Preschoolers should know that a typical day of elementary school is filled with various school subjects. So, you can present a number of concepts to the children and help them figure out which subject the concepts belong to. For instance, if you've been teaching numbers and counting, explain to your students that this is a part of the mathematics training they'll receive in elementary school; if there's a reading center in the classroom, make sure your students know this is part of language arts. To focus on each of the subjects that will be taught in elementary school in a fun way, create a beach ball or die with all school subjects written on it (i.e. English, science, math, physical education). Play a song and let the children pass the ball or die around the room. When the music stops, check to see which subject is facing the student holding the item, and present a lesson plan on the subject.
If your preschooler will be entering elementary school in the coming months, you can prepare him for this transition by having a school supply race. Explain that he will likely need to bring more items to school than preschool, such as pencils, folders and notebooks. Buy a backpack in his favorite color, and lay some school-related items -- as well as some that don't belong in school, such as toys or pajamas -- on the table. Set a timer, and see how fast your little one can fill the backpack only with things he'll need for school. After time is up, take the items from the backpack one by one and ask your little one what he will use the school supply for, such as pencils are for writing and rulers are for math class.
Give each student in your preschool class an opportunity to be the teacher for a few minutes during the day during the last month or two of preschool. Explain all the subjects they can expect to encounter in elementary school, and work with parents to come up with a "lesson plan" for each little one. Some preschoolers might choose to focus on one particular subject such as recess or music class, and some will be interested in mentioning a few subjects such as math and science during their time as teacher. Parents also can visit the class the day their child is teacher to bring items for the class that will help make a subject more interesting, such as candies or cooking for a counting lesson. This type of role playing will give you an idea of how prepared your students are to go to the next level of education and will indicate any concepts you might need to focus more on before preschool graduation.
When you start talking to your preschool about entering elementary school, she will likely share some of her expectations about making new friends, eating school lunch or helping the teacher. So, you can help her to create a picture book that details all the great things she's looking forward to. For instance, take a picture of the elementary school she'll be attending and make this the first page of the picture book. Then, take a picture of the clothes she has chosen to wear for her first day, and her backpack and school supplies. You can even take a few pictures of her counting or reading, to remind her of how she'll get better at these skills during elementary school. During the school year, add pictures to the book to show how the year has progressed, such as photographs of her new friends or an academic award she received.