Happy Fall! By now, you may be four to eight weeks into your back-to-school routine. How are things going? If you feel like things are chaotic or not quite right, just know that you are not alone! Sometimes this feeling can come from the actual structure and set up of a classroom.  This can sometimes be hard to adjust because you put so much thought and work into the initial set up. When I taught in different classrooms, I remember trying to prepare as much as possible but every year I ended up tweaking things.  This happened especially when I taught Pre-K 3 because most kids coming in had never been in any type of structured setting and it just felt wild until we figured out the right routine and set up.  Check out this amazing Pre-K 3 inclusive classroom by one of the teachers in my county!

Visuals & Schedules!

How incredible are those visual daily schedules? Yes, this teacher uses them for each of her students and YES, she teaches them from day one! These kiddos are three years old, and some have never been in any type of setting. Not everyone is potty trained and there is a max of 20 kids at a time, so organization and structure are crucial!  You might even notice that some of the schedules are objects vs only pictures.  If you’re thinking, how do I know day one who needs which, well you may not until you see kids in action.  Even if you have some information prior, (such as if they came from Infants & Toddlers) kids can still need different supports in a classroom. Either way, having something available from day one and using a whole class approach when teaching them can be helpful (if you’re limited on extra adult hands).

I love all the objects this teacher chose for this object schedule because they all mean something specific to her classroom.  She uses a straw from the juice boxes, little book cover for library, a car & magnate for centers, and a piece of fabric for circle time.  Think about the objects that mean something to your classroom!  If you need some more examples of using schedules and pre-made pieces check out these links! You can also search “schedules” on the blog site and there are so many amazing posts for all different grade levels!
Real Photo Schedules
Color Coded Schedules
Preschool Schedules

Circle & Centers

Below are some more pictures of different centers and circle time ideas! The overall theme is visuals!  Once you get set up and a good flow take pictures of which toys go where and don’t feel like you must have 100 blocks out in the beginning. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having smaller amounts of toys until you get a routine down and model HOW to play with toys.  While all play is ok, throwing and dumping toys is not and that’s what I’m referring to here.  We tend to assume kids know what to do with toys and how to clean up but that’s not always the case! Happy routines!