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- 🙋🏾♀️ Teacher, I'm done! What to do with early finishers
🙋🏾♀️ Teacher, I'm done! What to do with early finishers
Plus a catchy shapes song and activities to go with it!
Karly Moura & Christina Sciarrotto
November 11, 2025
⚡️Speedy Students? We've Got You Covered!
We all know that feeling, right? That moment when a few bright sparks finish their work in record time, and you need to keep them engaged and learning. Well, you're in luck! This week's "What's New in K-2" is packed with practical, ready-to-use ideas to turn those "early finisher" moments into valuable learning opportunities.
I know how precious your time is, so I've focused on activities that are easy to set up, mostly free or low-cost, and, most importantly, fun for your students. We're talking Lego challenges, puzzle bags, STEM bins, and more – all designed to foster creativity and critical thinking without needing a screen.
Plus, you'll find a super catchy 3D shapes song from Teachflix Junior that your kids will love, a clever handwriting tool to save you prep time, and a giggle that's sure to brighten your day.
I hope you find these resources as helpful as I do!
Inside:
💡 Tips, Tools and Templates: What to do with early finishers
📺 Teaching with Teachflix Junior: 3D Shapes
🛍️Teacher Finds for the Classroom: Handwriting practice made easy
😄 Giggle of the Week: What is this glue for anyway?
❤️ Share your ideas with us!
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💡 Tips, Tools and Templates
🙋🏽♀️ What to do with early finishers
We all know those students who breeze through their work and are ready for the next challenge! Instead of letting them drift, let's provide them with enriching, independent, screen-free activities, that foster creativity and critical thinking. These ideas are designed to be free or very inexpensive and easily accessible and engaging for those quick learners.
Note: Most of these activities have a Canva template link so that you can edit to fit your needs. Be sure to snag your free Canva Edu Pro account to get access to everything Canva has to offer for teachers.
🧱 Lego Challenge Boxes
Transform spare Lego bricks into exciting learning opportunities! Lego challenge boxes are a fantastic way to keep kids entertained and developing essential skills.
 | Create cheap Lego challenge boxes with small containers, a handful of Lego bricks and laminated challenge cards. |
🧩 Puzzle Bags
Puzzles are fantastic brain boosters for young learners! Even simple ones spark critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
 | Make it easy for fast finishers to grab and go with puzzles stored in mesh bags.
|
🔬STEM Bins
STEM challenges provide hands-on activities that encourage your young learners to explore science, technology, engineering, and math concepts through creative problem-solving.
 | Fill a bin with a variety of materials and STEM challenge cards for open-ended exploration.
|
✍️ "Story Starters" Journal Prompts
Provide journals or lined paper with a story starter prompt. For older students you can have a class journal where students can add their story to the journal and read their classmates entries.
 | Provide ready made prompts that encourage creative writing and imaginative thinking. Use a roll a story dice and worksheet to add an element of fun and chance to the writing process. |
📝 Fast Finisher Bingo
Bingo or choice boards are an easy way to provide students with a variety of enriching activities without a lot of prep. Providing a range activities from writing prompts and vocabulary challenges to creative projects and quiet reading time, ensuring there's something to pique every student's interest.
 | Download and print the PDF or use the template to edit and activities tailored to fit your curriculum and the specific needs of your students. Once an activity is completed, students can cross it off their grid, providing a sense of accomplishment. |
📺 Teaching with Teachflix Junior
😁 Our most clicked video on Teachflix!
The Singing Walrus’s "3D Shapes Song," is a vibrant and catchy music video that introduces cubes, cones, spheres, and cylinders through fun characters and real-world examples like dice, party hats, balls, and soda cans. This upbeat song makes learning geometric shapes interactive and memorable, using visual aids and repetition to reinforce shape recognition, perfect for a lively math lesson or a quick brain break.
Key points covered in the video:
Join the characters as they learn 4 different 3D shapes - cube, cone, sphere, and cylinder.
During each verse, a 3D object (dice, party hat, ball, soda can) is shown next to the 3D shape so that kids can see examples in everyday life.
Ready-made video resources:
Enhance your geometry lessons with these versatile Shape Building Mats & Worksheets, designed to complement The Singing Walrus's "3D Shapes Song."
✏️ Shape Building Mats & Worksheets
Begin by engaging your K-2 students with the video, introducing fundamental shapes like cubes, cones, spheres, and cylinders through catchy tunes and real-world examples. Then, transition to hands-on learning using modeling clay and the provided mats. Students can build each shape, reinforcing visual and kinesthetic understanding. Extend the lesson with the worksheets, encouraging students to draw the shapes, identify them in their environment, and deepen their understanding through varied activities.
 | Select worksheets that align with your curriculum goals or customize the templates to create personalized learning experiences. These resources offer a flexible and engaging approach to mastering basic 3D shapes. |
🛍️Teacher Finds for the Classroom
✏️ Dashed handwriting lines practice roller stamp
This nifty tool lets you create perfect dashed lines with just a roll, saving you tons of time. Imagine: no more hand-drawn lines or printing worksheets! Just roll, and your students are ready to practice their letters and sentences.
This stamp is perfect for all your little writers, from those just starting out to those needing a bit more practice. It's great for kindergarten, first, and second grade, and even helpful for students with special needs. Plus, it's super easy to use! Just roll it across the paper, and the dashed lines appear.
🤭 Giggle of the Week
This is why we can't have nice things... or enough glue sticks.
h/t to JuniperLane16 on Pinterest