Students sit in a large circle. One student walks around the outside of the circle and lightly taps each student on the head and says, "Duck." When he chooses his target, he taps that person and says, "Goose." The target gets up and chases the student around the circle until the student gets back to his place in the circle and sits. The target then begins to make his rotation around the circle.
Introduce puppet shows to students to tell a story. Set up a small wooden stage or just crouch behind a bookcase where students only see the puppets. Puppet shows stretch students' imaginations and allow them to learn story components like setting, characters, conflict and resolution. Invite the students to share stories using hand or finger puppets.
Have the preschoolers sit together on the floor with their eyes closed. Everyone sings the song, "There's a Bug in the Rug." While singing, the teacher chooses a student and covers that student with a blanket. After the song, the students open their eyes and take turns guessing who the bug is or which student is missing.
Utilize calendar activities during large group time. Students learn many concepts during calendar time like numbers, months and days, weather and special events. Children learn to sequence the months of the year through calendar songs and visuals. Introduce special days of the year to students like classmates' birthdays, holidays, seasonal changes and field trip dates. Encourage children to participate by using manipulatives at the calendar.
Show and tell time teaches beginner presentation skills and socialization. Ask each student to bring an object or information to share with the group. Other students learn to pay attention to the speaker and the proper time to ask questions. The students can also learn to say positive things about the presentation.