This is my first year teaching pre-k & I seem to have a very busy class. Any ideas to keep them engaged?

Question

I have taught 1st grade for 2 years and have recently got a job teaching Pre-K. They are 3 and 4 year olds. In the morning I have 2 children with down syndrome. In the afternoon I have several busy bodies that can't seem to pay attention for very long. Any ideas, advice, or help that you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

I teach preschool and have many children with special needs, limited attention span, and behavioral needs, as well as typical children. Provide them with a structured schedule but include fun themes. Have circle time, art time, snack, play time, and academic centers (things like matching color games or shape bingo). Kids thrive on schedules and it helps them plan their day out. As far as themes go, pick some out yourself and ask the kids what they want to learn about (pirates, dinosaurs, fairytales, letters, numbers, space, etc). Make sure your schedule is busy so they are moving around a lot. For example, don't have them sit for a 30 minute circle time; include felt board activities, movement, songs, and games. Make all activities hands-on. www.prekfun.com is a great website for ideas. Go to the themes section. Also, www.everythingpreschool.com or www.prekinders.com. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Aww! I loved teaching this age group.

I really liked having centers in my class. I had:  math, language/sounds, home living (house and food stuff), art, rice table, practical life, puppet area. etc... Then kids could go to whatever center they needed during center time but only 4 kids per center. It allows for movement rather than expecting all of them to be occupied with just one thing which can get exhausting getting them to listen. An example of what I had in my centers were:

Math Area: I had counting activities, puzzles where they math the number to the amount of objects, tracing numbers, a blank traceable calendar etc...

Practical Life:  I had stuff to do with building their fine motor skills. Ice cube tray with cotton balls and tweezers to build that fine motor skill, sandpaper and a piece  of wood, grating cinnamon, grinding coffee with a mortar and pestal, spooning rice from one bowl to another etc...

Art:  Lots of just stuff to create collages, melta beads or perler beads to again build fine motor, play dough, stuff to make popsicle stick puppets etc...

I also had a sheet for the kids each day that said the 4 or 5 centers they visited.  I loved the idea of free exploration / organized chaos.  

I also broke it down to like have a story time or a calendar time or even a yoga time - my kids love doing yoga stretches. Just get a book - no huge experience needed. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Try letting them play with a squishy ball or something that repuires paying close attention.  Give it to them while they are in circle time and simple let them play with it.  

the other children will want one at first but then they won't even notice.  you  may have to give everyone a beanbag to hold at first but it is worth it in the end.

Answer 4

i'm sorry to hear about your downs kids in your class my wife son is and my daughter is adhd and (ocd we think) she has gone to camp they did finger painting and glued popcile sticks and the best one is the art teacher send a letter home to the parents asking for newspsper, toilet rolls, paper towel rolls, coffee cans pretty much any thing you could make something out of to keep the kids busy busy the coffee cans they can cut paper and glue it on to it use it for pens, penceils, anything that would fit in it.  

Answer 5

There is a website I have used to keep preschool kids busy for hours at a time.  I am a nanny, so my kids have more one-on-one attention, but there are tons of crafts, games, songs, and puzzles that I'm sure would be perfect for your kids!  See the URL below.  Hope this helps!

Answer 6

ask them what they want to do.and no matter how crazy it is let them do it

Answer 7

Well make sure to be sensitive to their feelings, especially since they're so little and young. Tell them that if they behave well you'll bring them little snacks like peanut butter on ritz crackers or something. And have little cd or tape music things that have fun songs on them and are educative too.

Answer 8

try to keep them busy... use lots of interesting methods to teaching.... try lots of emphasis in what you are doing... get excited. talk very low! that way they will listen to hear what you are saying

Answer 9

Fingerpainting is how i learned that yellow and blue make green :) but then again, the kids might end up painting their whole body or something...

Answer 10

Keep in mind that it is early in the year.  They are much younger than you are used to.  I find that 20 minutes is tops as far as attention span goes, and that is what we work up to later in the year.  In the beginning, they have to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes, and just getting them to figure out that it's circle time is a challenge.  There are kids I have who sit on the rug looking the wrong way.  I have to say "Turn around".  They talk during story time, and won't sit still.  Sharing is a learning experience, as is holding a pencil, not hitting, and waiting your turn.  Also, the afternoon is a different deal from the morning.  You have a totally different kid, because they are tired, etc.  The fun part, though, is watching them understand the world around them.  You have to get to about Thanksgiving time, and then you will start to see real progress.  Just know that it will get better in a little while.  Look for the cute things they do each day- I had one girl say "Huffa- Hoop" instead of "Hula-Hoop".