VPK Teaching Ideas & Classroom Inspiration

Here in Florida, we don't always see the traditional signs of fall, but there's nothing quite like that first cool breeze in the air! While we might not have forests full of colorful autumn leaves right outside our classroom, that doesn't mean we can't explore all the changes that come with the season. Through art, science, math, literacy, and lots of hands-on play, we learn about what happens to trees as the seasons change, why leaves turn different colors, and what makes

Pumpkin week gives us so many ways to build real learning into play. Once we finish our pumpkin investigations and science experiments, there are still plenty of ways to bring pumpkins into the classroom through art, math, literacy, fine-motor work, and family engagement. These pumpkin activities for preschool are simple, hands-on, and easy to work into centers, small groups, morning work, or whole-group lessons. I like activities that give children a chance to make choice

Pumpkin week gives us so many opportunities for real science in preschool. Instead of only talking about pumpkins or completing themed worksheets, we get to touch them, open them, make predictions, test ideas, observe changes, and even watch new plants begin to grow. These pumpkin science activities for preschool give children hands-on ways to practice observation, prediction, comparison, vocabulary, and early scientific thinking. Best of all, most of the activities use

Fire Safety Week is one of those themes that preschoolers are already excited about before we even get started. Fire trucks, firefighters, sirens, hoses...you really don’t have to work very hard to get their attention! But there’s also a lot that I want my kids to actually learn during this week. We talk about what firefighters do, what to do if there’s a fire, why we practice fire drills, how to stay low under smoke, and why we NEVER hide from a firefighter. I want them t

Engaging Activities for Young Learners Some themes just work really well in Pre-K, and the five senses is one of them! There is so much you can do with it that feels natural for four- and five-year-olds. They are already using their senses all day long. They touch things, notice sounds, comment on smells, look closely at everything around them, and of course, have plenty of opinions about what they do and do not want to taste. This week, we spent time learning more about each

Preschool classroom management looks a little different than it does in older grades, mostly because four- and five-year-olds are still learning how to function as part of a group while also developing the self-control, attention, and independence those classroom routines require. A child may be able to tell you the classroom rule, and they may even be quick to remind another child what they are supposed to do, but knowing an expectation and being able to follow it consistent

Bring your preschool apple theme to life with hands-on math, literacy, science, art, and fine motor activities, plus ideas for creating an Apple Orchard dramatic play center with your little learners.

At the beginning of every school year, there are moments when I look around and wonder how we're ever going to get from this to the independent classroom I remember from the end of last year. And then, little by little, it happens.

The Home Living center has always been one of my favorite areas of a Pre-K classroom. Give four-year-olds a baby doll, a pretend phone, and a few dishes, and somehow you have an entire family with three children, a dog, dinner burning on the stove, and somebody who is apparently late for work. But there is a lot more happening in all of that pretend play than it might look like from across the classroom. A thoughtfully set-up Home Living center gives children opportunit

One thing I’ve learned in Pre-K is that telling a four-year-old to “calm down” usually isn’t very helpful. They’re still learning what their feelings are, why they’re having them and, probably the biggest piece, what they can actually do when those feelings become overwhelming. That’s why I wanted the calm down corner in my classroom to be more than a cute chair and a basket of fidgets. I wanted it to be a space where my students could begin learning the skills they nee

The first week of preschool can feel overwhelming! We're trying to comfort nervous children, reassure anxious parents, teach classroom routines, learn twenty new names, and somehow squeeze in meaningful learning, too. I've learned over the years that if I spend those first few days building relationships instead of rushing into academics, everything else goes more smoothly. The first week sets the tone for the entire school year, because when children feel safe, welcomed, an

If you've ever heard your director say, "CLASS is coming next week," you've probably felt your stomach drop just a little. You're definitely not alone! For many preschool and VPK teachers, CLASS observations can feel intimidating. Having someone you've never met spend time in your classroom while taking notes can make even experienced teachers second-guess themselves. Understanding CLASS Observations Here's the good news: CLASS isn't measuring how Pinterest-worthy your classr

One of my favorite ways to teach preschool literacy is to extend a great book into a meaningful hands-on activity. Children learn so much more when they have the opportunity to experience a story instead of simply listening to it. That was exactly our goal as we read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle and created our own collaborative art inspired by his illustrations. This preschool collaborative art project took several days to complete, and that was part of what made it so spe

Pastel Pre-K teacher binder workspace showing organization ideas for preschool teachers. There are a lot of things you can't control as a preschool teacher, like the fire drill that interrupts circle time, the child who suddenly decides today is the day they don't like paint, or the parent who remembers at pickup that they forgot to tell you something important. What you can control is how organized you are. I've learned over the years that having a well-organized teac

Walk into any preschool classroom and you'll probably see signs hanging above each center. Blocks. Art. Dramatic Play. Library. Writing. But have you ever stopped to think about what those signs are really telling families? Most of the time, they simply tell children where to play. I wanted mine to do a little more. As preschool teachers, we know that children aren't "just playing." They're building vocabulary in dramatic play. They're strengthening the muscles they'll

Some of my favorite pieces of artwork hanging around the classroom aren't the ones that every child takes home. They're the giant collaborative projects that we create together. At first glance, they look like fun bulletin boards full of bright colors and adorable artwork. But if you look a little closer, you'll see so much more. You'll see children making decisions, solving problems, practicing patience, sharing materials, encouraging one another, and taking pride in crea

If you've looked through my store, you've probably noticed that many of my resources mention alignment with the Florida VPK Standards. As a Florida VPK teacher, those standards guide my planning every single week, so it only makes sense that they also influence the resources I create. But here's something I think is important to say: standards are not meant to be a script. They aren't a list of worksheets children have to complete, or boxes teachers rush to check off. They