Starting the day with a hello song is a simple yet creative way to engage your preschoolers. A cheerful song can provide an upbeat introduction to the day while including the arts in your daily routine. Choose a hello song from a preschool activity or music website, or compose your own lyrics. Many songs that you can find online are the work of clever educators who substitute hello or morning greeting words for old standards. For example, the site Preschool Education features hello songs set to the tune of "Frere Jacques," "Three Blind Mice," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "The Mulberry Bush," "Happy Birthday" and "The Farmer in the Dell."
Your morning greeting may stick to the basic hello and welcome. You can greet the children as they enter the classroom or in save the greeting for a more structured setting such as circle time. Unlike a longer, more elaborate greeting, the simple version should be a brief entry to the day. Keep it brief, no longer than a few statements. Make sure that you at least include a polite hello or other similar greeting and the day of the week for identification.
A preschool morning meeting can be an information extended greeting that sets the schedule for the day, addresses any issues that you might have (e.g., sharing, taking turns) and introduces the date and/or weather. Additionally, you may include attendance and special activities such as a letter or number of the day. Choose a comfortable, appropriate setting such as a clean carpeted area or a circle time center. Ask the children to arrange themselves in a circle shape in the area with an opening near the front of the space. Position yourself in a space where all of the children can see you such as a chair or carpet square at the front in the opening of the circle. You may need a dry erase board, large calendar or other place to write on for meeting time activities.
If you are in search of an imaginative way to greet your preschool class each morning, try a mini character or puppet show. This does not mean that you need to put on a full-scale play every day. Instead, introduce a stuffed animal or hand puppet to the class. Invite the children to help you name the character, and use it every day for your morning greeting. The stuffy or puppet can "speak" the greeting, introduce the day of the week and go over or point to the schedule. Use this technique during circle time or another organized activity in which all of the children are present and seated, paying attention to the character. As a bonus, keep the animal or puppet nearby throughout the morning as a special way to cheer or soothe a sad or angry child.