Helpful Tips for Parents

• Children's questions are assessment data. The questions a child asks reveal their current conceptual level and what they're ready to learn next.

• Avoid academic pressure before age 5. Preschool children's brains are not developmentally ready for formal academic instruction, and premature pressure backfires.

• 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.

• Expose children to multiple languages early if possible. The preschool window is the most efficient period for language acquisition the brain will ever have.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much learning time should a preschooler have per day?

All of it — because preschoolers learn continuously through every interaction with their environment. The question of "learning time" implies that learning is separate from living, which it isn't at this age. A preschooler who plays freely, has rich conversations, is read to, helps in the kitchen, plays outdoors, and is exposed to music and art is having the richest possible educational experience. Formal, scheduled "learning time" is less productive than a generally enriched daily environment.

What is the role of technology in preschool education?

High-quality educational apps and programs (PBS Kids, Khan Academy Kids, Starfall) used in limited, adult-co-viewed sessions can supplement preschool learning. However, interactive human experiences (conversation, shared book reading, hands-on experimentation, social play) remain far superior as primary learning modes. Screen-based learning is most effective when it is: co-viewed with an adult, limited to 30–60 minutes per day, followed by extension activities in the real world (after a nature app, go outside), and consistently educational rather than commercial.

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

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🎯 Self-Directed Learning — Learning that begins with the child's own question or interest produces the deepest understanding — and children who experience self-directed learning develop the intrinsic motivation that sustains learning throughout life.
• 🌐 World Knowledge — Background knowledge about the world dramatically accelerates reading comprehension — children who know more understand more of what they read — making every content-area learning experience a literacy investment.
• 😊 Love of Learning — Positive early learning experiences build a child's identity as a learner — and children who see themselves as curious, capable learners approach school with the engagement and resilience that matter more than any specific skill.
• 🔢 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.

Preschoolers love to celebrate special occasions. Holidays and birthdays provide a wonderful opportunity to have an extra special day but as a preschool teacher you can find many ways to celebrate each day on a smaller scale.

Today in History

Find out something interesting that happened on a particular day in the past. This could be a birthday of a famous person or the day something special happened. Preschoolers could each be given a spaceship sticker to commemorate the day the first space shuttle was launched or a special book could be read about a president on their birthday.

Preschool Color Days

Colors could be celebrated by choosing a color to focus on for a day. Preschoolers could have a "red" day where they are all asked to wear something red and they eat red foods for snack. If you spotlight a preschooler each week you could have that preschooler choose their favorite color to be the color day of the week.

Silly Holidays

There are many calendars available online that list silly holidays throughout the year like National Grouch Day and National Bring Your Teddy Bear to School Day. You could easily create your own silly holidays that correspond with your weekly theme. Encourage preschoolers to get excited about the silly holidays and celebrate them in creative ways. You could have a Preschool Dance Day where preschoolers each create their own special dance to celebrate.

Preschool Birthdays

Birthdays are a very special day for preschoolers and should be acknowledged and celebrated. Preschoolers should be celebrated for who they are as an individual on their birthday and receive recognition and positive feedback from their preschool classmates. Make birthdays a part of your classroom culture by developing a birthday routine. You could make a birthday crown for the preschooler celebrating their birthday to wear for the day. Sing a special birthday song during circle time and let the birthday child lead the activities for the day. Invite the parents of the preschooler celebrating their birthday to visit the classroom for snack time.

Preschool Spotlight

One day each week you could focus on an individual preschooler and their interests and skills. Have the preschooler bring in a picture of their family and a few of their favorite objects that tell a little bit about who they are. You could have a preschool spotlight section on your bulletin board where you list things that the preschooler of the week is interested in and post a picture of them.

Everyone likes to feel special and celebrate special occasions. Preschoolers can learn many valuable skills about life if they learn to make each day special and to celebrate the small accomplishments in their lives.

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