Learning In the Preschool Years
![]() Develop hand-eye coordination and refine small motor control Practice pencil grip & operating scissors correctly Mix colors and makes discoveries Develop creativity and artistic expression Through DRAMATIC play, children: Make decisions Explore role play Practice expressive language Problem solve: negotiation, compromise, sharing, & taking turns Use their imagination ![]() Develop large and small muscle control Improve hand-eye coordination Explore spatial relationships and compares sizes and shapes Plan and solve problems Practice working cooperatively with other children Experience balance, cause & effect, and gravity Learn math concepts such as symmetry, counting, length, & comparison Develop positional understanding (on, under, etc.) Through STORY-TIME and LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES, children: Take turns talking / listening Practice attentiveness and increasing attention span Talk in a group & share “news” that is meaningful to them The relationship between letters & words Differentiate between letters and numbers Begin to recognize letters and their sounds Learn literacy skills: how to handle a book, reading text from left to right, author information Enjoy quality children’s literature Sing songs with and without actions Learn rhyme and to recognize & count syllables Practice predicting the story-line Participate in filling in the words at the end of a repetitive verse in the text (thus, “reading along”) Learn to recognize their name and their friend’s names, practice writing name Develop an interest in learning to read and write on their own ![]() Build finger muscles needed for cutting & writing Name and sort colors & shapes Make patterns Practice counting & one to one correspondence Compare sizes (small, medium, large; longer, shorter) Explore objects through touch Use their senses to collect information about their world Develop fine motor coordination Other meaningful preschool activities: Making choices (books to look at, learning centers to play in, etc.) Large motor movement (running, bouncing balls, catch, sliding, tricycle pedaling, scooter board, animal movements, ribbon “dancing,” balance on a line/beam, jumping, hopping, rolling, somersault) Teacher directed and child-directed games: group games, make-up own games with peers Practicing manners at snack timeLearning self-care skills, self-regulation and self-control Recognize and verbalize emotions (sad, happy, anger, surprised, etc.) Follows rules Learn basic school expectations Cleaning up messes and putting toys away
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