Quick Tips for Preschool Teachers

Weekly Reader in preschool

November 8, 2010

For as far back as I can remember, we have been subscribing to the Weekly Reader. This is a simple four page newspaper for kids that focuses on specific topics in each issue. In this pre-k classroom the Weekly Reader topic for the day is on Fall Fruit.  I want to share with you the [...]

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How to facilitate the creative art process in preschool

November 7, 2010

Allowing children to make decisions is an important aspect of their art experience. When children are constantly told where to place each piece of paper or where to put their hand print, they lose confidence in their own ability to make good choices. When we talk about Process over Product, there are many reasons why [...]

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The value of scooping and pouring and counting candy corn in preschool

October 27, 2010

If there is one area in my own professional development that I have come to appreciate more than ever, it is the value of sensory play. I have always included sensory play in my lesson plans but it hasn’t been until this past year that I have really taken the time to sit down with [...]

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A daily review of the letters of the alphabet in preschool

October 25, 2010

As part of our morning greeting, we take a few short minutes to review the letters of the alphabet. When we review the letters of the alphabet, we sometimes sing the traditional alphabet song. Using the alphabet song helps the children remember the order of the letters. As an adult, I still use the alphabet [...]

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Rainbow tracing in preschool

October 25, 2010

Rainbow tracing is a simple technique for helping children work on their fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, and beginning writing skills. The technique is fairly simple. You give each child at least three different colors of crayons and a shape, number or letter to trace. The children begin by tracing the shape with their finger. [...]

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Hand and footprint art in the preschool classroom

October 15, 2010

As a parent, there is nothing more precious to me than hanging up a piece of art my child made out of her own hand or footprint. But as a teacher I sometimes observe hand and footprint art activities and simply wonder where the benefit is to the child.  Don’t get me wrong, I think [...]

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Creating a successful easel painting experience in preschool

September 30, 2010

Easel painting is an amazing opportunity for children to express their perception, feelings, interests, and creativity through art. And yet, easel painting is often not offered as an opportunity for many reasons which include, among others, the time and effort it takes to set up and the clean-up afterwards. Setting up the easel and teaching [...]

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Put a spark in your story time by Tammy Flowers

September 18, 2010

As an early childhood educator with a heart for literacy, I am inspired daily by the awe in a child’s eyes as they lose themselves in a simple storybook.  As the pages are flipped, we naturally alter our voice to make magical characters come to life; seizing the attentions of even the squirmiest child and [...]

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Simple read-aloud circle time tip for preschool

September 8, 2010

I have written several posts about reading aloud to preschoolers and this is a little tip you might like to use for one or more of your read-aloud opportunities… Whenever possible, I like to collect the characters of popular children’s books like “Madeline” by Ludwig Bemelmans and “Arthur” by Marc Brown. When I go to [...]

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On becoming an artist in preschool

September 7, 2010

I have recently moved my studio into a room of our house. This is where I “think preschool!” I love to make the room look “preschoolish.” The room is way off to itself so my husband doesn’t care what I do in here. I have most of the furniture I will need in my studio [...]

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Top ten tips for staying healthy in the preschool classroom

August 30, 2010

It’s that time of year again, time for teachers and students to start getting sick that is.  You don’t have to wait for cold and flu season to officially begin, illness can strike at any time in the classroom, and it loves the beginning of the school year.  One of the most difficult aspects of [...]

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Building connections to math, art, and more through children’s literature

August 28, 2010

When I am at a loss as to what to do in my preschool classroom, I always sit down and start thumbing through all my children’s books. As I read through my collection of children’s books, my mind begins to swirl with all the ways each book can be extended throughout my curriculum content. I [...]

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Folding paper in preschool

August 28, 2010

Folding paper is a great way to help young children work on those fine motor skills as well as a way to give children guides for processes like writing, sorting, and counting. This little one spent time coloring a picture this morning and when she was finished, she decided she wanted to fold it up [...]

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Building connections to math, art, and more through children’s literature

August 27, 2010

When I am at a loss as to what to do in my preschool classroom, I always sit down and start thumbing through all my children’s books. As I read through my collection of children’s books, my mind begins to swirl with all the ways each book can be extended throughout my curriculum content. I [...]

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Getting started on creating a print rich environment in your preschool classroom

August 26, 2010

Simple ideas you can do to create a print rich environment in your preschool classroom.

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Using the book cover to keep preschoolers engaged in storytime

August 15, 2010

There are some children that just don’t want to sit down and read. They rather do anything but listen to a story. The next time you are preparing to read a story, try these little attention getter ideas… Repeated illustrations… At times you will find that the illustration located on the front cover of a [...]

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