Young children love singing familiar songs and rhymes. Sing a specific song when children will know when to come to the table, put their nap mats down or get ready to play outside. You will probably have to sing the song through a few times. Challenge the kids to get to the table before you can sing through the song three times. Try this out – “Two little feet go stomp, stomp, stomp. Two little hands go clap, clap, clap, clap. One little body stands up straight. One little body goes round and round. One little body sits right down.” Encourage the preschoolers to do the actions along with the song. By the end of it, they should all be sitting down in their seats ready to learn.
Implement a daily circle time in the morning. As soon as the children come into the classroom they should be taught to put their personal items in the designated spot and come directly to the circle with their classmates. This activity can include calendar time, talking about the weather and activities that will be happening during the day. Children can also share things that are happening in their life with the rest of the class during this activity. This is a great time to connect with the students on a personal level and teach appropriate listening skills.
Clean-up time happens frequently during a preschooler’s day. Add a “clean-up” song or chant while everyone is helping to make this task a bit more efficient. Set a timer and have the kids race to see how fast they can clean up the table. Assign specific clean-up tasks to each child. A couple of kids can be responsible for stacking chairs. Someone should be picking up crayons, pencils and scissors as well.
Start a simple activity to get the preschoolers’ attention. You can try blowing bubbles or playing music. Children will often stop what they are doing and gather around the teacher because they are intrigued with what they see. In emergency situations, a whistle can be used to quickly get all eyes and ears on the instructor. Practice this task a couple times with the students to develop a routine when they hear the whistle. However, make sure to only use the whistle when absolutely necessary. Using it more often will diminish its importance of it when it is needed.