Being a preschool teacher can be both exciting and scary as you have to deal with many young children at any one time. However, it gives you the opportunity to be with innocent children who can sometimes surprise you with their unimaginable acts. At the same time, they can cause total chaos and leave you at your ends tied. You may even get a headache and feel helpless at times. While some young children adjust to the school environment in much less time, a large percentage of children take time to become familiar with the new environment, and it can often test a teacher’s patience. Even if it is difficult to control a group of children at such a young age, making the right efforts to involve them in various school activities can increase their interest and avoid class interruptions. Here is a list of different activities that a preschool teacher can do in their classroom for the development of the whole child.
keep games fun
Since these students have short attention spans, you should focus on keeping activities short and easy to understand. Children are often easily distracted, and therefore you should include acts that keep their interest and also increase their excitement about what will happen next. You can set up fun games between a pair or a group of students using pictures or a game of moving around the class to locate the prize.
Encourage participation in the art corner.
By having arts and crafts activities, you can encourage children to paint their ideas and bring out the creativity in them. It can help you to know what is going on with all the thoughts in the young mind and also learn your areas of interest. It will teach them the correct use of colors, scissors, glue, etc., and they will learn how these things should be handled.
Direct plays
Instead of verbally teaching certain concepts, try portraying them with the help of a story. Visualizing things helps students understand things more effectively. You can convey the lessons by dramatizing a part or the whole story with your colleagues. Also, you can make use of nursery rhymes or gestures for the same.
Includes puzzles and science.
Little ones are always curious about new things and will often go to places in the classroom if they notice something unusual. Have puzzles in your class as they help stimulate the brain and improve memory in children. It also helps in the development of motor skills.
Encourage children to interact with others.
As many children of the same age group gather in a preschool, the chances of conflict between them are always high. To prevent this, a preschool teacher should foster friendship between the children and also encourage them to share their tiffin during lunch or breaks. She must motivate the students to participate in group games.
Make use of worksheets
Although worksheets are less common at this age, you can have creative worksheets for children to help them develop their imagination and well-rounded skills. You can keep pages simple where the child is expected to match similar objects, draw pictures on a particular topic, or even color the printed figure.
Read stories
Children in this particular age group have the ability to take in more if they hear repetitive things. Try telling the same story for a week and ask them to repeat it the next time while you show them the role cards.
To make preschool a family-friendly place, allow notes from parents or let the child bring a favorite toy into the classroom. Also, you can have unique birthday celebrations. While managing young learners is not an easy task and requires a lot of patience, planning innovative activities can help children enjoy themselves as well as feel comfortable.
