The preschool years are filled with new abilities and learning experiences! Preschoolers generally love to experiment, play, and imagine. They need props, tools, and freedom to play out their rich, creative ideas, as well as their feelings. Preschoolers have moved past the dependent stage of infancy, have asserted themselves as demanding toddlers, and are now in a period of playful independence and exploration. They have more words in their vocabularies and are able to communicate more complex ideas…unless they haven’t quite developed these skills yet, generalizations about people are always wrought with exceptions.
Although preschoolers typically have very creative imaginations, learning in real life is based on “what you see is what you get.” For example, most preschoolers do not understand that two containers with different shapes can hold the same amount of water. While older children understand that different shapes can hold the same amount of something, preschoolers will believe there is more water in the container that looks larger.
This is a developmental level of learning to be social, about one’s self, how to cope with feelings, and integrating a large amount of new knowledge.
In the blog Finding Child Care for Your Small Child, Part One: Considering Quality, I wrote about balancing an expectation of finding the ideal care with the reality of what’s available, what to expect in quality programs, and barriers to finding quality care. After considering the quality of a program, other things to think about…
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One of the hardest things to do as a parent in the U.S. is finding child care for your small child. If you found your way to this blog post via a search on what to look for when looking for care for your child, then you are in a privileged position. Too many of…
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Diversity. Pluralism. Being who we are and getting along with others. All the work of people living in democratic societies. I was born into and raised in such a society, so I know no other. No matter how many times I flip it and turn it and find all the flaws and jaw-dropping assaults on…
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Please see information on Learning Areas for preschoolers for tips on setting up different spaces for play and exploration in your early learning environment (adapt your toddler environment accordingly from the “learning area” link). Also, check out an introduction to using thematic units and helpful tips here. Farm Block Area: Include toy farm animals such…
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Thematic units are topics (such as transportation, farming, and health) that are interesting to preschoolers and toddlers. If you follow the “topics” link above, you will be led to a number of topic ideas. Notice how they are broad topics that can apply to almost all communities. I say almost because it’s a big planet…
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Class projects are popular activities for both teachers and children. Many education professionals agree that class projects are also a great learning experience for young children. Your class project ideas should come directly from your children. You can inspire their ideas with thematic units, books, songs, or brainstorming during large group time. Big Ideas The…
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Death is a part of life that touches us all and is rarely addressed in early childhood education. If you are a teacher who has faced the loss of a student, friend, co-worker, or parent, maybe you understand how personally confronting and awkward it can be to carry on as the leader of your group…
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Small group time can occur directly after your large group time. Or, you can gather a small group of children together during their free-play time. It’s best to have three to six children in your small groups. If you have enough adults, you can plan small group activities that occur simultaneously in different parts of…
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Large group time should last between 5 and 25 minutes. During this time, you can lead your class in songs or fingerplays, play group games, check the weather, review rules, review the schedule, discuss the day’s activities, check the calendar or see what day it is and more. If you have your preschoolers for the…
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Learning self-help and social skills are important skills for young children to be able to participate in the social world we live in. When young children become preschoolers, they generally learn about what gender they identify with, how to dress themselves, and how to recognize their written names. Although preschoolers will still enjoy saying “no”…
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