Preschool Guide

Pre-kindergarten classrooms are bright, welcoming, warm, and never dull! Whether you’re welcoming your first batch of 4-year-olds or are a seasoned veteran, here are 50 ideas, tricks, and tips for pre-K teachers from the WeAreTeachers Helpline and around the web to make your classroom shine. 1. Choose an appealing theme. We love this “Super”-themed classroom from one of our Facebook community members. 2. Stay crystal-clear with parent communication. This is most likely a parent’s first experience with school, so be clear with your expectations. Include information about the “schedule of the day, snacks, discipline, how to get in touch, and what to do if they get scared, have a tantrum, or are hurt” in your newsletter. 3. Use mascots. Give your classroom some additional energy with creative mascots at each center. “I teach pre-K and my classroom theme is superheroes. Each center has a ‘mascot’ and the Hulk and She-Hulk are the mascots for the dramatic play center because they change an...

Your child's first years of school are filled with many wondrous moments. It's a time of tremendous social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development, and it can come and go before you know it. The skills learned at this stage -- knowing what sounds the letter A makes or adding 2 + 2 -- may seem simple but they will set your child up for a lifetime of learning. Pre-K may look like all fun and games (music, storytime, dancing, art) but there's an intense amount of brainwork going on. Young children learn through play and creative activity, so your preschooler's building blocks and train tracks aren't just entertaining; they're teaching problem solving and physics. Preschool is also a time for developing good learning habits and positive self-esteem. "If they feel good about themselves and know how to feel proud even if they make a mistake, everything else will fall into place," says Josie Meade, a teacher at the Creative Kids preschool in Manha...

You wrestle for ten minutes with your 3-year-old to get his jacket on, yet his preschool teacher has ten kids (including yours) dressed for the playground in less than three. What's her secret? Partly, of course, the advantage of not being a parent—kids really are more inclined to behave for outsiders. But it's not only that. Teachers develop all sorts of tricks to help young kids learn, keep the classroom more efficient, and make their job more enjoyable. This is hardly surprising. Preschool teachers have year after year of experience with this challenging age group. Fortunately, they're more than willing to share the keys to their success with eager (and sometimes frustrated) parents: Secret #1: Preschoolers don't have to dawdle . Why does your child seem to thwart your attempts to get you both out the door each morning but promptly turns on her heels when her teacher announces it's time to head back in from the playground? The explanation is simple enough, says ...

Preschoolers learn “pre-skills,” which lay the groundwork for the future. Through their playing, singing and learning, preschoolers gain skills that ultimately help them learn to read, write, build their math and science skills, and become successful students. Preschoolers also learn “school readiness” skills, which help them understand the routines of school, how to work in groups, and how to be students. Preschool classrooms are often organized by centers or areas that are divided by different subjects and types of play. For example, a typical preschool classroom may have the following centers: reading, arts and crafts, water/sand table, building and math toys, and an area for pretend play. The school day is structured with both time for free play, during which children can choose which centers to play in, as well as structured scheduled devoted to each subject. Though it may seem like it, preschool is not all fun and games. In fact, preschoolers learn through the fun and games! Res...