Describe to your students a certain object and have them create that object, based on your description, out of Play-Doh, clay, strips of paper, finger painting or as a drawing. Ask your students to become a human "claw machine" by picking up certain objects with a clothespin or a pair of tongs. Challenge your students to games on the blackboard, such as simple crossword puzzles or matching games. All of these activities improve fine motor skills in preschoolers.
Play a ball game with students, allow your students to experiment with hula hoops, have a "wheelbarrow" race, host a miniature "Olympics" using playground equipment or play "Simon Says." Challenge your students to a game of charades, to portray an animal through actions or have them mime a scene from a recently read book. Create an outdoor mural on an old bed sheet or sheet of plastic. All of these activities improve gross motor skills in preschoolers.
Have your students listen to a piece of classical music and visualize a story to fit the music. Use songs that you create, or that have been created by other teachers, to go along with your lessons. Read aloud to students. Watch a musical movie in class. Play the kitchen timer game by hiding a ticking kitchen timer somewhere in the classroom and challenging students to locate it by the sound. All of these games improve auditory perception, which will help students with language and listening skills.
Ask your students to create a collage or mosaic using different colors of construction paper shapes. Create color themed art projects, build with colored building blocks, draw maps of the classroom or of the school, or complete dot-to-dot puzzles. Play "find the color" by challenging your students to find items of a certain color around the classroom. Play memory card games. Go on a nature walk and have your student take rubbings or collect leaves to make a nature collage. All of these activities increase visual perception and allow students to more easily identify shapes, colors and lines.
Play counting games, board games that include dice or dominoes, or timed games. Ask students to guess the weight or volume of an object and then measure that object, declaring the student who guesses closest to be the winner. Students could also guess the number of marbles in a jar. Give students a container filled with objects such as Lego's, marbles or crayons and ask the students to evenly divide the objects among themselves. All of these activities help preschoolers better understand fundamental mathematical concepts.
Challenge your students to rhyming games, tongue twisters and word games, or have them sing along to preschool songs or musical movies. Sing alternating songs such as "Row, row, row your boat" by assigning each half of the classroom to a different verse. Plan and execute a treasure hunt that requires students to decipher simple riddles in order to find clues. All of these games improve students' written and spoken linguistic skills.