Choose a song to play on a CD player or instrument that will signal the students to convene at the designated rug, marking the start of the day. With daily repetition, the children will recognize the song and know the message that it is time for "morning meeting" or "circle time" to commence. This morning gathering emphasizes and instills the importance of proper transitions and punctuality.
Lead the group in the "Days of the Week" song with the tune of the "Adams Family" while snapping fingers. Have a decorative "pin-the-calendar" poster board ready for students to pin the respective date, weekday and weather card which corresponds correctly with the day. Is it sunny outside? If so, it is sunny and cold, or sunny and warm? What makes today special? How is it different from yesterday? What will be tomorrow? This exercise sends the message that children need to be conscious their surroundings and what makes up a day.
Pass around a blown-up globe ball or point to a world map to send the message that you are introducing a foreign country in the culture of the day lesson, which begins with a brief session on the country's geography, food, culture and language. Each point should be addressed with one or two facts. For example, teach two new words. If Italy is chosen, two words could be "buon giorno," which means "good morning," and "grazie," which means "thank you." Put a mix of ethnic Italian names into a bag (one bag for the boys and one for the girls) and have the children pick out a name, say the letters to themselves and embody that new name for the rest of the morning.
Fill a mystery box with a variety of objects, such as a toy train, an alphabet block, a flag and a traffic light toy. Have a selected student close his eyes and pick out an object and present it to the group. Ask the students to describe the object without saying its name and the student has to guess what it is. After the guessing is done, reveal the identity of the objective. The teacher then discusses the role of the object in society. Afterwards, the students recount their encounters with the object in real life. For example, for a traffic light, ask where the students would see one. What does each color symbolize? What do you do when you see a specific color?
Count all the school days from the beginning of the school year until the present. If today makes the 46th day of Pre-K, count from one to 46. Do this every day until the 100th day, which will include a celebration. On a separate chart, ask the children to count in fives and 10s. After finishing, quiz them briefly on the day, the date, year, weather, culture of the day and the current school day number. Have a bin of small goodies and treaties to award the children who answer the questions correctly.