When three-year olds enter preschool, this is often the first time they are setting foot into a classroom. Setting expectations early-on is essential to a successful school year.
One thing that worked well in my preschool classroom is a check in station for attendance. When my students arrived in the morning they were expected to find their name on the chart and flip over their card. Initially, I wrote their names each in a different color. This helped them recognize their name a little easier. Once the year progressed and they learned to recognize their name, I wrote the names all in the same color for a challenge. Then, the students had to look more closely at the letters and not just the color. You could also use popsicle sticks with the student's names written on them.
Assigning classroom jobs gives the students a sense of ownership with their classroom. Some options for jobs may include:
- setting up for snack
- line leader
- caboose (goes last in line)
- paper passer
- pledge leader
- attendance attendant (makes sure everyone has checked in on the attendance chart)
Jobs can be rotated on a weekly basis, giving the student several opportunities to learn his or her job. Teaching responsibility is the key when assigning these jobs. Set it up so that the students come in at the beginning of the week and each has to check the job chart and learn if they have an assigned job.
One classroom skill that preschoolers may struggle with is walking in a line. The sooner you press the issue, the easier the process will become. When standing in the front of our line, I would say to my students "One, two, three.....eyes on me." They would respond "One, two.....eyes on you." The goal was to get them all looking forward at me while in line. When I took over my preschool classroom, the previous teachers had line leaders who chose which line to do that day. It could be a doggy line, race care, or anything else the child chose. I did away with that practice to my older students, because once they enter Kindergarten, students need to learn how to walk in a straight, quiet line.