classroom management

The importance of a predictable routine in preschool

January 6, 2012

Sharing our daily routine and the importance of a daily routine in the preschool classroom.

Preschool circle time idea | Grab a spot

August 3, 2011

I am so blessed each day by the folks over at Teach Preschool on Facebook! They are always giving me great ideas and when I hear of something really cool, I like to try it out. A few months ago, we were sharing ideas for sitting in circletime and among the many wonderful ideas, [...]

Leading preschoolers towards success

June 8, 2011

Last week, after our final rehearsal for the spring show the children wanted to speak on my real microphone. I happen to have come from my news segment at Fox 59 earlier that morning and so I played news anchor and interviewed the children…. The interview went something like this… Me: ”Good morning, [...]

How to clean up the preschool classroom

May 14, 2011

To keep your classroom clean, start by keeping a broom and dust pan by the sand table at all times… And keep old towels near the water table at all times… And be sure to have extra paper towels available for cleaning the tables… And keep plenty of baskets handy for sorting and putting away [...]

Getting preschoolers involved in classroom setup

May 1, 2011

Sometimes we, as adults, tend to think we should have everything just perfect and all set up before the children come into the classroom. I agree that having things organized can help with classroom management and the flow of the classroom day but at the same time, it is also a good idea to save [...]

Organizing your teacher bag for preschool

February 26, 2011

I think I have hundreds teacher bags laying around. I get them from all sorts of places but mostly from conferences I attend. Several months ago, I shared how we organize our teaching materials for the week. My main purpose in using a teacher bag is to make transitions between activities go smoothly and to [...]

Using trays in the preschool classroom

January 21, 2011

In some of our classes, the teachers like to use trays to help with classroom management or organization… Trays can provide children with their own work space… Trays can help contain lots of pieces… Trays can be set up to invite different kinds of play, exploration, or creativity… Often times, teachers will use a tray [...]

The things that go on in our preschool classroom

January 12, 2011

Because most of my articles only focus on one activity at a time, it may look like there is nothing else going on in the classroom. So today, I wanted to show you how there are lots of things going on all at the same time… Each day, our teachers follow a lesson plan that [...]

Promoting independence at naptime in preschool

August 19, 2010

In my years of classroom experience, I have found that the more I encourage children to take care of their own property the more responsive and cooperative they become. Naptime is an example of how children can be taught to take pride in doing something well and then enjoy the results. Naptime begins in this [...]

Organizing your daily lesson plan materials

August 3, 2010

This is a simple way to keep your daily lesson plans materials organized as you prepare for each week of school. Gather a nice sized basket (a lesson plan box). Make sure your lesson plan box is large enough to hold file folders and large children’s books. Label a set of pocket folders with each day [...]

Preschoolers can serve their own lunch!

July 31, 2010

Today, I observed these preschoolers serving their own lunch. Let me begin by saying that the room was not quiet and there were a few dropped cups along the way (luckily all empty). Looking around, I saw children serving themselves in a orderly, considerate, and talkative manner. It was quite fun to be there with [...]

Centers in the preschool classroom

April 30, 2010

When children enter this classroom, they will discover plenty of things to do and the freedom to explore because each center in this classroom was designed just for them. At this table the children are creating paintings with the dot painters. At the block center, a couple of boys have decided to pull out the [...]

Organizing art supplies in preschool

April 29, 2010

I thought I would share some of the ways teachers organize their student art supplies. Above is a caddy that holds markers, scissors, a stapler, crayons, and glue. This little caddy also has a side pocket where crayons are kept. The caddy would be placed in the center of the table and the supplies shared [...]

One voice in the preschool classroom

April 25, 2010

The thing about working with preschoolers is you are always having to either talk over lots of little voices or find creative ways to capture their attention. Lots of little voices all going at once is to be expected but lots of teacher voices all going at once should not be part of the plan. [...]