Megan Reynolds

I am a teacher & designer. Connecting with students & seeing them enjoy learning is my favorite feeling on earth! I hope you enjoy this article!

Kindergarden Social Emotional Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Social Emotional Choice Board for Kindergarden in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates

Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1a, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1b

To use a choice board in your Kindergarden Classroom during Social Emotional you will need to create the Social Emotionalchoices (there are lots of examples), organize the classroom, and have a goal;

Time-saving, differentiation, and dynamic classroom management are my favorite reasons to use a choice board!

Integrating choices every day you will need to hone in on the best way to apply Kindergarden Social Emotional choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from yourKindergardenrs

Ideas & Examples of Great Kindergarden Social Emotional Choices

Feelings Charades

Pretend to be a feeling without talking, and others guess! Be happy, sad, scared, or mad. Like acting, but with emotions!

Buddy Talk Time

Buddy Talk Time is when we sit with a friend, share toys, and chat about our day or feelings. We listen, take turns, and be kind, like sharing a story or a smile!

Friendship Garden

Friendship Garden is a special place where we plant seeds of kindness and watch friendships grow by sharing, playing fair, and caring for each other, just like flowers!

Emoji Mood Match

Match faces with feelings! 😃 Happy, 😢 Sad, 😡 Mad, 😱 Scared. Pick an emoji and show the same face. It’s like a fun mirror game!

Hug a Pillow Corner

Feeling upset or need a cozy break? Go to our Hug a Pillow Corner. Pick a soft pillow, give it a big squeeze, and take deep breaths until you feel better.

Calm Cloud Breathing

Imagine a fluffy cloud. Breathe in slow, make it grow. Breathe out long, sing a calm song. Your cloud stays soft and slow, just like your breath. Try it now!

Storytime Feelings Share

Sit in a circle. Pick a storybook feeling card. Tell a short story about when you felt that way. Happy, sad, angry, or scared—let’s share and listen.

Compliment Chain

We make a chain! You say something nice about a friend, then they say something nice about someone else. It’s like a hug with words that we pass around!

Thank You Circle

Thank You Circle is when we sit in a circle and each friend says ‘thank you’ to someone for something nice. Like, ‘Thank you for sharing your crayons with me today!’

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Social Emotional in a Kindergarden Classroom

Keep It Simple

Everyone “teacher & student” should know exactly what they are doing. If you don’t make it even easier!

Differential Instruction vs Saving time?

There is nothing more irritating than “Saving Time” with a Choice Board & ending up with “More work!”. Are you using this to hit standards or save time or both?

"Self Guided" or "instruction-based"?

If you giving out work, should they do it on their own or are these more instructions for each choice?

General rule, if the grade is > 3 there is more work per choice.

FREE Blank Fillable & Custom Choice Board

All ages, all grades where you need 9 grid choice board. Start loving learning again!

How To Manage Your Kindergarden Classroom During Social Emotional (With a Choice Board)

I find its easiest to use a big board at the front of the classroom where all students can see the choices then decide what they want to do.

This often will be coming in from a break or transition between subjects.

If you can get all students to know whats expected during a choice activity it becomes one-hundred times easier to manage the class & have everyone know what choices they have!

There are three core steps you have to hit when using a Choice Board;

1) The Set Up
2) The Instruction
3) The Q+A

1) The Set Up

Select your choices, decide on how you are going to use this time in your classroom. Build the choice board

1) The Instruction

Tell the students what they are going to be doing (this becomes easier over time) Simply start with 3 options & move from there.

1) The Q & A

Does anyone have questions? This will help you or the next time. Remember the goal is to make this easier each time!

Why Use A Choice Board?

So, let’s chat about choiceboards and why they’re like the coolest thing ever in your classroom.

Picture this: kiddos bouncing into the room, eyes lighting up because they get to pick their own adventure in learning new words.

It’s like a mini vocab party, and everyone’s invited!

We all have our own jam, right? Some of us are little artists, others are born performers, and some love to get lost in stories. Choice boards are like a buffet of fun learning snacks, so every munchkin finds something tasty that helps the vocab stick!

And here’s the kicker – when the little ones get to steer the ship, they turn into these mini captains of learning. They’re making the calls, and with every choice, they puff up a bit more with confidence. It’s a win-win – they’re learning and feeling like the boss at the same time.

Plus, for us teachers, it’s like having a secret helper in the room. We get to sprinkle in all sorts of activities that match our students’ levels and what makes their hearts tick. It’s like custom-making a learning playlist that gets every kid grooving to the vocab beat. How cool is that?