Teaching preschoolers takes a lot of care and patience from the educator. It’s not always easy to keep them focused and participative knowing that these children could be easily distracted by almost anything trivial around them. It can be both a thrilling and chaotic experience, especially for first-time educators, but regardless, it sure is something you wont regret doing.
With plenty of practice and hands-on activities, any preschool educator can gradually adapt to the ever-changing mood and attention span of these children. The joy of seeing them improve and catch up to the lectures will be like no other. It will be entertaining and fulfilling at the same time, that’s for sure.
Table of Contents
What Can You Do To Keep Preschoolers Interested?
- Set some ground rules
- Use symbols and logos
- Matching sounds with objects
- Schedule lectures
- Employ positive reinforcements
- Add some outdoor activities
How to Help Establish Friendship Among Preschoolers?
What Can You Do To Keep Preschoolers Interested?
Keeping preschoolers’ attention is not an easy task. It’s very different from teaching older kids and teenagers. Preschoolers need more repetition and patience when being taught and they need constant stimulation to keep on the subject track.
The following are teaching strategies to keep preschoolers interested with the lectures and activities at hand:
Set some ground rules – before starting anything, you should set some ground rules within the classroom as an educator. Children have to think of you as someone in authority who’s there to teach them and help them. This doesn’t mean you have to be stern at all, you just have to remind them that there are things they can and cannot do while activities are ongoing. This way, preschoolers will learn about discipline and respect.
Use symbols and logos – far more than words, preschoolers associate with visual learning more. Labeling common objects and brands helps strengthen their cognitive skills. The process of translating symbols and logos into words help in the overall language development of these children. You can even take photos of certain sign posts around the neighborhood and use those for practice sessions. That way, when children see them while walking to school or going home, they’ll easily remember the lectures about it. Remember, the more that an information is repeated, the more likely it is retained in the brain. You can also add a layer of complexity by mixing colors into these practices to promote abstract thinking, too. For example, blue could signify calmness, while red could be anger or passion, while yellow could be sunshine and happiness.
Matching sounds with objects – auditory learning is another learning strategy educators could focus on. When targeting this specific learning approach, activities like matching certain sounds to which animal it belongs could be helpful. When learning the letters of the alphabet, word examples could also be presented. For example, when pronouncing the letter “F” over “P”, you can use the“feather” and “party” to distinguish the two. You can give an example for the first two comparisons, then allow the students to find objects to represent the letters themselves.
Schedule lectures – in order to keep their attention, switch from one lesson to another and don’t dwell on one topic too long. Scheduling lectures will help children anticipate what is to come and prepare themselves for the switch. This will help them be less anxious and distracted. You can start with a slow, warm up activity, then switch to a more active and engaging one. Once the hype is achieved, bring the energy down to a cool stop. That way, children will be accustomed to the build up and transitions of each lecture.
Employ positive reinforcements – you can’t expect everyone in your class to be well-behaved. That said, you have to adjust to children complaining of getting bored or easily distracted while sessions are ongoing. What you can do is employ positive reinforcement through praises and compliments to those children who are actively participating and obedient to the rules. This will set an example for other children to follow. Avoid giving out treats or other kinds of material things as a reward since this is proven to last only short-term and won’t be beneficial for these children in the long run.
Add some outdoor activities – some fresh air would be nice every now and then. Preschoolers need to engage with each other at play to learn about social cues as well. Having an open space or a garden for them to occupy and play at would be a nice experience for both the children and relieves the educators, too. Having outdoor activities also help encourage children to use their five senses when interacting with each other and then set-up around them. You can actually observe a lot from them through these sessions.
How to Help Establish Friendship Among Preschoolers?
Constant interaction will help children grow fond of each other. It is important that during the first meeting, everyone shall be reinforced with mutual respect and understanding. It’s the same with preschoolers and educators, too. Yes, you can be friends with the children you teach to. In fact, it’s a good practice that allows a deeper and closer relationship between the both of you.
You have to be wary though, some children don’t warm up to anyone that easily, while there are others who get easily dependent. It is vital to pick up on these cues in order to know exactly how to approach these children and make their preschool time more enjoyable and knowledgeable. In cases of unfortunate troubles and fights between friends, immediate mediation and counseling should be done. Listening to both sides and offering rational solutions could just mend the relationship back.
