The most important guideline for the young child when in a learning environment is completion of teacher created lesson plans. Many may not see the need for young children to follow lesson plans in a daily program. The truth is, young children thrive on structure and routine and benefit greatly from these learning experiences which are offered from the professional.
Most preschool teachers, caregivers, early childhood professionals, etc., have extensive experience in writing up age appropriate lesson plans. The lesson plans usually cover these areas: Social, emotional, physical, and academic.
Parents can also get involved in writing lesson plans if they plan to homeschool their child or even open an in home day care. Here are some sample lesson plan ideas geared specifically towards preschoolers. This is for a Monday-Friday program for 3 and 4 year olds.
Circle Time (no more than 10 minutes)
Good Morning song-Teach some sort of good morning song or even write your own.
Learning my shapes-Teach the children shapes with colors using a chart or book.
Learning about opposites-A book or song on opposites is recommended
Teach the Calendar/Days of the week/months of the year.
Weather Bear-Teaches about the weather and weather permitting clothing.
Music and Movement- i.e Shake the sillies out
Story- The story is usually an introduction to what your theme for the week or month is.
Academic learning (up to 10 minutes)
Teach about numbers and letters
Language/Development-This is usually geared towards a theme chosen for the week like “Farm Animals”
Introduce Science Activity- Children can also participate in science at free play
Preschool printables with letter and numbers for the week
Free Play ( up to 25 minutes)
Block area-This is where children will use their fine motor skills
House area- Social/emotional skills
Quiet area-Usually book area with a couch and chair
Art Center-Creative learning (Open ended art project introduced here everyday)
Science Table
Water Table
Manipulatives-Fine motor skills (dominos, gears, waffle blocks, puzzles, etc.
Snack Time ( Up to 15 minutes)
Practice handwashing habits
Offer the children highly nutritious snacks which is approved for programs by your state. (refer to allergy list)
Gross Motor (Up to 20 minutes)
Playground equipment – Remember first aide kit
Indoor play area like a gym on rainy etc. days
Most centers offer lunches for full day children. Children that are enrolled in a program for more than 4 hours from the morning hours are offered a cot for nap time. Children are usually encouraged to bring a blanket and pillow during this time. It’s important to sanitize the cots when the children wake up from all naps.
The afternoon hours can run pretty much as the same order as the morning but it’s good to offer more enrichment based activities. This would be a fun time to teach the children a foreign language like Spanish through learning songs. More stories and art projects are usually offered in the afternoon hours.
Children are like sponges and definitely soak up everything presented to them. Offering each child a quality learning experience will greatly shape and benefit them in the later years of learning.
