Preschool Lesson Plans

From LoveToKnow Kids

Preschool lesson plans are designed to teach your child through interactive activities that stimulate all of his or her senses.

Preschool

There are numerous preschools that your child can attend. However, many parents wish to teach their children at home. Preschool lesson plans involve teaching basic concepts to prepare him for school. For most children, it is just like play.

Learning Styles

Every child learns differently. Before you begin teaching your child, familiarize yourself with the three main learning styles. Next, identify which style best describes your child, and use this information to design your preschool lesson plans.

Kinesthetic

A kinesthetic child is a physical learner. He needs to touch and manipulate objects to understand concepts. If you are reading to your child and he likes to touch the pictures and turn the pages, he fits into this category.

Find lesson plans that are hands-on. Manipulative objects like blocks or pegs are ideal.

Visual

If your child loves to look at things and learns through observation, he is a visual learner. This learning style is easily recognized by a child’s love of looking at pictures. You can demonstrate an activity to him, and he learns by watching you. Pictures and dry-erase boards are good tools for teaching a visual learner.

Auditory

A child who learns by listening is an auditory learner. He is engrossed by books on tape and understands a concept after hearing it only once or twice. He is good at following directions. Anything that utilizes sounds and the spoken language are good tools for this learner.

Most children are a combination of learning styles. Use a combination of all three styles while teaching.

Teaching Preschool Lesson Plans

At the preschool age, children begin to learn the required skills, which will translate into reading and math in elementary school. For example:

Teaching shapes is a pre-reading skill.
Patterns focus on pre-math.
Dramatic play prepares him for school and growing up.

When creating a preschool lesson plan, include the following:

Reading
Writing
Math
Art
Social Interaction

Create your weekly lesson plans around themes such as animals, space, or jobs to add excitement and predictability to his preschool day.

Pre-reading

Reading basics begin with reading aloud to your child. It is important to introduce books at a young age. As your child becomes more interested in picture books, he will use the pictures to retell the story and build his language skills.

In order for your child to begin reading by himself, he will need to learn his alphabet. Start with teaching shapes. Each letter is composed of the same lines as circles, triangles, and squares.

Circle = C, G, O, Q
Triangle = A, V, W
Square = B, D, E, F

Games that encourage your child to match and sort shapes are great for teaching pre-reading skills. As he masters this task, look for puzzles where your child uses shapes to make pictures. Then move to his A, B, C’s. Start with capital letters. As he learns his alphabet, have him say the letter and the sound to teach phonics. For example:

Letter	Word	Sound
A	ant	ah
B	bat	buh
C	Cat	Kuh

Labeling Objects

To help your child identify words and begin reading, write down the names of items you find around the house on slips of paper and tape them to the object. Some examples of items to label include:

Door
Chair
Table
TV
Light
Bathroom

Writing

Children love to scribble at this age. As he matures, his scribbles become better representations of what he is thinking. As this happens, he is ready to learn writing. Begin with tracing letters. You can find wipe off cards at any educational toy store.

Pre-math

Math is more then just counting to ten. Patterns, number recognition, and sorting are introduced at this age to teach math concepts.

When introducing counting, use items you see in everyday life. Count stairs as you climb them, chicken nuggets as you eat them, and M & M’s as you give them to your child. Make as many opportunities as possible a counting game.

As your child learns to count, begin adding number visuals. For example, if you have five blocks, write the number five on an index card and put it next to the piles of blocks. This helps your child grasp the concept. Use colored blocks or foam pieces to work on patterns.

Social and Independent Life Skills

Your child’s preschool lesson plans should involve social skills. Some examples include:

Learning to follow instructions
Setting the table
Saying please and thank you
Understanding sharing
Dressing himself
Putting toys away

Social skills are taught best in a group setting where your child is assigned a responsibility and can interact with other children. If you are teaching your child at home, look for playgroups and classes to teach him how to get along with others.

Dramatic Play

Children learn through imitation. Stock your child's room or play room with items like dress-up clothes, a toy kitchen, play food and boxes that open up the imagination. Encourage your child to role-play.

Gross Motor Skills

Burning off energy while learning hand-eye coordination is an important part of any preschooler’s day. Include obstacle courses, catch and soccer into his curriculum.

Art

Children love to express themselves. Crafts are a great way to break up the school day and involve multiple senses. Include a variety of art medium in your preschool lesson plans such as paints, collages, Popsicle sticks and clay.