Teachers tips
Use music for everything.
“Music is needed and is a good way to transition. Find a welcome song and an afternoon song (can be the same tune with different words) to start and close your day. It makes a world of difference.” —Anne H.
Plan fun annual events for your students and their families.
Whether it’s a Mother’s Day tea, a fall feast, or a spring BBQ, Pre-K students love traditions. And they love to include their families.
Keep a “sub tub” on hand for those days when you just can’t make it into school.
Source: Supply Me Fill it with all the lessons and activities your sub will need in case you have an unexpected absence.
Connect with a community of educators outside of your own school.
Teaching is hard! Join our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE Facebook group and connect with other teachers to talk about challenges and triumphs and ask questions.
Map the classroom.
Create a map of your classroom to start a unit on geography and teach basic map skills. Check out these other mapping activities.
Create math tubs.
Centers are a great way to differentiate math work. The teacher blogger at Hubbard’s Cupboard puts math materials—counters, cubes, links, and more—in tubs for students to use during math work.
Try different themes from A to Z.
The best way to plan Pre-Kindergarten lessons may be by theme. Everything Preschool has a list of themes that are alphabetized, including airplanes, carrots, and mittens.
Build an abacus.
When your students are learning to count and add, turn a giant cardboard box into a life-sized abacus for kids to work on. (Get more tips for Pre-K on The Imagination Tree.)
Read names.
One big accomplishment for Pre-Kinders is recognizing their names. Here are 25 clever name activities, including Play-Doh and sensory bin ideas.
Use books to teach social skills.
From apologizing to managing feelings to building friendships, social skills are an important part of teaching Pre-K. Start social skills lessons with books that kids can read again on their own later. Check out our list of over 50 SEL books for kids.