A Pre-K teacher must have a vast supply of appropriate books for children at this stage of their academic career. They should be exposed to a wide variety of reading materials. A reading center works well with these children. Baskets, plastic containers and some low-to-the-floor bookshelves give kids the opportunity to have constant access to various fiction and non-fiction materials. You will want to have a section for books that the teacher will read aloud. This aids children in learning to read. Include a rocker for yourself in the reading center. Garage sales are a great place to find these chairs.
A good Pre-K writing center will be well-supplied with pencils, pencil grips, colored art pencils and crayons. Be sure to have an ample supply of all writing instruments. Erasers are a must, so have several on hand. A large supply of wide-lined paper, tablets and notebooks should also be included. A wipe-off white board and erasable non-toxic markers work well for practicing writing letters and numbers. Some school supply stores stock small student-size boards for individual students.
These young children are just beginning to understand numbers and number concepts. Lots of hands-on materials will be needed to reinforce the concepts of counting, number sequencing, measuring and sorting. Teddy Bear counters or small plastic counters will be needed. These are easily stored in plastic buckets or boxes that help with organization.
Pre-K children need the interaction with other children and need to be exposed to different types of music. You will need a wide variety of CDs made for children, a portable CD player and maybe even a cassette player since many children's songs are on cassettes.
Flash cards are a versatile learning tool. Stock up on alphabet cards, number cards, color cards and you might want to purchase a set of blank cards to use to make your own. Many concepts can be taught through the use of flash cards.
Plastic crates, shoe boxes, tubs, laundry baskets and buckets with handles help organize all the materials you must have for teaching. A good source of these items is any dollar store. They will be inexpensive, colorful and durable.