It won’t be much longer before I have to start getting serious about making sure I am ready to head back to preschool. In fact, many of our elementary schools in the area have changed to a new system and start back to school by August 1st. Each year during our first week of preschool, we focus on the things we CAN do in preschool…
To help get preschool off to a positive start, we spend our first week focusing on all the things my students CAN do in preschool. Here are a few examples of the things we can do in our classroom..
I can paint
Whether you decide to include actual tin cans in your I Can week or not, you do want to be sure to invite your preschoolers to come and paint with you. While painting during the first week of preschool, you can use this opportunity to facilitate conversation about where paint smocks are, where to wash hands after painting, and any other guidelines or helpful tips you think your students will need for a successful painting experience…
I can glue
Introducing the children to glue early on will help them learn to regulate and use the glue all throughout the school year. As much as possible, keep your first week of planning as open ended as possible. Invite the children to explore the materials rather than actually making something with the materials…
I can cut
Giving the children opportunity to explore cutting with scissors as well as the use of other commonly used tools in your classroom will give you the chance to share a few simple rules for the use of the tools such as where they belong, how to take care of them, and when or where they can be used in your classroom…
I can play in sand and water
Our sand and water tables are open every day in preschool so during the first week, the children spend time exploring the sand and water table…
I can read a book
We also spend time introducing each of our centers to the children and give them time to explore the materials in the centers. Throughout the week, we talk about how to take care of the centers and how to put things away when they are all done playing…
The goal for planning our first week of preschool is on helping my students know what they can do in our classroom and giving them simple to remember guidelines along the way. Of course, any expectations I share will need to be reminded as we go along but starting of with a positive I CAN experience helps get us all off to a good start! Below are some past posts I have shared about some of our I CAN days in preschool…
Links to Grow On
The things we can do in preschool
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