Chicka Chicka Boom Boom First Week of School Activitiy

Today’s schedule is centered around one of my favorite back-to-school read-alouds, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! This classic story is perfect for kicking off the first week of kindergarten. Not only do students instantly fall in love with the rhythmic, playful text, but it also opens the door to plenty of alphabet-based learning and assessment opportunities. It’s an ideal book to use as you introduce classroom routines, expectations, and early learning activities.

When planning for the first week of school, I like to mix fun and structure. The key is keeping students engaged while helping them learn how our classroom runs. Below, I’m sharing my detailed schedule for a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom-themed day.

Daily Schedule – Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Activities

8:00 am – Arrival and Morning Work
I start the day by standing at the door to greet each student and reinforce morning procedures. This sets a positive tone and helps establish a routine from the very first minute. For morning work, students complete a tracing page that supports fine motor development and letter recognition. These quiet activities give students a calm start to their morning and allow me to check folders or answer parent questions.

chicka chicka boom boom - fine motor practice

8:30 am – Calendar and Class Rules
Next, we gather for our calendar time to practice days of the week, months, and weather routines. We also discuss Rule #3 from our class rule set and color the corresponding page. During these early days, I like to review one rule at a time to make sure students truly understand the expectations.

9:00 am – Teach Routines and Early Finisher Options
At this point in the morning, we focus on classroom jobs. I introduce what each job looks like and how our rotation system works. We also practice a few of the jobs together so students feel confident and comfortable.

After that, we talk about what students can do when they finish their work early. Early finishers are a big part of keeping your classroom running smoothly, especially in kindergarten, where students work at very different paces. I use my Kindergarten Early Finisher Task Cards to keep those students engaged and learning. The cards include short, hands-on math and phonics activities that reinforce previously taught skills. Having a designated early finisher system helps prevent off-task behavior and gives you time to assist students who need extra support.

9:30 am – Assessment: Letter Sound Picture Match
This quick activity helps me assess students’ familiarity with letters and sounds. It’s a simple and effective way to gather early literacy data while keeping the theme tied to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

9:55 am – Routines Practice
Before recess, we go over sweater and jacket organization and how to manage water bottles. Establishing these routines early helps prevent chaos later!

10:00 am – Recess

10:15 am – Routines: Book Care and Library Access
After recess, we learn about book care and when students can visit the classroom library. I make a big deal out of teaching them how to treat books carefully—it’s part of building respect for classroom materials. You can check out my post on setting up classroom library expectations for more details.

10:25 am – Language Arts: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Reading and Letter Match
We finally get to dive into the book! I read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom aloud, and then students complete an uppercase and lowercase letter match activity. It’s a perfect follow-up to the story and reinforces alphabet recognition.

10:50 am – Routine Practice
Choose a routine that best fits your classroom needs—lining up, using supplies correctly, or transitioning between activities.

11:00 am – Math: Number Order
To connect math with our theme, students complete a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom number order activity. This gives me an early sense of who already understands sequencing and number recognition.

11:20 am – Art: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Name Tree
This activity is always a hit! Students create a name tree using either stamps or foam letters. Peeling the paper off the foam letters adds a fine motor challenge that’s perfect for little hands. When finished, these name trees make a colorful and meaningful first-week bulletin board display.

11:40 am – Review Behavior System
Before dismissal, we take a few minutes to review our classroom behavior expectations and reward systems.

11:50 am – Clean-up and Pack-up
Students begin learning the process of cleaning up, packing backpacks, and organizing materials for dismissal.

12:00 pm – Dismissal

The Chicka Chicka Boom Boom theme is an excellent way to start your school year. It ties together literacy, fine motor skills, early math concepts, and classroom community building—all through a book that students absolutely love.

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