Community in itself is more important to learning than any method or technique.
āRalph Peterson
![kindergarten-classroom1 Begin Your Kindergarten Year with 10 Memorable Traditions](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/kindergarten-classroom1.jpg)
![kindergarten-4 Begin Your Kindergarten Year with 10 Memorable Traditions](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/kindergarten-4.jpg)
- Establish a morning ritual of greeting children at the door with a smile and a handshake or hug. Children love to hear their names as the teacher models a warm welcome. Teach children to shake hands in a morning greeting with their new kindergarten friends.
There is nothing sweeter to a child than the sound of his or her own name.
2. Morning Jobs and Settling-In-Time
![chart chart for kids](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/chart.jpg)
Post photos of children performing morning jobs.
![children-classroom-1 children-classroom-1](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/children-classroom-1.jpg)
We are book lovers! After we finish our morning jobs, we get to choose a book!
Develop consistent morning jobs and routines for children to do during settling-in-time. Anchor charts with photos help children remember what their responsibilities are.
3. Create a joyful sense of belonging.
![kindergarten kindergarten](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/kindergarten-1.jpg)
![willoughby willoughby](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/willoughby.jpg)
Willabee Wallabee Wavid
An elephant sat on David
Come together in the morning to sing and dance and play name-game activities that acknowledge each individual child! Create a joyful sense of belonging.
4. Sing Spanish and English Greeting Songs: Hola Mis Amigos
Sing greeting songs in Spanish, English, and American Sign Language (ASL). Learn āHola Mis Amigos/Hello My Friends.ā This short greeting song introduces familiar cultural phrases in Spanish and English; ASL provides the bridge of comprehension between languages. Make the words of these well-loved class songs a part of the childās Poetry āI Can Readā Anthology Notebook.
![Hola Mis Amigos Hola Mis Amigos](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/hola-1.jpg)
5. Take a Class Photo
![kindergarten-classrooms teacher and students](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/kindergarten-classrooms.jpg)
![kindergarten-class kindergarten-class](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/kindergarten-class.jpg)
Early in the year, have a class photo taken and decide on a class name: āThe Kinder Stars,ā āThe Busy Bees,ā āThe Signing Kindergartenāā¦Let this be your welcoming sign for the children and families to see.
7. Bring Your Life Into the Classroom
![books books](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/books.jpg)
Bring your life into the classroom with a photo book All About Teacher. Children are fascinated to learn that their teacher has a life beyond kindergarten.
9. Introduce Literacy Traditions: Chant "Reading is Fun!"
![reading-is-fun reading-is-fun](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/reading-is-fun-1.jpg)
![guided-reading-girl kindergartener with Nellie Edge Read and Sing Big Book Club](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/guided-reading-girl.jpg)
![kiindergarten-reading-3 How Do Master Kindergarten Teachers Close the Reading Achievement Gap over the Summer?](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/kiindergarten-reading-3.jpg)
Introduce literacy traditions with high expectations for excellence:Ā
"I am a Book Lover!" club and Reading is Fun chant, Family Read & Sing Traditions, and The Elephant and Piggie Book Club.
![kindergartners-2 Memorable Learning Rituals](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/kindergartners-2.jpg)
Children write messages to friends. Mail carriers deliver them.
![kindergartners-1 Memorable Learning Rituals](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/kindergartners-1-1.jpg)
A ākindergarten kindnessā ritual: always shake hands and say āGood job!ā after playing a game!
![life-crowdwd-place Life in a Crowded Place: Making a Learning Community](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/life-crowdwd-place.jpg)
When teachers use a touch of ceremony to make the day complete, the working rhythms of the day are slowed; loose ends are tied. Students are brought together to end on a harmonious noteā¦Regardless of how ceremony is incorporated, the intent is to establish a feeling of completeness before the students return to the everyday world beyond the classroom walls.
(Life in a Crowded Place by Ralph Peterson. 1992)
Learn more:
Nellie Edge Online Seminars:Ā Ā
Summer Distance Learning Special: All 3 Online Seminars $79! (Save $58!) Credits available.
Get our weekly blog for more high-impact strategies and free resources!
![](https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/themes/dynamik-gen/images/content-filler.png)