I like to have soft toys as reading buddies in my kindergarten classroom to encourage confidence and fluency in reading, I also feel that students sometimes just need a quiet area to sit, read quietly, look at pictures and cuddle something.  Over the years I have perfected mine to work in my classroom for me, so here are my 6 tips for having cuddly reading buddies in the classroom.

1. I supply the stuffed animals – previously I have had students bring their own – disaster, there were ownership issues, size & type issues (no matter what rules you set there will be a massive toy, a not soft toy a scary toy . . .) accessory issues (eg. a bear with sweet little spectacles that will get lost or broken 😭) and of course there will be students that may not be able to bring one. 
2. Size – I only supply small stuffed animals – For me small just works, they take up less room, they fit in my container, they tidy away easily, they are perfect for little hands and laps.
3. They stay in the reading corner and are only for reading – I have other special toys for other specific roles these ones are purely for reading in the reading corner.
4. I only supply a small number, currently 7 – too many too many choices, I only want a small container in this area, they are more special and I can check in a glance they are all neatly away (and yes I am a bit of a tidy freak in my classroom everything in it’s right place.)
5. Washable – I’m sure no explanation is required for this tip.
6. My special precious soft toys eg. Mrs Wishy Washy do not go in here – I use those for other specific reasons I will write more about this another time.

Finally make sure you have a set of specific rules for reading buddies, set clear expectations and if the rules are broken then the soft toy goes back in the caddy for that student – they can try again tomorrow.

These are just ideas that work for me, I hope they are helpful for you too.

Grab my free Cuddle and Read label pictured above here

xxx Annie