The Kindergarten Toolbox

If you're planning for the first week of kindergarten and feeling overwhelmed by everything you need to teach, this episode is for you. One of the biggest mistakes kindergarten teachers make is trying to jump straight into academics before teaching students how to be students. Before children can successfully learn letters, numbers, and all the other skills on your curriculum map, they need to learn how to walk in line, use classroom materials, follow routines, and understand expectations. In...

Before school starts, there are five classroom management decisions every kindergarten teacher should make. Too often, we spend our back-to-school time organizing supplies, decorating bulletin boards, and planning lessons while putting off the classroom management planning that actually helps our year run smoothly. But students don't struggle because your classroom isn't decorated. They struggle when expectations aren't clear. I walk you through the five key pieces of a kindergarten classroom...

When classroom management feels exhausting, the problem may not be your students or your behavior strategies. It may be that too much of your classroom depends on you constantly reminding, redirecting, and holding everything together all day long. In this episode, we’re talking about one of the most powerful kindergarten classroom management tools teachers often overlook: simple visual systems. From visual schedules and classroom routines to behavior supports and transition expectations, visu...

If your kindergarten classroom feels louder, messier, and harder to manage right now, you are not alone. End-of-year behavior in kindergarten is real, and May can start to feel like pure survival mode for teachers. In this episode, we’re talking about the “May-cember” effect, why classroom behavior gets harder at the end of the school year, and realistic ways to make these last few weeks feel more manageable for both you and your students. We’ll chat about why it’s easy to focus only on negat...

In this episode of The Kindergarten Toolbox Podcast, Amy Murray breaks down the three essential components of effective kindergarten classroom management: clear expectations, visual supports, and consistent routines. If your classroom feels unpredictable, if you are constantly repeating directions, or if your behavior strategies are not sticking, this episode will help you understand what is missing and how to fix it with simple systems that actually work in a real kindergarten classroom. You...

You try a behavior strategy… and it works. Your class is calmer. You’re finally able to teach. And then… it stops. If you feel like you’re constantly starting over with classroom management, this episode is for you. Let’s chat about why behavior strategies work at first—but don’t last—and what your classroom actually needs instead. Because it’s not that nothing works… You just haven’t been given something simple enough to stick with yet. Get step by step clasroom management systems the ...

Alphabet principles and letter sounds are the foundation of literacy and a huge part of what we teach in kindergarten. But what's the best way to introduce letters? In this episode, I explain how we introduce letters and sounds in the first 30 days of kindergarten and how you can use the tools to reinforce learning all year long. The key is to set up predictable routines with activities that kindergarten students can actually do - no tiny pieces to lose, limit the cutting, etc.&nb...

Teaching sentence writing in kindergarten is much easier when students understand what a sentence is so they can learn the basic conventions and check their own work using a simple checklist. In this episode, we talk about how to teach kindergarteners to write sentences with our 5-star sentences method. You can teach beginning writers to independently write real sentences! 🔗 Join Kindergarten Writing Toolbox 🔗 Beginning Writers Bundle 🔗 5-Star Sentence Resource Show Notes: https://...

Is your kindergarten behavior system not working anymore? If your classroom reward system or behavior chart has lost its effectiveness, this episode will help you reset with confidence. Learn what actually makes a kindergarten behavior system work, including picture-based visuals (not just text), focusing on one behavior at a time, using concrete progress tracking, and staying consistent so students stay motivated. These practical kindergarten classroom management strategies are simple enough...

If you feel like you’re constantly repeating directions and kindergarten students still aren’t listening, this episode is for you. In this episode, we break down why kindergarteners struggle to follow directions the first time and why it’s not about better wording or louder reminders. You’ll learn how using visuals, structure, and consistent routines helps kindergarten students listen, remember directions, and work more independently, leading to calmer classrooms and fewer interruptions. Sh...

If your kindergarten writing center looks great but your students freeze, wander, or constantly interrupt you, this episode is for you. In this episode, we unpack why kindergarteners struggle with independent writing tasks and how starting with simple skills like labeling can transform your writing center. You’ll learn how breaking writing into smaller, concrete steps builds confidence, increases independence, and helps kindergarten students move from freezing to actually writing, without fru...

Picture this: you’re ready to start your kindergarten writing block, but before you’ve even handed out all the papers, you hear every student call out “I don’t know what to write about.” The stress and confusion that often swirl around writing blocks can leave even the most prepared teachers feeling exhausted. If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated by blank stares and reluctant writers, this episode is your go-to guide for turning hesitation into excitement. In this episode, I’m sharing eff...

Do you ever feel like your classroom sounds like a playground no matter how many times you ask your students to be quiet? If you find yourself constantly competing with the chatter of your kindergarten students, this episode is just for you. Today, we're diving into practical, easy to implement strategies to bring peace and order back to your classroom, all while supporting your students' needs. In this episode, I’m sharing my tried-and-true approaches for managing noise levels in early eleme...