Being a preschool teacher can be exciting as well as scary since you have to deal with many toddlers at any time. Nevertheless, it gives you a chance to be with innocent children who can amaze you at times with their unimaginable acts. At the same time, they can cause utter chaos and leave you at your tethering ends. You might even get a headache and feel helpless at times. While some young kids get adjusted to the school surroundings in much less time, a major percentage of kids take time to get familiar with the new environment and can often test a teacher’s patience. Even if it is difficult to control a bunch of kids of such young age, taking the right efforts to get them involved in various school activities can raise their interests and avoid disruptions in the class. Here is a list of different activities a preschool teacher can take in his/her classroom for complete development of the child.
Keep fun games
As these students have a short attention span, you should focus on keeping activities that are short and simple to understand. The kids often get distracted easily, and hence one must include acts that will keep their interests and also increase their eagerness to know what happens next. You can arrange fun games between a pair or group of students by making use of pictures or a game which involves moving around the class to locate the prize.
Encourage participation in art corner
By having art and craft activities, you can encourage the children to paint their ideas and bring out creativity in them. It can help you know what all thoughts go on in the young mind and also learn their areas of interest. It will teach them the right use of colors, scissors, glue, etc., and learn how these things are to be handled.
Conduct dramatic plays
Rather than verbally teaching certain concepts, try to portray them with the help of a story. Visualizing things helps the students to grasp the things more effectively. You can convey the lessons by dramatizing a part or the entire story with your colleagues. Also, you can make use of nursery songs or gestures for the same.
Include puzzles and science
The little ones are always curious about new things and often drift off to places in the classroom if they notice something unusual. Have jigsaw puzzles in your class as they help to stimulate the brain and enhance memory in kids. It also aids in developing motor skills.
Motivate children to bond with others
As many children of the same age group come together in a preschool, the chances of conflicts between them are always high. To avoid this, a preschool teacher must encourage friendship among the kids and also urge them to share their tiffin during lunchtime or breaks. He/she must motivate the students to participate in group games.
Make use of worksheets
While worksheets are less common in this age, you can have creative worksheets for the kids to help them develop their imagination and comprehensive skills. You can keep simple pages where the child is expected to match similar objects, draw images about a particular topic or even color the printed figure.
Read out stories
Children in this particular age group have the ability to catch more if they hear repetitive things. Try narrating the same story for a week and ask them to repeat it the next time while you hold out the role cards.
To make the preschool a familiar place, permit notes from parents or allow the kid to bring his/her favorite toy to the classroom. Also, you can have unique birthday celebrations. While handling the young students is no easy task and requires a lot of patience, planning innovative activities can help the kids enjoy and also make them feel comfortable.
