Teaching Preschool: A Year of Inspiring Lessons

About This Course

If you've been teaching preschoolers or are in the process of becoming a preschool teacher, you know what short attention spans preschoolers have. You've probably wondered how to structure your days to make the most of the way they learn. Up to now, crafting original and inspiring lesson plans may have been a daunting task, but not for much longer! In this course, you'll get equipped with a solid lesson plan template and lots of interchangeable activities to choose from—plenty of inspiration to take you and your students from September to May. You'll learn over 100 circle-discussion, art, literacy, fine and large motor skill, science, and music activities that you can take into your classroom right away. Then you can adopt the ideas just as they are or tweak them slightly to fit a variety of themes. Either way, you'll have ample material for crafting memorable, balanced, and engaging lesson plans. Whether you're already teaching or you're just investigating a career as an early childhood educator, you're sure to find the right mix of inspiration, motivation, and practical tips in this six-week course.

Course Revised March 2013

About The Instructor

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Kt Paxton.

After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development with high honors, Kt Paxton completed a fifth year of study and holds a California Teaching Credential. She managed a pre-school and has more than a decade of experience teaching elementary schoolchildren. Kt is also the published author of the book "More Adventures With Kids in San Diego."

Syllabus

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week 1

Wednesday - Lesson 01

Have you ever thought about teaching children aged 2 to 5? Or maybe you already are and just want some fun, creative ideas to help you reach these students on their level. Either way, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to discover what preschool teaching is all about, what the typical preschooler is like, and the skills we need to cultivate to be successful teachers. It’s a privilege to educate children at this age because these are the formative years that set the stage for all the K-12 learning to follow.

Friday - Lesson 02

A lot of people mistakenly think that preschool teaching is all about art projects and snack time. Nothing could be further from the truth—the best preschool classrooms are structured around solid, balanced lesson plans that challenge and motivate students to learn something new every day. In this lesson, we’ll use my trusty lesson plan template, and we’ll discuss its first four components—themes, circle discussions, literacy activities, and songs and fingerplays.

Week 2

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Now that you know the first four components of our lesson plan template, are you ready to meet the rest? A balanced lesson plan also includes art projects, number sense activities, large and fine motor skill activities, dramatic play, and science and discovery time. I know that sounds like a lot of activities to do during the week, but we’ll be mixing it up every day to provide a balance of activities that stretch students’ minds. See how we do just that in this lesson.

Friday - Lesson 04

There’s something about going back to school in September. For us, it’s an exciting time of year because we get to meet our new students. But students often have a lot of anxiety about going back to school. So in today’s lesson, we’ll talk about smart strategies to make the classroom transition easy on them. We’ll also discuss some of my favorite activities built around the All About Me and My Family theme. This theme will take us through the first week of school, and we’ll use it as a springboard to design all the other activities to fill that week’s lesson plan template.

Week 3

Wednesday - Lesson 05

October is a month of spooks and scares, but that doesn’t mean that our lesson plans need to be in horrifying shape. On the contrary, October lends itself to some fun lesson plans around the Halloween theme. That’s just what we’ll be discussing today—are you ready to craft a week’s worth of lessons around this spooktacular holiday? We’ll discuss everything from the books to the art projects and dramatic play that complement Halloween.

Friday - Lesson 06

November is the month when we take some time to consider all that we have and how grateful we are for the wonderful things in our life. And in today’s lesson, we’ll build a week’s worth of lesson plans around the Thanksgiving theme. Complete with science activities, fine and large motor skill ideas, and number sense activities, we’ll fill in our Thanksgiving week with a balance of educational and fun projects.

Week 4

Wednesday - Lesson 07

If November is a month for being thankful, December is a month for grand-scale celebration. In this lesson, we’ll craft a week’s worth of lesson plans around the theme of Celebrations Around the World. We’ll discover wonderful books, circle discussions, dramatic play ideas, and art projects that help us celebrate diversity and cultural exploration.

Friday - Lesson 08

Whether you live in a snowy climate or sunny Florida, you can probably appreciate the joys of winter. And that’s the theme we’ll plan a week’s worth of lessons around for January. You’ll be able to build your own winter wonderland at school with lesson plan ideas that incorporate number sense, discovery, games, and art projects. No passport necessary!

Week 5

Wednesday - Lesson 09

It’s always great to get a valentine, and Valentine’s Day is a fantastic time to incorporate some heart into the preschool classroom. Today we’ll create a week’s worth of Valentine’s themed lesson plans. Covering everything from heart-y recipes to exciting art, number, and letter projects, we’ll create a balanced lesson plan that won’t leave you seeing red.

Friday - Lesson 10

March is often when we notice the sunshine and puffy clouds in the sky. That makes March the perfect time to plan a weather-themed week. In today’s lesson, we’ll do just that—craft literacy, number sense, science, and motor skill activities around the weather. As we build balanced lesson plans in our trusty template, we just might see the lightning bolt of inspiration strike!

Week 6

Wednesday - Lesson 11

April showers do lead to May flowers, but one of my favorite themes in April is all about the farm. Since spring is a time that brings birth and renewal in the natural world, what better time to teach students about animals and outdoor life? In today’s lesson, we’ll craft a variety of farm and animal-themed lesson plans that include art projects, science and discovery time, number activities, and circle discussions.

Friday - Lesson 12

May is the perfect time to pay tribute to some of our favorite people: the moms who love us. In today’s lesson, we’ll develop a week’s worth of lesson plans around Mother’s Day crafts, activities, games, books, and art projects that help us appreciate Mom. As we walk through these ideas, I’m sure you’ll remember all over again why moms are so integral to students’ success.

Requirements

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).