My Real English Warm-Up Routine: 6 Fun & Quick Ideas for Preschool & Primary Kids

Start your English lesson with energy, smiles, and movement! These 4 mini warm-ups are tried-and-tested in my classroom, using Leopold, Bubblegum, stickers, songs, and playful routines. They’re simple, engaging, and perfect for preschoolers and primary students.

1️⃣ Hello Jingle 🎵

Duration: ~1 minute

Every day begins with our Hello Song. Children sing along, wave, clap, and stamp their feet. This instantly creates a fun atmosphere and grabs attention.

Why it works: Music + movement = engagement from the first second!

Here is the song: "Hello, Hello Jingle!"

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2️⃣ Sticker Check-In 🟡

Duration: 1–2 minutes

Children choose a sticker ("Which sticker do you want?" and then "Which colour do you want?") to place on their personal chart. They share a word or short sentence about their homework:

• “My favourite animal is a snake!”

• “I drew a lion!”

Why it works: Encourages speaking, sharing, and builds routine while using familiar materials.

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3️⃣ Leopold’s Camera 📸

Duration: 1–2 minutes

Introduce Leopold! Say:
“Leopold wants you to see his world today — here are body parts on Bubblegum!”

Why it works: Adds playfulness, imagination, and interactive engagement.

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4️⃣ Quick Vocab 🗣️

Duration: ~1 minute

Recap yesterday’s or recently learned words in a fun way:

• Say words while children clap, point, or act them out: sun ☀️, run 🏃, clap 👏

Why it works: Reinforces vocabulary quickly and physically. For more ideas check out my other blog entry about fun ways to use flashcards!

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How to Use These Warm-Ups

• Time: Each warm-up lasts 1–2 minutes, perfect for a 5–7 minute total routine.

• Materials: Stickers, small drawings, Leopold toy or image, basic song knowledge — already in your class, minimal extra prep.

• Routine Tip: Start every lesson the same way to build familiarity and engagement.

🎨 Colour Adventure – Learn Colours with Action and Fun!

🎨 Colour Adventure – Learn Colours with Action and Fun!

Are you ready for a Colour Adventure? 🌈 In this playful activity, children explore six bright colours – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple – while moving, singing, and laughing together!

🎵 The Colour Adventure Song invites your little learners to touch, jump, clap, meet, and dance whenever a colour appears. It’s a fantastic way to combine English learning with movement, rhythm, and fun classroom energy.

👣 You can use coloured papers, scarves, or toys – anything that matches the colours!
When the song says “Touch something red!” or “Clap your hands!”, children respond immediately. It’s great for listening skills, vocabulary, and following instructions.

📄 Free printable: Download your Colour Adventure sheet on my homepage – perfect for group activities or quick warm-ups:

👉 Free printable here

👉 More Songs on MisdySongs here

📹 Watch the song video on Pinterest and let your students sing and move along – colourful fun guaranteed! 

✨ Ideal for preschool and early primary ESL lessons – easy to set up, full of joy, and always a classroom hit. 

Learn Vocabulary the Fun Way: A Simple Routine for Students

 Learning new words doesn’t have to be boring! Many students struggle to remember vocabulary because they only repeat words on a page, without truly engaging with them. But there’s a simple routine that makes vocabulary learning interactive, creative, and effective.

Step 1: Say it out loud 📚🗣️

Start by saying each word out loud – first in the target language, then in your mother tongue.
Speaking the words in both languages helps students connect sound and meaning, and makes them easier to remember. Encourage repetition – the more the words are heard and spoken, the stronger the memory.

Step 2: Move while recalling 🔄🧠

Walking around or doing a small activity while repeating the words in your head boosts memory retention. Movement increases focus and makes learning more dynamic. This step turns passive memorization into active learning.

Step 3: Turn words into a story ✏️💡

Ask students to create a short story using the vocabulary. Start with words they remember on their own, then check what’s missing. Storytelling not only reinforces meaning but also encourages creativity and contextual thinking.

Step 4: Test and teach each other 🎓📝

Finally, students can create a small test or quiz for a classmate. Teaching others is one of the most powerful ways to deepen understanding and retention. It turns vocabulary practice into a fun, collaborative classroom activity.

By following this routine, vocabulary learning becomes more than rote memorization. Students actively engage with the words, practice multiple skills at once, and build confidence in using new language. Try it in your next class, and watch your students’ vocabulary grow faster than ever!

🪶Word of the Week: the FEATHER!

🪶 Word of the Week: The Feather

Light, soft, and full of magic – our first Word of the Week is the feather!
Discover creative ideas, fun facts, and playful activities to bring this beautiful word to life.

A feather with 8 fun activities around it.
Join the Feather Week! Each day brings a new surprise for kids to explore, play, and learn. 🌈

Follow the Feather Week on Pinterest 🪶 | Find many activities on my Homepage!

What’s Inside the Feather Week

🪶 Feather Story – Leopold and the Magic Feather
Leopold finds a tiny magic feather that talks and floats through the sky. Together they fly past clouds and rainbows, helping a bird family. A small feather can make big magic!

🎭 Free Printable Mini Play
Turn the story into a mini theater adventure! Simple lines, fun movements, and English learning — perfect for kids to act out in class or at home.

🎲 Games by Misdy
Play, trade, and explore English with feathers!

• Feather Quartets

• Who Has the Feather?

• Feather Hunt

🧪 Experiments
Blow a feather, watch it float on water, or let it spin like a tiny helicopter. Fun, simple science play for little explorers!

🎨 MisdyCraft
Create colorful feather masks — perfect for dressing up, playing, and learning new words like mask, feather, and colours.

💡 Fun Facts

• Feathers keep birds warm.

• Made of keratin – like our hair! 💇‍♀️

• Owls fly silently thanks to feathers. 🌙

• Some feathers shine like rainbows! 🌈

🎶 MisdySong
Let’s make the feather fly! When we reach 100 saves, the Feather Song will unlock on my MisdySongs page.

✨ Surprise Bonus & Comic Unlock
If we reach 100 followers on Pinterest or 100 on my blog here — a new Misdy activity or a comic will appear!

Knowledge is fun - fun facts about our universe

Knowledge is Fun – Fun Facts About Our Universe 🌌

Learning about our universe isn’t just about facts – it’s about wonder, curiosity, and exploring together! Kids love to use their own words to describe what they discover, and that’s where the magic happens.

Take the Moon. Why is it called the Moon? Its name comes from Old English mōna, meaning “moon.” But here’s something surprising: one side of the Moon is super hot from the Sun, while the other side is freezing cold! Ask the kids:

Find the Pinterest Pin! 

“Which side would you like to visit?” Let them guess and imagine – their ideas might surprise you!

Planets are full of fun facts too. Mercury is closest to the Sun, but Venus is actually hotter! Some planets have storms that last hundreds of years. Encourage kids to describe what these storms might feel like in their own words – will it be like riding a rollercoaster? Or swimming through clouds?

Find my Pinterest Pin! 

Back on Earth, animals have amazing secrets. Did you know a bee flaps its wings around 200 times per second? Or that some dinosaurs had feathers and could run super fast? Even mysteries like Atlantis make kids wonder: Could it really exist? What would it look like?

The best part? Kids can interact, guess, and share their thoughts. Every surprising fact becomes a story they tell in their own words. Learning this way isn’t just fun – it helps them connect, speak, and explore with curiosity.

✨ Make every fact an adventure – and watch how kids’ eyes light up with wonder!