Being a preschool teacher can be 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 surprise you at times with their unimaginable acts. At the same time, they can cause total chaos and leave you at your extremes. You might even have a headache and feel helpless at times. While some young children adjust to the school environment in much less time, a significant percentage of children take the time to become familiar with the new environment and can often test a teacher’s patience. Even if a group of children at such a young age is difficult to control, making adequate efforts to involve them in various school activities can increase their interests and avoid interruptions in class. Here is a list of different activities that a preschool teacher can do in their classroom for the full development of the child.
Keep games fun
Since these students have a short attention span, you should focus on keeping activities short and easy to understand. Children are often easily distracted and therefore one should include acts that maintain their interests and also increase their enthusiasm for knowing what happens next. You can organize fun games between a couple or a group of students using pictures or a game that involves 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 spark creativity in them. It can help you to know all the thoughts that happen in the young mind and also to know its areas of interest. You will teach them the correct use of colors, scissors, glue, etc., and you will learn how these things should be handled.
Perform 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 pass on the lessons by dramatizing a part or the entire story with your colleagues. Also, you can make use of nursery rhymes or gestures for it.
Include puzzle and science
Little ones are always curious about new things and often head to places in the classroom if they notice something unusual. Have puzzles in your classroom as they help stimulate the brain and improve memory in children. It also helps develop motor skills.
Motivate children to bond with others.
Since many children of the same age group meet in a preschool, the chances of conflict between them are always high. To avoid this, a preschool teacher should foster friendship among children and also encourage them to share their tiffin during lunch or breaks. It should motivate students to participate in group games.
Make use of worksheets
While worksheets are less common at this age, you can have creative worksheets for children to help them develop their imagination and holistic skills. You can keep simple pages where the child is expected to match similar objects, draw pictures on a particular theme, or even color the printed figure.
Read stories
Children in this particular age group have the ability to catch more if they hear repetitive things. Try telling the same story for a week and ask them to repeat it the next time while holding the role cards.
To make preschool a familiar place, allow notes from parents or allow the child to bring a favorite toy to the classroom. Also, you can have unique birthday celebrations. While managing young students is not an easy task and requires a lot of patience, planning innovative activities can help children to enjoy themselves and also make them feel comfortable.