What To Do With A Stuffed Animal

Tell the truth: Yous honey blimp animals now just every bit much as you did when you were a kid, right? Well, we exercise too! So nosotros've rounded upward all the best means you tin utilize stuffed animals in the classroom, for learning, behavior management, and just plain fun. Now yous can go along building your stuffie collection, guilt-free!

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one. Curl upwards with reading buddies.

Stuffed Animals in the Classroom Stories by Storie

If you've got stuffed animals in the classroom, they make perfect reading buddies! Whether kids are snuggling with them while you read aloud or cozying upwardly with one as they read on their ain, a reading buddy makes story time special. Tip: If kids are nervous about reading aloud to other people, have them read to their stuffie instead to build confidence.

Learn more: Stories by Storie

2. Create a class mascot.

If class pets aren't your thing, attempt a class mascot instead. Choose a blimp animal for your form to care for, sending it home with a different student each week. Include a journal for each kid to write nigh their experiences with the mascot during their time with it. This fosters a sense of community and sneaks in writing exercise. Bonus tip: Endeavor this with older kids and incorporate social media too!

Larn more than: Scholastic

three. Send home an adopted reading pet.

This idea combines reading buddies with class pets to requite kids a focus on reading at home. Buy enough modest stuffed animals for each child in your class to "adopt" one. Ship them home with your students and tell them that to go along their pets happy, they demand to read to them for 20 minutes every nighttime. Every so often, have kids bring their pets in and share their favorite stories and experiences so far.

Learn more: Teach Junkie

4. Encourage them with behavior buddies.

Stuffed animals in the classroom are such a fun way to encourage adept behavior! Choose ane child each day to reward with a "dauntless bear" or "listening king of beasts" stuffie. They get to keep the animals at their desk-bound for the day and then accept the certificate home to show their family. Kids love to get in on this by nominating each other, too. Run into how one teacher does it at the link below.

Acquire more than: Teaching With Crayons and Curls

5. Celebrate with a Altogether Bear.

Stuffed Animals in the Classroom

Kids want to experience special on their birthdays, so let them keep the Altogether Acquit at their desk to celebrate! (For kids with summer or holiday birthdays, apply their half-altogether instead so no one is left out.)

6. Control a loud classroom with tranquility turtles.

Stuffed Animals in the Classroom

Turtles take a reputation for being shy, hiding in their shells when the world around them becomes too noisy. Use a stuffed turtle to reward kids in your classroom who are being tranquility; let them continue the turtle at their desk while they work. You can fifty-fifty create a whole herd of mini tranquility turtles with pom-poms and felt. (Find more artistic ways to tranquility a chatty classroom here.)

Acquire more: Miss Giraffe

7. Apply stuffed animals equally manipulatives.

Stuffies are a creative way to teach sorting and graphing. Yous tin can too apply them with 10 frames and number lines.

Learn more: Hanging Around in Primary

8. Brand them role of a safe space.

Stuffed Animals in the Classroom

Sometimes kids need a place to cool off, calm downward, and just feel safe. A soft cuddly friend can go a long mode toward helping them feel better again.

Learn more: Pocket of Preschool

ix. Teach good behavior with stuffed animal fourth dimension outs.

Stuffed Animals in the Classroom

Instead of putting kids in time out, put their stuffies there instead! Have each kid choose a blimp creature to concord during a given activity (story time, watching a video, etc.). When the kid misbehaves, put their stuffed animal in time out. The student can get their animal back by explaining how they should accept behaved: "We have to be quiet during story fourth dimension and non talk to our neighbour." Detect out more than about how this works for one instructor at the link.

Learn more: Blog Lovin'

10. Effort a Tattle Tiger.

Stuffed Animals in the Classroom

When y'all just tin can't take one more tattle ("Gina broke the purple crayon!"), redirect kids to a Tattle Tiger. They tin either whisper their problems to the tiger or write them downward in the notebook. Simply exist sure they know to come to you lot directly if they or someone else is being hurt.

Learn more: Glyph Girls

eleven. Host a teddy carry picnic.

A teddy bear picnic is the onetime classic use for blimp animals in the classroom. Invite every student to bring in their favorite bear (and keep a few extras on hand for those who forget), then plan a day of activities around them. The link below is full of terrific ideas for writing, reading, learning, and playing with teddies.

Learn more than: Mrs. T'due south Beginning Grade Class

12. Build a classroom zoo.

Stuffed Animals in the Classroom

Learn about real animals and their lives by using blimp animals in the classroom to create a zoo. Teach kids about the animal's characteristics, where they alive, and what they eat. Grouping them together past blazon and create a zoo "display" for each. You tin can even invite their families to come up visit! Go more than ideas at the link.

Acquire more than: Kindergarten Kindergarten

13. Teach reading strategies.

Teach reading strategies like skipping or chunking past tying them to specific stuffed animals in the classroom. Bring them out to remind kids while they're participating in guided reading.

Acquire more than: Hanging Effectually in Primary

14. Set up up an animal clinic.

Hit the link below to acquire how to make DIY pet kennels from storage cubes and wire filigree panels. And then add some dr. toys and a white coat to encourage creative play. Maybe you'll inspire some future veterinarians!

Larn more: De Su Mama

15. Explore STEM concepts with blimp animals in the classroom.

There are so many ways to learn nearly STEM using stuffed animals! Explore concepts like predicting, measuring, estimating, and more. Hither are all the details.

16. Raise funds to symbolically adopt a pet.

If you're upwards for coordinating a class fundraiser, have your kids collect money to symbolically adopt a pet. These programs utilise your money to back up the animals in the wild, while you receive a kit in render that usually includes a blimp animal. Your class tin can acquire about that creature and the protections it needs. Practise this each twelvemonth with a new class, and you'll build an incredible collection over time!

Looking for more ideas to go kids reading at dwelling? Endeavour these 18 ways to get kids to read more.

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