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 Transition Time Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

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

Common Core Standards: RL.K.10, SL.K.1, SL.K.5

To use a choice board in your Kindergarden Classroom during Transition Time you will need to create the Transition Time choices (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 Transition Time 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 Transition Time Choices

Story Corner Time

Sit criss-cross and listen as we read a fun story. Imagine the pictures moving in your head like a movie. Enjoy the magic of the tale together!

Puzzle Fun Zone

Puzzle Fun Zone is a cool place where you match shapes and colors to make pictures. Like a game, you fit pieces together to see what they create!

Quiet Coloring Club

Quiet Coloring Club is a fun time where we use crayons to make pretty pictures on paper without talking. It’s like whispering with colors!

Magic Play-Doh Creations

Make magic Play-Doh friends! Roll into balls, make snake shapes, and squish to create cool animals. Add eyes, and now they can talk to you! Play and have fun!

Silly Dance Party

Move like a wiggly worm, hop like a bunny, or stomp like a giant. Turn on fun music, make funny faces, and dance in your own silly way! Just have fun!

Whisper Reading Nook

Shh! Our Whisper Reading Nook is a cozy corner where you can sit with a book and read softly to yourself, like a secret story just for you!

Nature Treasure Hunt

Let’s go on a Nature Treasure Hunt! Find 1 leaf, 1 rock, 1 stick, and something yellow outside. Show me your treasures when you’re done!

Buddy Reading Buddies

Buddy Reading Buddies is when you pick a friend, sit together, and take turns reading a story or looking at pictures in a book. It’s fun sharing stories!

Crafty Collage Station

Make a fun picture with paper shapes! Glue colorful bits onto a big paper to create your special art. Use your imagination and have a blast!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Transition Time 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 Transition Time (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?