Encourage parental involvement. One of the best ways to teach a child about the importance of sleep and rest is to provide him with role models who demonstrate positive sleeping habits of their own, such as avoiding caffeine and sugar before bedtime and getting into bed early enough to allow a full eight hours of sleep each night. Send a newsletter or email home to your preschooler's parents asking them to provide positive examples of effective sleep habits at home.
Establish a nap time routine during the day while the preschool students are in school. Avoid forcing a child to take a nap if he is not tired. Instead, let the child know that resting is appropriate during nap time. Establishing a nap time routine can help preschool pupils develop positive habits that they can maintain for a lifetime.
Communicate with the children about the importance of sleep and rest. Ask each pupil as she arrives in the morning whether she is feeling tired or wide awake. Find out how many hours of sleep the student got the night before and then remind her to get more sleep if she is feeling exhausted. As each child leaves school for the day, remind her to get to sleep early so that she can be energized for the next day's fun activities.
Read books to your preschool children that teach lessons about proper bedtime routines. Choose books that walk the child through nighttime routines that he can implement at home. You might also choose books that show how you can get into trouble if you do not go to sleep early enough. For example, the nursery rhyme "Three Little Kittens" offers a great lesson about proper sleeping habits.