Children of pre-kindergarten age need constant variety and stimulus to develop.
The responsibility of a pre-kindergarten teacher is to help children to engage with, develop and explore their abilities and interests in all areas of the curriculum. The teacher should provide the children with stimulating environments, materials and activities. In addition be being prepared for their teaching careers, teachers must also be well-versed in social niceties and etiquette.
Environment
It is important to provide your class with a stimulating and structured environment.
It is imperative to create an environment that allows the children to feel safe, secure and ready to learn. Ideally, this environment should be stimulating for the children and structured in such a way that the children are aware of boundaries and rules. A large aspect of pre-kindergarten helping young minds to prepare for the rigors of school. Thus, it is vital to develop children's comprehension of social standards and rules. One educational model is recommended by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. In this model, each classroom should be divided into "centers" for reading, art, science and dramatic plays. Each center should be "literacy rich" and designed to cover the most subjects in one classroom space. The classroom must be an inclusive environment designed to nurture all cultural, linguistic and levels of ability in the class.
Themes, not Subjects
Planning a variety of exercises can help to maintain interest and enthusiasm.
Rather than giving titles to everything you cover, instead try to use subject themes that cover areas such as literacy. For example, use a subject such as colors to help them learn vocabulary, practice painting and count different colors used in a painting. Young children have very low attention spans. By teaching the various key skills under a broader theme, you will be able to engage them in many different tasks. Variety is the spice of life, and this is never more so the case than when working with very young children.
Social Skills
Children need to be taught play nicely with one another.
For most young children, pre-kindergarten will often be their first experience of social interaction away from their family, and so it is a vital aspect of their development to become socially aware. For example, learning to share toys, to be honest and to be nice to their peers (and their teacher) are all synonymous with this stage of their development. As part of their daily life, they should be provided with opportunities to interact with other children and materials while engaging with the syllabus. Tasks should be equally divided between of teacher-led and children-driven activities; this encourages the children to actively develop their independence, too.
Monitor and Observe
Observe your class and adapt to its ever-changing needs.
Monitoring the behavior and progress of your class is imperative when catering to their individual needs. At this stage in their development, children are still discovering who they are -- in both good and bad ways. Through closely observing their nuances and problems, you may be able to point out early onset of learning difficulties like dyslexia or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder; you may even be able to help a child receive more support in areas such as autism. It is important to meticulously keep an ongoing record of the child's strengths, weaknesses and progress. Such records will play a large role in structuring how a child's educational needs are met.
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