Preschool Graduation Programming Ideas & Tips To Keep You (and your Preschoolers) Sane!

by Cheryl Hatch from Preschool Plan It

Preschool concerts and plays can either be fun and enriching or stressing and full of dread for your preschoolers - and for YOU! It all depends on your focus!  I am a firm believer that we should not "do" programs just because "the families love them".  

Don't get me wrong, I am all about group fun with the children so long as THEIR needs are our main focus and consideration when planning them and NOT to please families or "show off" our teaching abilities to get 24 children to comply with a program!  ;)

If you are considering a concert or a play as your end of the year program, I have a lot of information to help you plan!

1.  Keep Your Focus!

When planning any type of program for your preschoolers, look at each group individually.  

Click here for 5 Success Tips for keeping proper focus when planning!

2.  The "Wiggles": They HAPPEN!

You can COUNT on your children getting the wiggles during their program!  

Be prepared!  Let's plan for them!  

Have a list of activities, songs and music/movement ideas to break up your program!

Click here for information on how to deal with the wiggles!

3.  Musical Concert Ideas

Looking for concert ideas for your program?  You need not look further than your preschoolers' favorite songs from the year!  

Encourage them to list their favorite songs from the year and sing those!

We've had a "Preschool Movin' and Groovin' " themed end of the year concert that highlighted some of our favorite Greg & Steve and Dr. Jean songs.

We've also had a "Farmyard Fun" themed concert where the children sang their favorite animal songs and, of course, Greg & Steve's Chicken Dance medley!

I have details of these and other concert ideas here!

4.  Act It Out Play Ideas

We've had many years where the children acted out their favorite stories!  How about a "Preschool is Hoppin' " program where the children act out stories you read during the program such as Jump, Frog, Jump by Robert Kalan and It's Mine by Leo Lionni? 

You can find more details to these and other act it out play ideas here!

I hope these articles help you to plan a program that will be fun for the children, families and you!

About the author

Cheryl Hatch has taught and directed preschool programs for over 20 years.  She is the Creator and Owner of Preschool Plan It, a website dedicated to sharing preschool themes, activities, articles and training with early childhood educators.  She volunteers as the coordinator and teacher of the MOPPETS program in her town (a preschool program for the M.O.P.S.--Mothers of Preschoolers Program).  She has her undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education.  Cheryl has been an active, integral member and leader within the Teachers.Net Early Childhood community for many years, moderating live chats and providing peer support on the Preschool Teachers Chatboard.  You can read Cheryl’s articles, activities and themed preschool lesson plans at www.preschool-plan-it.com 

Stop Telling Preschoolers to "Share" and "Take Turns"

by Cheryl Hatch
Preschool Plan It

"Take Turns! Share!" Words we use every day.

A few months ago, I shared information about challenging preschool behavior and how we, as teachers can approach it.  But what about every day preschool behaviors?  

They feel pretty challenging even if they ARE developmentally appropriate, for sure! 

And we need to remember that it is our role, as the adult in the room, to help guide our children through the situations they face in the classroom each day--no prevent it or punish for it.

Sure, we certainly should know what triggers children to react negatively and do our best to provide an environment that does not create negative behavior.

We can provide multiples of popular toys and materials.  We can provide a space in the classroom to build that super high block structure that is not in the middle of the room and, therefore, in the major path of traffic.  There are many other areas we can observe, assess and do.  

Today, though, I want to make a suggestion about something you should STOP doing.

Stop using words like "Take Turns" or "We share the toys in school" and start showing them what that actually means!

We tend to think they know what it means to share or take turns, mostly because we or their parents have said it day in and day out!

But really, have we ever taken the time to really explain and show what those words mean?  Have we taken the time to think about what those words mean versus how we apply them to children?

What we sometimes have shown them is that sharing means relinquishing what they have to another child and that a person's turn is over when an adult says so, not because a person is done using an item.

I mean, let's face it, if you have 12 cars in front of you, you can share with me.
If you have 1 car in front of you, short of cutting it in half, you can't share it!

And, if you have the one car I want to use, we can take turns.  

However, what does that mean?  Usually the teacher sets a timer for 5 minutes and tells you that when the timer goes off, it's my turn.

But what if you are having that car go up that crazy, awesome block ramp you just built and it has to drive through the (imaginary) snow and mud to get to the top.  Now....you must decide......will it go down the ramp or will it use it's transformer wings to fly out of the snowstorm?  

Right when you are decided the fate of this car, the timer goes off and you are told that it's MY turn to use it.  BUT--YOU WEREN'T DONE USING IT YET!   

I used the timer method for a long time until I realized that it's not up to me to decide when or how long a child's turn is.  It is up to the person using the item!

Real life comparison:  

Let's say another adult in your home is using the one laptop in the house.  They are sending an email or writing a paper.  If you ask them if you can use the laptop (aka: have a turn) when they are done, what happens?  

Most likely they respond with "Sure!", they finish their email or paper and let you know when they are done, right?

Would you ever set a timer for 5 minutes and, when the timer goes off, go over to that person, take the laptop out of their hands and say "Timer went off--my turn."?

Of course not!! The person who is using the laptop knows when they are done.

It should be the same for children.  

You:  Playing happily with potential flying car in the block area.

Me:   I want to use that car.

You:  But I'm using it right now.

Me:  But you've had it for a gazillion minutes.  MISS TEACHER!  She won't let me use the car!!!!

Teacher:  You need to share (or you need to take turns)!

You:  Well, it's my turn right now!

Me:  But I want a turn!!

Teacher:  We'll set the timer for 5 minutes and then it will be Cheryl's turn.

This is the typical approach.

Instead, it is my belief that we need to let the child decide when their turn is over.  It might be in 5 minutes, it might be at clean up time.  If that happens, you can always put a note on the toy or item that says "Cheryl's turn is tomorrow" and let me use it first tomorrow.

We need to approach every challenge as an opportunity to teach problem solving skills, including what sharing really means.  And what taking turns really means.

Children can not learn to negotiate problems if they are not allowed to have them.  

Some Resources To Provide Tips and Techniques

I have an article on the website about Behavior Guidance for other behavioral challenges we see day to day in the classroom.  It helps go over 4 steps to take to help decide HOW to approach different behaviors.

Click here to read the 4 Steps to Behavior Guidance in Preschool.

And if you missed my previous article on Challenging Preschool Behaviors, you will find that here.

About the author

Cheryl Hatch has taught and directed preschool programs for over 20 years.  She is the Creator and Owner of Preschool Plan It, a website dedicated to sharing preschool themes, activities, articles and training with early childhood educators.  She volunteers as the coordinator and teacher of the MOPPETS program in her town (a preschool program for the M.O.P.S.--Mothers of Preschoolers Program).  She has her undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education.  Cheryl has been an active, integral member and leader within the Teachers.Net Early Childhood community for many years, moderating live chats and providing peer support on the Preschool Teachers Chatboard.  You can read Cheryl’s articles, activities and themed preschool lesson plans at www.preschool-plan-it.com 

Circle Time: The Best Time of Your Day or the Bain of Your Existence?!

"You is okay, Miss Cheryl.  You can play!"

Circle Time is one of my favorite times of the morning.  

I love hearing about the children’s adventures since we last saw each other (even if that was just yesterday!).

I love sharing new ideas and new materials.  

Sometimes I even have my blood pressure checked by a resident doctor! It’s an exciting time in preschool!

However, it was not always like that!  

Circle Time used to be the bain of MY existence.  

Figuring out how to get 16-24 children to focus on what I was saying was akin to herding kittens!

Circle Time is a common part of the preschool day and a traditional time spot in most preschool schedules.  It is meant to be a time of coming together as a group, or preschool family if you will, where learning and bonding happen. 

Unfortunately, with the pressures of trying to “get it all in” before kindergarten, many preschool programs have “morphed” preschool circle time into a version of the Kindergarten Morning Meeting with one ingredient missing:  Kindergarteners!  

In efforts to properly prepare preschoolers for Kindergarten, the expectations of preschoolers has been adapted to kindergarten expectations, but preschoolers are still preschoolers—not kindergarteners.

Unfortunately, for children it can be a time filled with boredom and frustration leading to disruptive behavior.  

This results in more frustration (for all involved) as they are corrected for sitting in the wrong spot, not looking where they should or not remembering and/or recalling what was just taught or discussed.

For teachers, it can be a frustrating and seemingly futile undertaking as stories are endlessly interrupted, multiple potty breaks are needed and, it seems, most of the time is spent redirecting children’s focus or rearranging carpet mats or squares.

Many early childhood teachers are instructed in college about all the wonderful opportunities we have to prepare children for Kindergarten through our preschool Circle Time. 

They are taught to take advantage of this window of opportunity each day where we have the children’s undivided attention as a group and use this time to teach the concepts they’ll need to know such as:

• Calendar (including ordinal counting, “yesterday/today/tomorrow”, days of the week and months of the year)
• Weather (including dressing the weather bear and therefore learning about seasons and dressing properly for each)
• Letter recognition (letter of the week)
• Number recognition (number of the week)
• Shape & Color recognition (yup-with shape and/or color of the week)
• Attention span/focus through reading a story

What they don’t teach is what to do when preschoolers act like….I don’t know…….preschoolers.

Many early childhood college classes focus so much on “preparing our children for kindergarten” that we begin treating them like kindergarteners and imposing kindergarten level expectations on their preschool levels of understanding and ability.

My mantra has become loud and clear:

We all need to remember that preparing preschoolers for Kindergarten involves giving them meaningful experiences withe time to explore, question and interact with the tools, materials and environment they are in now.  And that includes Circle Time!

Yes, they will have Morning Meeting in Kindergarten where they will be expected to sit in a large group and:

• Respect their own space and that of others
• Not poke the friend next to them
• Listen to a 15 minute story
• Focus on the person talking
• Participate in Calendar, weather, and learning letters, spelling, numbers, addition and more.

This does not mean placing the expectations of mastering these skills on them now.  These areas take time to develop.  

In many preschool classrooms I have observed this type of Circle Time happening and it lasts 30-40 minutes! That is not learning.  That is conforming.  And frustrating.  And ineffective.  And, yes, it is like herding kittens.

Let's face it, we are spending most of that time trying to control their focus--which was lost about 18 minutes ago! 

Having effective and successful Circle Times happen by planning the activities that will be presentied in the same way as any other Interest Learning Center activity in the classroom is planned:  

Intentionally and with the abilities of the individual children in the classroom in mind.

Let's consider Tanagrams for a moment.  

The first time we introduce them, it might be at the Math or the Manipulatives/Game Center (or even at Circle Time).

We don’t expect the children to begin creating patterns & shapes and understand parts and wholes immediately after removing the tanagrams from the box.

We give the children time to explore the materials in ways that make sense to them: touching, stacking, sorting, spreading them across the table, etc.  

Once they have more experience with them, we introduce the pattern or shape cards.

It’s the same with Circle Time.  We should not start preschool with the expectation that they have the skills and experience to meet the end goals as listed above (focusing on a 15 minutes story, taking turns speaking, etc.).  We need to give them visual reminders, time, and hands-on ways to learn these things and continually do this throughout the year. 

For Storytime we can find ways to make the story intereactive.  We can provide story related props for the children to use and hold during the story, flannel pieces to add to the flannel board throughout the story or opportunities to act out the story as we read it.

To teach children how to focus on the person talking and take turns talking, we can provide a visual reminder such as a Conversation Rules Poster (click here for a free download of the poster)

Click Here To Download a Free Copy of This Poster!

We can also plan activities where they can practice this in shorter time periods rather than expecting the group to sit through loooonnnnng coversations and stay focused!  For example, ask a question (such as their favorite color, favorite character from the story you just read, etc.) and then roll a ball to one child to answer the question.  That child then rolls the ball to another child and he/she answers the questions.

When a child starts telling you their favorite color or character, now is when we can remind them about taking turns:  "Cheryl, it sounds like you want a turn answering the question!  Right now Billy has the ball so it is his turn.  One moment, your turn is coming!"

Getting Back to Circle Time!

Let’s get back to what preschool Circle Time was meant to be: A time to share experiences.  A time to connect and bond as a group and as a classroom community. 

Here are the Top 6 Do's for Circle Time:

1.       Time:  Do not make group time longer than preschoolers can handle! 

2.       Balance:  Provide a balance of active and passive activities throughout group time.

3.    Flexibility: Ditch the activity when you see you are “losing” them. 

4.    Intentionality: Treat Circle Time as an Interest Learning Center!  Know your goals for group time each day.  Plan for it as you would any other area of your weekly planning with hands-on,  developmentally appropriate activities and expectations.

5.   Preparedness: Have a plan! Be prepared!  Many times I see teachers gathering the supplies or book or items they’ll need for Circle Time after they’ve gathered the children.  Having them sit there for 5 minutes while you get ready……well, you’ve already lost them.

6.     BE:  Show up for Circle Time!  Be sure YOUR mind is focused on the children and not on the next activity, or tonight’s staff meeting, or chatting with a co-worker about the weekend plans.  The children will know if you want to be there…..and if you aren’t focused and excited about this group time, why would they be?

I’ve written a couple of articles about Circle Time that give more information that you might be interested in:

Click here for the 6 Dos and Don’ts of CircleTime.  

Click here to read aboutsetting up your Circle Time as an Interest Learning Center!

About the author

Cheryl Hatch has taught and directed preschool programs for over 20 years.  She is the Creator and Owner of Preschool Plan It, a website dedicated to sharing preschool themes, activities, articles and training with early childhood educators.  She volunteers as the coordinator and teacher of the MOPPETS program in her town (a preschool program for the M.O.P.S.--Mothers of Preschoolers Program).  She has her undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education.  Cheryl has been an active, integral member and leader within the Teachers.Net Early Childhood community for many years, moderating live chats and providing peer support on the Preschool Teachers Chatboard.  You can read Cheryl’s articles, activities and themed preschool lesson plans at www.preschool-plan-it.com