Discover the Interests of Each Preschooler

Preschoolers have an inherent curiosity about the world. Preschool teachers can make the most of this by discovering the things that each preschooler is interested in. Keep a list of things that preschoolers express interest in. This list can be a valuable tool when you sit down to plan lessons that will hold the attention of the preschoolers in your class. Preschoolers will give you a wealth of lesson ideas as you observe them. One preschooler may talk about their pet dog and how much they love them. That preschooler may enjoy a preschool theme unit centered on dogs or pets. Another preschooler may enjoy building large towers with the blocks during free play time. That preschooler may enjoy a construction themed preschool theme or a preschool lesson on balance.

Consider Preschoolers Interests When Planning Lessons

Keeping on ongoing list of the interests that the preschoolers in the class have simplifies lesson planning. Your list of interests can spark many creative lesson plan ideas that you may not have thought of otherwise. Using a preschool theme when planning lessons for preschoolers gives you a clear starting point that can help you develop lesson plans your preschoolers will enjoy.

Start With a Basic Outline

When creating lesson plans, it helps to know what types of activities you need to include in your day. A basic lesson plan template helps shorten the amount of time you need to spend creating a lesson plan. Consider the basic activities that you include in your day and add them to your lesson plan template. Some general categories that can be included in your lesson plan template are circle time, arts and crafts, math and science, music and movement, pretend play, and language and literature. If you provide a snack in your preschool program you can add a section for menu planning on your lesson plan template. Many times you can incorporate your snack into your themed lesson plan to make it more fun for preschoolers. If you have centers in your preschool classroom you can plan for those ahead of time so that they will include things that will interest the preschoolers in the class.

Be Flexible

Preschoolers need structured routine in their day but when working with preschoolers it is always important to allow for a little bit of flexibility. If you begin an activity or lesson and half way through it you realize that the preschoolers in your class are not enjoying it the way you thought they would it is okay to stop the activity and move on to something else. Keep your daily schedule open enough that preschoolers have time for free play and open art exploration. Being flexible and planning your preschool lesson plans around the interest of the preschoolers in your classroom will help you to provide an exciting and educational preschool curriculum.

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Helpful Tips for Parents

• Use mathematical language all day: "more than," "less than," "half," "equal," "twice as much." Incidental math vocabulary builds the conceptual foundation formal math builds on.

• Model learning yourself. A parent who reads books, asks questions, visits museums, and says "I don't know, let's find out" teaches learning as a lifestyle, not a chore.

• Learning is most durable when it's embedded in play. Don't pull children away from play to "do learning" — find the learning inside the play they're already doing.

• Read aloud daily for at least 15 minutes. This single habit is the strongest predictor of kindergarten reading readiness and long-term academic success.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my preschooler is learning enough at home?

Developmental milestones (not academic benchmarks) are the appropriate assessment tool for preschoolers. Verify your child is meeting age-appropriate milestones for language, motor, social-emotional, and cognitive development using your pediatrician's well-child visit assessments. Preschoolers learning through play, conversation, books, and daily life engagement are learning more than their standardized test scores will later reflect. Concern is warranted if a child shows regression in skills previously mastered, or fails to meet speech and language milestones.

Related reading: See also our vocabulary building guide and our counting activities for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🔢 Early Numeracy — Hands-on counting, sorting, measuring, and pattern work develops the number sense and mathematical reasoning that formal arithmetic will later build on — and preschool numeracy is one of the strongest predictors of later math achievement.
• 🤔 Critical Thinking — Being asked "why do you think that?" and forming and defending an answer develops the analytical reasoning children need for reading comprehension, mathematics, and evidence-based argumentation.
• ✏️ Pre-Writing Development — Drawing, tracing, and early mark-making develop the fine motor control and visual-motor integration that handwriting requires — making every drawing activity a contribution to writing readiness.
• 📖 Story Structure Understanding — Understanding that stories have a beginning, problem, solution, and ending develops narrative comprehension — the mental schema children use to make sense of increasingly complex texts throughout their school years.

Well thought out lesson plans can contribute to a calmer and more educationally stimulating atmosphere in the preschool classroom. Preschool teachers can practice child-led lesson planning to make the preschool classroom more exciting for each individual preschooler.