First Week of Preschool Ideas

During the first week of preschool I like to do simple activities during center time that will make the kids feel successful and help them understand the routine.

We made:

-hand print fish
-crayon crowns
-puff paint crayons

We worked on:

-save vs. different
-color sorting
-letter identification
-understanding that letters make words
-color words

Hand Print Fish- "O "fish"ally a Preschooler! 
-this was tricky for some kids with sensory issues.  It was something easy and fun to do the first day and gave us an idea of kiddos who may need more or less sensory input.

Crayon Crowns-crayons were pre-cut so students just worked on glue stick skills and glued the crayons on however they wanted.  We worked on patterning and color identification. 

Puffy Paint ice cream cones- We mixed equal parts plain shaving cream and white school glue and whisked it together with neon tempera paint (liquid watercolor works great too) added some sprinkles and it was done.  Students worked on following directions (3 basic steps) and color identification.

Color Word/Color Sorting- We started with letters for each color word created in the corresponding color ( letters R E D made out of red paper, letters B L U E made out of blue paper etc.).

First we sorted by color

After we had each color pile we talked about how letters can create words

Students watched as the teacher spelled out some color words.  Students helped by identifying the beginning sound. 

Finally, a chance to make words of their own.  Some kids could sound it out, some kids needed a prompt like ( P first, U next etc.) 

Our theme dramatic play area this month is a Shoe Store.  The students loved putting shoes in boxes, bagging them up and playing with the cash register. 

Week 3: Red, Yellow and Blue

Letter: B
Books: Alpha Tales Bubble Bear
Mouse Paint by: Ellen Stoll Walsh
Rhyme: Humpty Dumpty (We are working on this rhyme all month)


Dressing up during music time. Humpty, The Horse and The Kings Man


For the literacy center we pre made crayons with each students name on it and cut it into a puzzle. The students had to put the puzzle together and then got to practice taping it together. This was their favorite part.

For science we placed white daisies in water. We added red, yellow and blue food coloring and predicted what would happen.

Here is the flowers the next day when they had started to change colors.

We made an "All about our Class" book. Each child completed this page with the help from a teacher in small groups. We took a picture of them wearing their crayon crown and added it in the corner. I am going to laminate this and make it a book to put in our class library.

At the math center we sorted and counted color bears.

Here is the before of the crayon crown.

Here is the after of the crayon crown.

I gave each student a paper with their name written on it in either red, yellow or blue. At the writing center they could choose from red, yellow or blue markers to write and decorate their name.