Start the day with various songs that contain hand motions. Place big books on an easel with the lyrics to let children follow along with the words. Use a pointer to point out the words to the song. A good song to teach children is called "Days of the Week" and is sung to the theme from the Addams Family television show. Have the children form a circle on the carpet at the front of the room with their legs crossed. Start off the song by snapping your fingers and singing "days of the week". Have the children then accompany you through each day, "there's Sunday and there's Monday, there's Tuesday and there's Wednesday, there's Thursday and there's Friday and then there's Saturday, days of the week," snap snap. This song can be sung through a few times to help the children learn the days of the week.
There are also other songs such as Itsy Bitsy Spider, with accompanying hand motions, that children can sing. Part of preschool training includes children acting out different songs with the use of hand motions, clapping, and snapping of fingers.
Present to the class the story of the day. Show children the cover of the book and read the title, as well as the author and illustrator information. This lets children become familiar with literature. Hold the book so all can see the illustrations while you read the story with expression. To keep children engaged use "voices" that bring the different characters in the story to life. This keeps preschoolers interested and engaged throughout the entire story. At the end of the story, turn the book over and show the children the summarization on the back of the cover so they can become familiar with story summary.
Guide the children as they construct hand puppets. Read them a story on animals such as "The Three Little Pigs," and then discuss the times they have seen a pig, either at a farm or zoo. Ask them to color pages with pigs and cut out a pig's head and mouth which they will each glue onto a brown paper bag. This activity is tailored for four-year-old children, as they will need to be able to use scissors and glue sticks. Assist students with cutting and gluing of animal shapes, and give them time later to play with their hand puppets. This activity teaches children about different animals and lets them practice motor skills and how to follow directions.
Rotate children through centers every day to encourage cooperative learning. These areas or "stations" let children play while learning for 20 minutes at a time. Set up various centers or stations in the room such as: a playhouse with costumes, a writing center, library with headphones, plastic magnetic letters on a dry erase board, sandbox, watercolor painting, etc. Assign four children at a time to centers for a 20-minute session for interactive educational play. After time is up, hold up a chime to signal that it is time to switch centers, and have the children move in a clockwise position to the next center.