in Kindergarten: How to Set Boundaries with Love and Clarity If you're struggling with teaching personal space in kindergarten, you're not alone. Whether students are constantly hugging, touching, or piling on each other during rug time, it's a common challenge that can disrupt learning....

Minimizing Disruptions During Kindergarten Small Groups ~ Ep. 117

Classroom Management

How to Maintain Classroom Management During Small Groups in Kindergarten Managing classroom behavior while teaching small groups is one of the biggest challenges in a kindergarten classroom. You want to focus on the students in front of you, but the rest of the class also needs to...

Kickstart the New Year with Growth Mindset Strategies ~ Ep. 115

Holidays

Apple Spotify Amazon Music You definitely want to one teach students about how our brains are working and why challenges and mistakes are important in the learning process and two you want to celebrate the effort that they're putting in and the progress that they're making and not just...

Honest Talk on Handling Teacher Burnout and Difficult Students ~ Ep. 110

Classroom Management

Apple Spotify Amazon Music You can only do so much because your job is to help the classroom of students. You have to help the whole classroom. And this was something I learned the hard way as well.~ Zeba from Episode 110 of The Kindergarten Cafe Podcast Episode Summary Some years...

Kindergarten Case Study: Supporting Students With Big Emotions ~ Ep. 109

PODCAST

Apple Spotify Amazon Music We are more than teachers, as you know, we do so much more. But one of our biggest jobs is actually detective, because behavior is communication. When kids are misbehaving or having big behaviors, they are trying to communicate with us.~ Zeba from Episode 109...

How to Teach Emotional Intelligence in Kindergarten ~ Ep. 108

PODCAST

Apple Spotify Amazon Music It's super important to spend time explicitly teaching kids what the different feelings are, how to identify them, and then strategies they can try when they're feeling that way, and then giving them time to practice those strategies.~ Zeba from Episode 108 of The Kindergarten...