My Favorite Items for Morning Tubs

Morning Tubs have been a staple in my classroom the past 5 years.  I absolutely love that my students can ease into the morning, chat with each other, work cooperatively, and most importantly, have some fun.  Typically, I have six tubs with 3-4 students at each tub.  I rotate the tubs every 3 days.  (Last year, I had to use individual Morning Tubs due to the pandemic.)

One of the most common questions I get about Morning Tubs is “What do you put in them?”

Here are 15 of my favorite Morning Tub items.

All of the items are numbered and linked below.

Please note: These are affiliate links.  I do receive a small commission when items are purchased from these links.  This helps to support my little area of cyber space and keep the blog up and running.

1. Pattern Blocks – I love that this set of pattern blocks include picture cards to give students ideas.
2. Brain Builders – These are such a simple concept, but the students love making the items on the cards.
3. Magnetic Building Sticks – These sticks have magnetic ends to stick to the metal balls.
4. Kanoodle – If you haven’t tried Kanoodle, you really should.  I even have a couple of these strategy games at home for my own kids.
5. Brain Flakes – These are so fun to create with.  Such a simple idea, but the kids love them.
6. Emido Building Blocks – Similar to the Brain Flakes, but thicker and very sturdy.
7. Building Block Bars – My students love these.
8. Legos – Legos are always a great addition in morning tubs.
9. Star Flex Blocks – These are great quality.  You may need more than one box of these though for a group of 3-4 students.
10. Plus Plus Blocks – The small size of these blocks are great for fine-motor skills.
11. Zoob Builders – These may be my absolute favorite.  I have given them as birthday presents as well.  They are so much fun, and the students get so creative.
12. Mini Erasers – Mini erasers are such an easy addition.  You will be amazed at how much your students love just “playing” with erasers
13. Play-Doh – Play-Doh is great for developing those fine motor skills that are needed for writing.
14. Guidecraft Interlox Squares – These are fun interlocking squares, but I will warn you that if your students are not gentle, they do break kind of easily.
15. Magic Magnetic Cubes – I just got these last year and they are a lot of fun.  You will need more than one set for a group of 3-4 students.

You can read more about how I use Morning Tubs in my classroom here.

If you do Morning Tubs in your classroom, what are some of your favorite items?