Hello, i am a new pre-k teacher....?

Question

well, i am actually a college student majoring in elementary education, i started working in a private daycare, and now they all of a sudden put me in charge of a 4year old preschool class.... i love the kids, and the fact that i was given the oppurtunity, its just that i am a little scared.... is there any tips you can give me, any websites ANYTHING PLEASE!!

Answer 1

I've been at my aunt's home daycare since i was eight and the only advice i can give you is to keep your cool. A lot of young kids don't like to be told what to do, and you may often hear 'Ima tell my momma on you!' Keep your response firm 'When you go home you may tell your mother what I've done, but now you need to follow directions and be nice.'

Also, have fun with the kids. If they're playing games and you'd rather read them a story to calm them down, be interactive.

Interact with them in anything you do. Storytime, snacktime, anything.

try not to baby them too much because they'll be starting school soon and they won't get all the attention. I try not to baby my neices and nephews especially when they whine because a lot of times they don't need babying, they just need a little 'It's okay. Let's go see what's going on here.'

Don't be scared it's really quite fun I'm known at the daycare now as Aunt Monica.

By the way.. kids LOVE music. Not only does it help them learn things in a fun easy way. But they enjoy it and it doesn't make things boring.

Answer 2

Hey, welcome to the world of pre-k!!!! Don't be scared, kids can smell fear. Or is that dogs??? ;)

This age is so much fun.

I have a website http://www.askanece.com with programming ideas etc for daycare. You are welcome to come and share your thoughts or steal an idea or two. That's what they are there for.

I also frequent http://www.dltk-kids.com quite a bit for craft ideas. Often a neat craft idea can set the ton for an entire week of programming.

Best of luck, you're in for a ton of fun.

Answer 3

Professional Resources

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/page2.... - Great resource for on a variety of topics and curriculum builders

http://www.preschoolbystormie.com/teachp... - Lots of resources for teachers

http://www.sign2connect.com/ - Sign to Connect, a great sign language website with more to come!

Websites for Flannel Board Stories

http://www.state.ar.us/childcare/storymo...

http://kizclub.com/storypatterns.html - these can be printed in color

Websites for Curriculum Building

Resources for Early Childhood - New resource!

http://kizclub.com/

http://nuttinbutkids.com/printables.htm

http://www.thevirtualvine.com/index.html

http://perpetualpreschool.com/ - great resource, but lots of pop-ups

http://preschoolprintables.com/ - good resource, but lots of pop-ups

http://www.preschooleducation.com/ - great resource, but lots of pop-ups

http://www.preschoolbystormie.com/ - great resource, no pop-ups!

Increasing Parent Involvement

http://three4me.com/ - A free and simple way to increase parent involvement

Answer 4

Hi.  This site has a lot of K-3 printables for download.  It could be a good start as it has things like colorful alphabet charts, room labels, number charts - some good basic starters.

Cheers

Answer 5

Go to teachers.net and check out their preschool/EC chatboard.  I have gotten TONS of ideas from other teachers.  Lots of them have their own websites too.  Good luck!  You will love teaching 4-year-olds!

Answer 6

You're obviously qualified and have impressed the powers that be.  Take this into consideration and sport some self confidence!  Good Job! and of course good luck!

Answer 7

I was a 3-year-old teacher, Pre-K teacher and am now a Preschool Director, and one of my favorite sites is called Perpetual Preschool (http://www.perpetualpreschool.com).

It has TONS of wonderful, wonderful ideas, although there are no pictures of the ideas (I'm a picture-girl -- I can visualize things only so far, but a picture is worth a thousand words!).

Good luck!

Answer 8

Dover.com  

This is a website for Dover Publications and they have a bunch of really neat designs that you can print.

I keyed in the words fairy and it sent me to several websites that had pictures of fantasy folks.

Have you ever made edible clay? Basically its rolled fondant, I think you can get it on Wilton.com website.

I loved teaching the four year olds they were always willing to learn.

Have you made a flannel board yet, the kids loved these.

You can email me anytime.