Work out the jitters and high energy your preschoolers have with some singing and dancing. Songs like the "Hokey Pokey" or Jack Hartman's "Kangaroo Learns Left and Right" help young ones physically grasp the idea of where the left and right are located by using different body parts. For the best results, play music as you dance and sing along, instead of just singing without any additional accompaniment. Dance the movements alongside the students so they can look to you as a guide when they forget the different sides.
Many children jump at the chance to get their face painted or tattooed with a favorite character or animal. Use washable markers to make tattoos on each hand of your preschool students. Let them pick out a favorite color, then draw a large R on the right hand and a big L on the left hand. Throughout the day, ask students to pick up, move or draw things using their left or right hand. The markings help remind young students which side is which. Use the tattoos often until your students start to grasp the difference between the two sides.
Even a basic coloring activity can help young students learn the difference between left and right. Use worksheets depicting animals, cars, birds or fish facing different directions. Give each preschool child two crayons in contrasting colors such as red and blue. Talk about how left faces one direction and right faces another. Ask the children to first draw a circle around right-facing items on the worksheet using the blue crayon. Once they have circled them, ask them to draw a circle around the left items with the right crayon. Children can then color in the left and right items with the colors given for each direction. This will help students visualize the concept of left and right with color.
Make recess a time for preschoolers to get up and run around while cementing the ideas of left and right into their mind. After reviewing the concepts of left and right in the classroom, make a simple maze outside using foam or cardboard blocks to lead children through turns. Make your maze with a few dead ends, and call out directions using left and right to guide students to the end. Award a prize to students who get to the end with the least amount of mistakes.