One idea that children learn early is that of opposites. Most children will understand opposites, but these games will help them get an even stronger grasp on the world of opposites. Bring a basket of clean laundry to your classroom. Let the children sort the laundry by size. There should be a big and small basket. This can also be done using objects from your classroom, such as spoons and plates. You can also play games that teach about up and down. Play music and pause the game periodically. When the music pauses, the kids should shout "down!" and sit on the ground as fast as possible. Once the music plays again, they should stand and shout "up!" You can also play this by asking them about things that are "up," such as the ceiling, and "down," such as the floor. Example: "Is the sky up or down?" Teach your kids about any kind of important opposites using variations on these games.
Friendship is vital for children to learn. We don't live alone in the world, and we must understand how to get along with others. Play some positive and uplifting music for your children. Tell them to move any way they like and when the music stops to hug a friend. They should always hug a new friend when the music stops again. Building a tower as a group encourages teamwork. Each student adds one block a turn. The tower can be fixed between turns. If the tower falls, everyone should give somebody a hug and they can restart the tower. Another good game for teaching friendship and
cooperation is a simple variation on musical chairs. Set chairs in a circle. Make sure there are fewer chairs than there are students. The students circle the chairs to the music and sit when it stops. However, students must share chairs with others. Keep removing a chair until there are two students to each chair.
Preschool students should also start learning the basics of the alphabet and math. Alphabet games include the balloon game. Show your students a balloon and ask them what letter begins the word. If they don't know, tell them. Write it on the board. Give them all magazines and tell them to find objects that begin with B. They should cut them out and paste them to a board. A simple math game involves adding up building blocks. Give each student a bucket with blocks. They must pick 10 blocks out of the bucket. They then use these blocks to build a shape. They can then take nine out of the bucket and so on until they pick out one block. Once they've finished with their building, count the blocks used. There should be 55 for each student. Praise all your students at the end of any game.