By the time they leave Pre-K, some students will have already learned to read simple words; others will still be working on recognizing the letters of the alphabet. Teachers can address this disparity by arranging classroom groups. Instruct one reading group to work on sounding out words, while another group recites and identifies the letters of the alphabet. By varying the daily activities for these groups, the students will not understand that they have been grouped by abilities. Other reading activities include learning rhyming words, identifying the first sound of words that start with the same letter, and understanding the parts of a story from beginning to end. Read with your Pre-K students every day to help them understand the value of reading and also to give them exposure to the act of reading on a regular basis.
Math skills begin long before children learn to add and subtract. Provide a sorting activity in which children can take objects with different shapes and sizes on a table and put them into separate containers based on common attributes. Another way to do this is to sort people; the teacher can call out a phrase such as "I like to dance," and let the children run to a separate corner of the classroom if this statement applies to them. Cook up some fun in the kitchen to teach more math skills. Have children measure ingredients and combine them to learn important mathematical skills. Help children learn comparing, contrasting, and sorting skills by using simple charts comparing the number of students with brown hair, blonde hair and red hair, or any other attribute.
Encourage students to get their hands dirty in Pre-K by pouring shaving cream all over a table and letting them "finger paint" in the cream by making shapes with their fingertips. As a bonus, this should also help remove any stray crayon or marker marks on the table. Covering a table with a vinyl tablecloth or a garbage bag first, and add two primary colors of paint to the shaving cream. As children mix the paints, they will learn about color blending in addition to exploring their creative skills. Children at this age should also learn about drawing straight lines, cutting and pasting in order to prepare for kindergarten; there are plenty of art projects that allow them to do this, such as making collages or tracing patterns.