A delightful preschool experience
Children who begin kindergarten with a solid foundation and knowledge base will have a much easier time adjusting. They don’t have to know everything, but knowing these 10 Important Things will help them make an easy transition. Starting kindergarten is such an exciting and important time! Parents naturally want their children to have a terrific first…
Our preschoolers need lots of opportunities to practice writing in ways that are developmentally appropriate. Sometimes we practice writing the letters of the alphabet in salt trays and, of course, we always practice writing our names. Another way that our students like to practice is with dry erase markers. We made these Alphabet Practice pages to…
Dear Preschool Teacher, I am so excited for my first day of preschool! I can’t wait to make friends, to play with toys, and learn new things – I feel like a big kid now. But I’m also really scared. Because, well, I’m different. And I’m scared you won’t understand me. I have Sensory Processing…
Fruit loops are a great learning manipulative! Students who are otherwise unlikely to work at a math center will jump at the chance to sit and play with cereal. I like to buy the big generic bag at the dollar store for this center. For this activity, I paired it with a foam block and…
You might know that we really, really, love the Dramatic Play center. By changing it regularly from the basic Home Living center to other scenarios we give our students the opportunity to take on different roles. Since it’s the beginning of the year and we are just exiting survival mode and moving toward real playing and learning, we…
Preschoolers love reading fairy tales! There’s something so exciting to a 4-year-old about having a “bad guy” in the story and they just can’t seem to get enough of it. We love to do an entire fairy tale unit where we study 1 fairy tale each week. I introduce it during circle time, and then…
One of the main goals of preschool literacy instruction is to teach young children the alphabet. For some children, this comes very easily and naturally but for many others, it takes a lot of time, energy, and practice. It is tempting to think that sit-down practice with paper and pencil is the best way for our…
I am honestly not sure who gets more excited each time we set up a new dramatic play area — me or the preschoolers! Our pizza parlor was such a big hit last month that I wanted to stick with a restaurant theme. When I came across Melissa & Doug’s amazing pancake and waffle sets,…
The dramatic play center is the perfect place for young children to “play to learn”. Our basic home living center is a kitchen, with play food, dishes, babies, dress-up clothes, and a phone. For a week or two each month we transform it into something extra special. This Sandwich Shop is a great one to…
What is better than a color theory experiment? A color theory experiment that includes chemistry and fine motor skills to boot! This fizzy rainbow activity is an excellent (and easy!) way to present all 3 things to your preschoolers. Give each student a shallow tray of baking soda. Allow them time to explore it with their senses–…