What are some things that should be displayed in a Pre-K classroom?

Question

I already have: the alphabet, rules, calendar, birthdays, colors, numbers and shapes. However, I have a lot of bare space left on the walls. I know that it's good to have room for the kids work, but I feel like I have a LOT of space left and maybe I'm missing something...

Also, what is a simple, yet effective discipline plan for Pre-K? Is the "stoplight" poster method pretty good? Thanks!

Answer 1

Just make sure that whatever you display is age appropriate.  Are the rules that you are displaying done in pictures, because if the kids cannot read, then having them written out will do nothing for the children.  I would also try and make everything displayed meaningful to the children. Why don't you let the kids make the alphabet for the wall?  They will get more out of it if they are tracing the letters, cutting them out, and decorating them to hang on the wall.  You could put pictures of the kids on the wall as they are doing some kind of activity.  The children will love to look at the pictures and it also helps with recall... hey remember when we...?  Art work is really good to display, it gives children a sense of accomplishment, and can be a self esteem booster.  For discipline, I try to stick with natural consequences.  If a child knocks something over, they pick it up, etc.  

Answer 2

You can try jobs i.e. nurse, doctor, mailman, policewomen, chemist and etc.  Also for older kids you can put up a huge map of your fire escape routes.

For my daycare the most effective discipline plan is counting.  I count forwards from 1-5 if the child does not adhere to the rules he or she goes to cool-out time for about 30 sec to 1 min.  I was surprised how fast this worked when I first implemented it in my daycare.

Answer 3

Honestly, I detest classrooms that have every wall covered from floor to ceiling.  It's distracting and overstimulating.  How about putting some art posters on the wall?  It's never too early to introduce children to culture.  You may also want to leave some space to put up a word wall at a later date.  You can also put up the flags of the different states and countries.  Good luck to you.

P.S.- Regarding discipline, I still find that establishing clear rules at the beginning of the year is a good start.  Have the kids participate in coming up with the rules.  They generally have a good handle on what is acceptable behavior at this age, and may come up with some ideas you hadn't thought of.  Make sure the rules are positive statements, such as: "Walk in the hallway" rather than "No running".  As for individual discipline problems, try to keep time outs as a last resort for really out of control behavior, and try redirecting and taking away privileges related to the offense.  Even more effective is rewarding positive behavior with more responsibility.  I like to encourage intrinsic rewards rather than material ones.

Answer 4

KISS.  It is a famous phrase that stands for "Keep It Simple, Stupid."  Now...I'm not calling you stupid by any stretch of the imagination.  I am just trying to tell you the best thing to do is keep your classroom simple.

Things on the wall means more distractions.  More distractions means a more hectic work period.  A more hectic work period means less gets done and children do not build up the concentration as easily.

For me, I like to have the alphabet up there with phonetic pictures (hard to find, but they're out there).  This way, when a child is making words and comes to a sound he or she does not know, they can go and look at the pictures and work out which sound they need.

Other than that, there does not need to be a lot on the walls.  

There should not be many rules for the classroom.  Keep those simple too:  Respect each other and respect the classroom.  This takes care of any problem you will have from noise to running to someone walking on another person's work rug during work time.

Matt

Answer 5

Some bare walls are okay at this point. They will fill up fast enough once you set them free at the art center! If you want to put up something else, you could put up familiar nursery rhymes/songs on chart paper to read together during circle time, or do a display relating to your first theme. I like to start the year off with an "all about me" theme, so you could put up something related to emotions, my healthy body, or my family (ask parents to bring in a photo of each child and one of the family and make a bulletin board of that). You could also start a word wall with the students' names on it to start with, and then add familiar words throughout the year. Do you have a classroom helpers chart? Target by me has them for $1 right now if you need one, and I found that to be a very important part of our classroom.

Good luck!

Answer 6

I agree...Keep it simple.  Some children definately can not handle the stimuli of all the "decorations".  

* you will want an area to display children's work.

* emotions/feelings-along with the other concepts you've mentioned.

* consider doing a "theme wall" where there meaninful things displayed that correspond with the name.

* job chart...usually along with the calendar

* I like word walls starting in PreK...but if not...at least a name wall.  :-)

As for discipline...I find that setting the routine...using the visual schedule etc, on the first day and through the first week...is all I ever needed.  There were a few individual behavior plans that we used but we never even used "time out".  We taught conflict resolution and considered behavior issues as a time to teach about conflict and how to handle it.  Limiting wait time is necessary, having transition activities ready is benefitial, giving a warning before clean up etc.

Answer 7

Age appropriate books. Also toys for dramatic play and also paper for the students to draw on.

Answer 8

i would let the children come up with the rules. also place pictures beside them. then when a child is not following the rules, you can have him/her go to the rules and point to which rule he/she is having trouble with. this helps them relate.

also, you could include a helper/job chart. make sure there is a job for every child that changes weekly. this gives each child responsibility and makes them feel a part of the room.

you could include a schedule. take pics of each activity to place beside it. the children need and enjoy routine. being able to see the schedule helps give them security and reminds them what is next.

also...leave room for lots of the children's art!!!!!!! i would say this is the most important. the children love to see their art on the walls (as do the parents). this gives them a sense of belonging and a sense of ownership to the room.

discipline...i wouldn't really use "discipline." try rewarding. i use a ticket method. everytime a child does something extraordinary, i reward him/her with a ticket. i give tickets out like crazy. at the end of the week if he/she has 3 or more, they get to go to the treasure box. the children LOVE it!!!  

Answer 9

Have something with the children's name's printed somewhere....kids LOVE seeing their name.