Any teacher or homeschooling parent can attest that you can spend hours and hours and hours writing lesson plans. But, there is not always a need to spend so much time planning when with a few simple steps, taken in the right order, you can easily plan an entire year’s worth of preschool lesson plans in advance of the first day of school.
That’s right. I’m going to show you how to write up yearly lesson plans for preschool in a single afternoon. Be sure to grab all the FREE printable templates, too!
I used to be a hyper lesson planner. When I taught public school, I was that teacher who spent her summers lesson planning, and treated it like an 8-5 job. My first summer I wrote 5th grade science lesson plans, since my school didn’t have a curriculum, the following summer was spent lesson planning for writing instruction. Even when I was participating in a preschool co-op, my lesson plans were detailed, exact, and left not a minute to spare. I crammed as much in as I possibly could in a single day.
But those highly detailed daily lesson plans were not appropriate for preschoolers.
Preschool need time to absorb the information you give them. They need to experiment and discover with you. That you, the teacher, need to be facilitating and guiding instruction, not demanding specific products. They need to play alongside all the knowledge you’re trying to give them.
So, I’ve changed my way of planning.
But, why do I still plan an entire year at once, you ask?
Because I like having it done so that I can focus on the implementation, instead of stressing about what I will teach the following day. I like having all my ideas recorded in one place so that I don’t forget that one brilliant idea before I have a chance to teach it.
By planning in advance, I also already know what I plan to teach and therefore only have to gather materials and manipulatives.
What this means is that I get to spend more time with my family and less time planning for preschool. Keep reading, though, and you will see that having a preschool lesson plans laid out for a year does not mean I am scripting my teaching. There is still plenty of room for tweaking and change as my students’ needs demonstrate.
My system is straight-forward and easy to follow. Just a few steps and a few hours and you can also plan your lessons for an entire year!
Update: This post has received so much attention that I have written a follow-up series that describes each step in more detail. Please see the links at the end of this post.
Four Easy Steps to Preschool Lesson Planning
1.) Create a Calendar
The first step is to create a calendar of your year. Now that I have turned teaching preschool into an business, this is especially important as it helps me keep the parents informed. I use a balnk calendar specifically for preschol and start writing down important dates.
Things to consider including:
- when to begin school
- holiday breaks
- personal breaks or appointments
- holiday parties to celebrate as a preschool
- other possible interruptions (for me…it has been maternity leave)
I also include in this calendar a general scope and sequence for the year. (A scope and sequence is a list of skills to teach and the order you plan to teach them). I number each week that I am teaching and then label those weeks according to what I am teaching in reading and math. At the top of each month, I write down “monthly” focus concepts, like the theme, number of the month, and also the shape and color of the month. I also have that same information printed into a table, laying out each month’s focus concepts.
You can read more about creating a preschool calendar in this post
2.) Decide On How To Teach Reading and Math
I have written my own reading and math lesson plans. This came about out of necessity. I wanted a complete program that was affordable! When I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I started writing. They are now available for purchase.
You can purchase each component individually, or you can purchase them as a bundle for a discounted price! They can also be purchased from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.***
You, on the other hand, may be looking for something different.
There are basically two schools of thought when it comes to teaching reading in preschool. Letter of the week (phonics) approach or whole language.
Letter of the week is much like as it sounds. A new letter is introduced each week and much of the literacy instruction is centered on that letter names and sound. The whole language approach introduces letters to preschoolers more naturally and often times after a child has developed an interest in that specific letter, such as the letters in their name or the letters in their favorite cereal. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.
You can read more about teaching literacy in preschool in this post.
Most might think that math lessons in preschool are comprised mainly of counting, sorting, and patterns. This is inaccurate. A complete preschool math curriculum includes teaching in all five disciplines of math.
The five disciplines of math are
- number sense
- algebra
- geometry
- measurement
- data analysis
I spiral through each discipline focusing on one discipline each week but also offering some sort of counting activity every single day. So, that means that week one I focus on number sense skills, week two algebra skills, week three geometry, and so on. Then, we loop through those disciplines again. I teach the same concept for the entire week (both days of preschool), and we typically even do the exact same activities on the second day of preschool as the first.
I have found from experience that preschoolers enjoy the repeating activities on the second day of instruction (or even for a whole five days) as it allows them to experience more mastery. And this saves me a lot of time in my preschool math lesson planning, too.
You can read more about how I spiral the disciplines and write my math lesson plans in this post.
My preschool math lesson plans include several whole and small group activities, as well as two new centers each week.
Before I solidified preschool math lesson plans, I made a list of possible activities that would hit the target discipline, and when possible I kept them thematic. I broke down each discipline into skills, which I systematically teach throughout the year. You can find that in my scope and sequence, which you can grab by clicking the image below.
Once these activities have been introduced, I keep them available to use as math centers to support the direct math instruction.
You can read more about teaching math in preschool in this post.
3.) Decide On Preschool Themes
Now, some teachers and homeschooling parents prefer to plan themes only a month or few weeks in advance because they use the input and interest of their students to guide those thematic choices.
I don’t do this so much.
I select themes based on what is appropriate for the age, what I know will interest my students based on their age and developmental skills, and finally, what I am interested in. I believe this last point is as important as the second. The teacher must have a strong interest in the content as well as the students. I have found that the more enthusiastic I am about a theme the better I teach it. I use my own enthusiasm to get my students super excited about the topics and activities.
It is worth mentioning that not every theme is appropriate for every group of preschoolers, so you have to use your best judgment.
Read more about how I plan preschool themes in this post. And, grab some FREE printable templates, too!
4.) Create A List of Suggested Activities for Preschool Lessons
The final step is to develop a list of suggested activities based on the themes you have selected. I make a table listing the month and theme with a list of activities regarding that theme. Knowing that I typically have eight teaching days in a given month, I make a list of ten to twelve activities. They are simply suggestions I am making to myself, and can be changed or ignored.
Once the month is upon me, I pick and choose what activities I’ll teach based on how my students are responding to the theme. I rely heavily on Pinterest for inspiration, sometimes exactly copying pins and sometimes those pins spark something completely new, which I then share on my blog.
I try to keep the activities simple, yet still valuable to learning. You can see all my ideas here!
As you can see, these activities are relatively simple, nothing overly elaborate that requires extensive materials and planning, but they are still valuable experiences in the education of my preschool class.
You can get my FREE printable templates in this post, as well as lots of ideas for panning preschool themes.
Yearly Preschool Lesson Plans
I fibbed. There are actually five steps because the last step is a bonus! Want to know how to organize everything into a single binder?
5). Organizing your preschool lesson plans
Once you have your lesson plans in place, it’s sometimes hard to know the best way to organize them. You can see how I use just a binder in this post.
But now that I have lesson plans for purchase, I organize them this way.
Recap on How to Write Preschool Lesson Plans
Step 1: Create a Calendar
Step 2: Decide on How to Teach Reading and Math
Step 3: Decide on Themes
Step 4: Create a List of Suggested Activities
Step 5: Organizing Lesson Plans – BONUS!
Join our community!
I am Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home mama of five! I am the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught range of levels, including preschool and college, and a little bit of just about everything in between. Right now, my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction
Vanessa says
July 11, 2014 at 9:04 amHi there,
Would you be willing to share one of these completed pages? I’ve been wanting to do something like this and your concept looks great!
Sarah Punkoney says
July 11, 2014 at 9:29 amI originally wanted to add more photos, but they turned out so badly that I couldn’t use them. Let me see if I can take some better pictures and I’ll update the post.
Ichan Chanu says
January 30, 2018 at 7:11 amHi , can you please tell me something about how to make a lesson plan for one year . I don’t understand how to write .
Sarah Punkoney, MAT says
February 5, 2018 at 2:23 pmThanks for your interest. Email me at Sarah@stayathomeeducator.com and I can answer your specific questions.
Leslie Gothard says
May 17, 2017 at 8:26 amWhat program did you use to make the template for the yearly scope and sequence? Word? Do you sell or share an editable template
Sarah Punkoney says
May 18, 2017 at 8:54 amI do not sell it, but you can subscribe to get one for free!
Jessica says
July 11, 2014 at 1:25 pmThanks so much for sharing tips and pics of your planning process! I found it really helpful. I am heading back to JK next year and won’t have a curriculum I have to follow anymore (yay!) but it can be intimidating to create my own plans. I would love to see more of your plans!
~Jessica
Fun in PreK-1 & Kinder
Meg says
July 11, 2014 at 6:59 pmDo you mind sharing what reading curriculum you use?
Sarah Punkoney says
July 13, 2014 at 3:05 pmI based my reading curriculum off the Storytown, a commercial curriculum used in many elementary schools. My math curriculum I created based on my readings from the book Teaching Mathematics in Early Childhood.
Tabitha says
July 12, 2014 at 5:02 amThank you Sarah! This really helps me have a better understanding of how to plan!
Danielle says
July 12, 2014 at 7:43 amWould you mind sharing your plans for the year. I have been working on this for two years and it never seems to work out for me. I get so overwhelmed with creating the plans.
Sarah Punkoney says
July 13, 2014 at 3:06 pmStart with the steps on this post. You’ll be surprised at how far they will get you. I plan to do several follow-up posts that will lay-out my plans in more detail. Stay in touch!
Tanya Monaco says
July 14, 2014 at 10:01 amCould you post a blank Scope and Sequence grid? I love your set up! Thanks for all of the helpful info on this page 🙂
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 7:08 pmYes. I will be posting a follow-up post with all the mentioned documents available for download.
eileen says
July 14, 2014 at 10:02 amDoyou have copies of your lessons? Do you share the yearly plans? I teach preschool and I would love to read the plans to get more ideas for my classroom. Thank you
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 7:07 pmAs of right now, I do not sell or give out my actual lesson plans. But, I do share quite a bit right here on my blog. If you are a subscriber to my E-mails, you will stay updated.
onyeji ijeoma faith says
July 14, 2014 at 10:14 amplease how do I teach preschools 3 4
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 7:05 pmStay tuned to this fall on my blog. This fall I am only teaching a 3-4’s class, so most everything I post will be centered around that age group. The most important thing to remember when teaching 3-4’s is that they really do learn through playing, so only do short amounts of direct instruction. Also, let the children guide your pacing. There is no need to do activities quickly when so much learning taking place through the actual process, not always the product.
Lisa says
July 14, 2014 at 10:47 amThank you for the info. I love the idea of pre-planning. Like you said, it gives me more time for implementing the plans & less stress. Would you be willing to share the blank forms you use, to be printed?
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 7:03 pmYes. I plan of doing a follow-up post with all the forms I use. They will be available for download.
Christina says
July 14, 2014 at 11:13 amThank you for the post! My son is turning 4 and although I have been doing a lot of research on lesson plans (and lessons, and activities, etc), and have even played around with some, I just cannot get one to my liking!
As others have commented, I, too, hope to get some more information on the fine tuning of the yearly lesson plan.
Thanks again!
Carrie says
July 14, 2014 at 11:16 amDo you have a template I could download?
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 7:02 pmNot as of right now, but given the response to this post I plan on posting a follow-up with all the right templates and downloads.
Mary says
July 14, 2014 at 1:30 pmFor your 3-4’s, do you just teach math & reading? I look forward to future posts! -Thank you! I love how organized you are!
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 3:30 pmYes! I certainly do teach reading and math to my 3-4’s class.
kim says
July 14, 2014 at 4:13 pmhave you considered selling these? I would be interested – I constantly struggle with the “perfect” lesson plan and am really interested in the way you have set it up just slow to start…
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 7:01 pmI have considered writing an E-book or two, it’s just a matter of clearing away all the excuses we have for not beginning projects like that. There has been am amazing response to this post, so it looks like I need to just get working on something like that!
Mary says
July 14, 2014 at 9:48 pmI would buy your yearly plan! Even to have a skeletal plan to work with and fill in would be beneficial; no sense reinventing the wheel. Anyway, just an FYI should you consider making it available in the future.
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 9:50 pmThanks! I’m getting a lot of feedback about that. It just may be something in the works!
kim says
July 14, 2014 at 11:23 pmhope you do….thanks for the ideas and info
Sarah Punkoney says
July 15, 2014 at 8:20 amGlad to offer them. 🙂
Robin says
July 14, 2014 at 5:07 pmInformative, and helpful! Thank you! Have you considered selling your year lesson plan to Teacherspayteachers.com?
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 6:59 pmYou know, my husband is always encouraging me to do so, but I always worry there will not be enough interest to make it worthwhile. Given the response this post has had, I just might do it!
Jackie says
July 14, 2014 at 6:36 pmI have a problem – especially when it comes to Pinterest – of narrowing down to one or two activities. I also like to have things the students can take home so I usually demonstrate a table activity with manipulatives, etc. and a theme-related art or craft project each school day. The table activity remains for the week and sometimes longer. These are in addition to Circle Time activities such as songs, fingerplays, and stories that are also theme-related. I would probably include these activities in a column on the list stated in #4. I’ve been teaching for 15 years and have operated an in-home childcare. I am in the process of re-doing my files: out with the old, in with the new! Your tips will be very helpful. Thank you!
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 6:58 pmSounds like you’ve created a great in-home program! Well done. I’m glad you have found my tips helpful.
Tom Sullivan says
July 14, 2014 at 8:26 pmWow, this seems so scary to me, kids need to explore, experiment and be, I can’t keep up with a weeks plan, the 4 and 5 year olds always go their own direction. The most interesting thing was the “reading” curriculum based on “research based” KG curriculum yet your kids are not in KG why not teach them with a HS school reading program? We need to stop pushing the kids and let them figure out the important stuff first? And the research I see says best practice would to start reading at 8 years old
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 9:08 pmIt’s true that many European countries are moving to not teaching formal reading until around seven years of age, however this is not the case in the United States, where the demands of kindergarten have children reading by the second semester of school. As mentioned in the post, the reading portion of my program is a tweaked and heavily modified version of a research based reading curriculum (Storytown). I assure you it is highly appropriate for preschoolers as I have used it very successfully for several years to prepare my students for the demands of a much more rigorous and formalized reading instruction in kinder. I agree that children need to explore, experiment, manipulate and discover on their own and at their own pace (which is stated several times in the post), and which is why I offered this post as a way to plan for suggested activities. In no way do I suggest that my lesson plans are scripted and set in stone and immovable. Rather they are a scope of what skills and concepts I hope to cover for the year and I intentionally sequence those skills and concepts to that they build appropriately upon one another.
Laura Kraemer says
July 14, 2014 at 10:07 pmThank you so much for your valuable information. I can’t wait to see what is coming. Like everyone else, I’d love it if you would post a blank sequence form and maybe some of your math lesson plans. I’m a visual learner and would be best to see them.
thanks much from a teacher of preschool kids
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2014 at 10:12 pmWell, stay tuned! Due to interest and demand, more is coming!
Yiouli says
July 15, 2014 at 1:03 amHi!!!
Amazing job!!!
Im just starting out and would appreciate and need all the help i can get!
Anything and everything u would b willing to share is more than welcome!!!
Thanks again!
Sarah Punkoney says
July 15, 2014 at 8:19 amI’m so glad you have found it helpful. This is a system that has worked well for me and so it’s encouraging to hear such positive comments!
Crystal says
July 15, 2014 at 5:44 amI love this. I am great at creative ideas and changing things up, but the planning and sequence is something I struggle with. I would love to see a bare bones version of your concepts. A very helpful well written post.
Sarah Punkoney says
July 15, 2014 at 8:17 amAbsolutely! That post is today’s project during nap time. Many readers have asked for templates, so I am going to do a follow-up post.
Kiernan Smith says
July 15, 2014 at 5:48 amThanks for the article! I’ve been teaching 4 year old pre-k for 7 years. I plan very similar to you. I have to submit a year long syllabus so planning for the entire year is has become second nature. It also helps me keep organized. I have spent several summers including this one writing and re-writing lessons and scopes and sequences.
I would love to see more templates, what you posted here inspired me! I look forward to further posts!
Thanks again!
Sarah Punkoney says
July 15, 2014 at 8:16 amA year long syllabus is a great way to explain planning for the year! More will be coming, so hopefully you are subscribed so you don’t miss anything.
Greg Harvey says
July 15, 2014 at 6:07 amAt the risk of being shot down by your supporters may I ask why you feel the need to plan for a week, let alone a year? Of course there are times when planning experiences may be necessary, but usually the majority of learning for pre-schoolers should occur during natural and authentic play that comes from and follows their interests. Intentional teaching can build upon and extend that, but themes? What is the inspiration for a child to want to learn only about the colour brown, or focus on farms for the month, or concentrate on 4 for such a long time? While there will be learning taking place, it is far less and will not remain with the child as much as any learning that comes from something they are genuinely interested in.
The fact that so many people want to copy your plans frankly scares and distresses me. Children are not clones to be taught the same thing in the same way at the same time by the one teacher, let alone by several in various localities amidst a range of cultures (which refers to so much more than simply ethnic or religious backgrounds). You may well tick plenty of boxes that some colleagues may be in awe of, but many of those children you are ‘teaching’ will not fare as well as their counterparts who have had more flexibility in their learning environments.
Take a look at how Scandinavian countries are teaching young children. They are leading the world in school performances and their links to nature, more time spent outside, child led exploration, and lack of formal structure has much to do with that.
Sarah Punkoney says
July 15, 2014 at 9:36 amI appreciate such an honest response to this post, however I think that your misunderstood the spirit of the content. This post did not suggest to write detailed daily lesson plans with specific lessons and activities for every minute of each day (even though I admit in the post to having done that when I was a novice preschool teacher). It did not suggest that children are robots that need to be programmed. This post is about creating a general plan for the entire year so that you can free up time during the actual teaching year to focus on the quality of instruction. In educational terms it is called a scope and sequence. They are a scope of what skills and concepts I hope to cover for the year and I intentionally sequence those skills and concepts to that they build appropriately upon one another. Children do need to explore, experiment, manipulate and discover on their own and at their own pace (which is stated several times in the post), and which is why I offered this post as a way to plan for suggested activities. In no way do I suggest that my lesson plans are scripted and set in stone and immovable.
While the educational systems in Scandinavian countries excel comparatively, especially Sweden, and their methodologies have many benefits, so do other methods and philosophies. Just as we agree that children and their education are not to be manufactured and mass produced, what may work in one country and culture may not work in another. I have developed my preschool program based on my years of experience, my knowledge of early childhood development, and my knowledge of what local students need from me as their teacher. I am confident that my readers have requested templates and more detailed plans as a means to help them generate ideas of their own, as well as to gain information and guidance on how to implement an effective preschool education, whether they be professionals or parents. There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to be a good teacher for your children and asking for help or mentoring.
Greg Harvey says
July 16, 2014 at 7:17 amThanks for your response, but I feel you are mistaken. As crazy as it sounds I think you are the one who misunderstood the post. For although you speak of children learning at their own pace and the need for open exploration, your plan example speaks of the exact opposite as do the numerous pleas from your readers for copies of said plans. In addition, in response to an earlier comment you say your approach helps prepare kids for the rigorous and formalised instruction of kinder.
Now although I am not from the US I can categorically state that regardless of the school system your children will be entering our job is to cater for their needs in the here and now, not look to the future. Sure there are skills and knowledge that will stand them in good stead as they move forward in their life, but if we spend our time teaching for what is to come we are ignoring the here and now. In addition, if we in the Early Years cannot evoke change how can we expect the rest of society (with much less understanding of what is really important) to do so? Hence we will be stuck with the rigors of formalities and standardized schooling and testing which simply fails everyone.
You also state that collaboration and mentoring are valuable, which they are. However, I would argue that readers requesting exact copies or at least templates of your plans does not fall under either description. It could be classed as shortcutting, laziness or simply ticking boxes. What I wouldn’t call it is effective teaching of young children. I think your use of the term ‘instruction’ when referring to your style of teaching speaks for itself. We are collaborators, partners, mentors, facilitators, co-learners and occasionally instructors, but your use of the term projects the image that you are the holder of all knowledge and the children empty vessels.
I also suggested the Scandinavian countries as an example of best practice, not to be copied out of context. You are right that we cannot and should not try to transplant programs from elsewhere into our own situations, yet that is what you are advocating fro by promoting your plans as a ways for all and sundry to cure their planning blues.
You claim to know about child development, but if that is the case then how can you espouse the benefits of ‘scope and sequence’ in the Early Years? Children learn best when it comes from them, their interests and what is relevant to them. Following a timetable may present topics in an organised and easy to follow manner, but most of the time they will be more for the benefit of the adults (educators and parents) rather than the children themselves.
There are so many more questions that arise from this, but I feel as though I’ve said enough. Again, I’m sure many will read my words and think of me as a protagonist. Perhaps I am, but if that is what it takes to speak up for what is in children’s best interests than that is what I am (advocate sits more comfortably with me though).
Sarah Punkoney says
July 17, 2014 at 4:16 pmI appreciate your interest in this discussion. It is clear to me that you are a thoughtful and passionate child advocate. One of the many reasons for all the different educational methodologies and philosophies is because there is a tremendous amount of research that supports many aspects of those different educational methodologies and philosophies. It would be irresponsible to suggest that only one way of teaching is correct and successful. Thank you for your comments.
Melissa Bates says
July 15, 2014 at 9:28 amI thought I was the only crazy person to plan a year’s worth of lessons during the summer! I do mine much differently and more detailed but still walk in with the year done. It makes my life so much easier. I can focus on other things that wouldn’t get done if I had to plan lessons every week. Check out my blog to see how I do it. http://prekpandamonium.blogspot.com/
Sarah Punkoney says
July 15, 2014 at 9:43 amWell done! Like I state in the post, doing some planning for the entire year allows me more time with my family, and it allows me to focus on my quality of teaching. I enjoy teaching so much more when I don’t have to worry about what I need to be preparing for the next week. Thanks for adding your blog link.
MoxiesGroovyMom says
July 15, 2014 at 12:00 pmI just finished creating a 10 week plan for my 3 year old. I like your idea of building around themes. I’ll do that for the next 10 weeks.
Sarah Punkoney says
July 15, 2014 at 1:24 pmGood job on what you have so far. It is fairly easy to add themes to a basic reading and math outline.
Rhianna says
July 18, 2014 at 10:09 amI am a 3-4 year old teacher moving up to pre-kinder this year. I have been studying creative curriculum as we will be teaching this style this year. I think that having plans such as these help teachers be organized and allow to expose children to new experiences. While some things are left unplanned, like discovery centers (dramatic play, blocks, art, ect.) Children do thrive for structure, so it is beneficial to provide them structured teacher directed activities. Then there are the parents, that want their children to be prepared academically for school, which is often time the reason they choose to put their children in preschool. Like Sarah, I feel more comfortable planning the academic activities for the year in advance so that I have more time to focus on my students. We do take children’s interest into account, as teachers we must be flexible and notice when a thematic unit is no benefit to children to move on to the next. Also as Sarah stated, she’s been in the “biz” for a while and after a few years you learn what is pretty constant in children’s interest. Just because I have plans made up doesn’t mean I haven’t thrown them out the window a time or two due to a child asking a question and wanting to investigate. I think this is just part of the unwritten rules of being a preschool teacher.
Sarah Punkoney says
July 18, 2014 at 10:11 amThanks for such a kind comment!
Sharita says
July 18, 2014 at 11:09 amIn my opinion your ideas are just brilliant. THANKS!!!
The Natural Homeschool says
July 22, 2014 at 10:58 amThank you for linking up with The Natural Homeschool! 🙂 What a great post! So useful!
Tama says
July 28, 2014 at 1:00 pmWould you be interested in selling your lesson plan?
Sarah Punkoney says
July 29, 2014 at 7:24 amAs of right now, i do not sell my lesson plans, but if you subscribe to my blog you will get nearly all the activities I do with my preschool. If you’re interested in writing your own, follow up on this post under the preschool planning tab for a more in-depth idea of how I make my plans for the year.
Mrs.Momof6 says
February 11, 2015 at 7:58 amHi. I homeschool 4 older children, and have two preschoolers: 2 and almost 4. I was wondering if you had any tips on teaching those two preschoolers together, given their very different levels of learning?
Sarah Punkoney says
February 11, 2015 at 1:21 pmYes. You can see this post for one approach. https://stayathomeeducator.com/teaching-a-range-of-levels/
I have a little guy who is only 18 months, and I try to include him in preschool activities as much as possible. Anything that is truely play based is appropriate for all ages as long as there are no choking hazards. Sometimes I’ll put my 18 month old in his high chair to finger paint or play with a few special toys if I do have small pieces out with the rest of my preschoolers.
Lindsay says
March 6, 2015 at 5:10 pmI have planned my preschool similarly…but without an organized Math scope and sequence schedule. Your template is just what I was looking for and I’m delighted to have found it. Thank you! Since this post is from a year ago (and I’m new to your blog) I have to ask: Are you offering your yearly plan for purchase now? I would love to buy it and use it to tweak my own plans a bit. Thank you!
Sarah Punkoney says
March 7, 2015 at 3:35 pmUnfortunately, at this time I still am not selling them. It is still in my future plans, but I just can’t make it work at the moment.
dora says
March 29, 2015 at 8:53 pmI am very much interested in making planning as easy as possible. my planning is similar, but I like how you beeak up ea subject like math into different catergories.
Paula says
April 1, 2015 at 12:30 pmI see that you teach the same theme for the entire month. I had thought about this but wondered as a teacher would it get boring. Right now I teach weekly themes but I’m looking for different ideas. What do you like about monthly themes as opposed to weekly?
Sarah Punkoney says
April 1, 2015 at 1:28 pmI find weekly themes to be a lot of work, unless they fall under an umbrella theme that lasts an entire month. For example, while doing an autumn theme for the month, I might break it down into weekly topics such as changing leaves, going to seed, apples and pumpkins. Plus, I only teach preschool twice a week, not everyday. If I were to teach everyday I might not so monthly themes. At the end of the day, though, you really just have to follow what your preschooler(s) tell you. If they are getting bored, then it is time to move on. Or sometimes, if it looks as though my preschoolers are loosing interest, then I will incorporate more sensory and art.
Sarah Punkoney says
October 10, 2015 at 9:07 pmSomehow this just popped up, so I apologize for not responding sooner. Yes, I teach monthly themes. I don’t get bored, nor do the children. Just choose theses that are broad so you can narrow them by the week.
Katrina says
July 8, 2015 at 11:45 amAre your themed lesson plans part of the bundle also ? If not do you have those available?
Sarah Punkoney says
July 8, 2015 at 3:27 pmThey are next on the list to make. Until then, you’ll just have to search my blog.
kattie says
July 13, 2015 at 4:29 pmDo you have any math lesson bundles for sale by chance? thank you!
Sarah Punkoney says
July 14, 2015 at 6:39 pmI am working on putting the math lesson plans into a sellable format. I’m hoping to have them posted by the end of the summer.
Lindsay says
July 14, 2015 at 7:02 pmWoohoo! I can’t wait for your math lessons!
Susie says
July 16, 2015 at 5:06 pmWhat about that scope and sequence template? Is it available on TPT? I only saw bundles. All I need is the template. Thanks!
Sarah Punkoney says
July 16, 2015 at 6:49 pmAre you thinking of the literacy scope and sequence? It is available in the literacy bundle. At this time it is not offered separately.
Yolanda Davis says
July 18, 2015 at 1:38 pmHow do I get the preschool lesson plans written for a year
Sarah Punkoney says
July 20, 2015 at 9:19 amRight now only the literacy portion is available in full. They are available at my TpT store. I am currently working on putting my math lesson plans into a sellable format. Hopefully those will be available in only a few weeks. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Stay-At-Home-Educator
Jessie says
July 28, 2015 at 9:15 amThank you so much for your help! I have been trying to transition into more formal teaching with my daughter, she is 2 1/2 and has already learned a lot from just teaching her as our day goes on, but isn’t emotionally ready for being in a class with older kids where they teach what she needs to learn next. This has been super helpful for me in planning her lessons. Thanks again.
Sarah Punkoney says
July 29, 2015 at 11:05 amSo happy I could help!
Terri says
October 19, 2015 at 8:22 pmi understand the post, when you are doing the reading plan, the math plan, the theme plan, but how do you put all 3 together into 1 plan?
Sarah Punkoney says
October 19, 2015 at 8:36 pmI follow my reading curriculum by the week, then I just select the coordinating week in math and what every theme activity I feel is appropriate for my class at that time.
Ayush says
November 17, 2015 at 3:26 amHey. What about that scope and sequence template? Is it available on TPT? I only saw bundles. All I need is the template. Thanks and Regards, Ayush
Sarah Punkoney says
November 17, 2015 at 8:23 amThe scope and sequence template is only available in the lesson plans on Teachers Pay Teachers, however the post gives clear instructions on how to create on for yourself.
Collette says
August 23, 2016 at 4:22 pmI didn’t read through all the comments of finish the other posts, so maybe this has been answered. I purchased your math and literacy bundles a couple of weeks ago and am SO excited about using them! I noticed this photo:
https://stayathomeeducator.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Preschool-Math-Scope-and-Sequence-Stay-At-Home-Educator-750×1000.jpg
in the post above and wondered if there is a sheet like that to order or have so sort of coordinate all the pieces together? Does that even make sense? Just something like an overview…. I’ve already put the lessons all in a binder by week, but it would be nice to have some kind of “at a glance” form to look at.
Sarah Punkoney says
August 23, 2016 at 4:53 pmI still haven’t added the literacy scope and sequence as I should, but you can download it from the preview at this link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Preschool-Literacy-Lesson-Plans-Bundle-1849333 . (Click the green button). The math lesson plans also have a yearly scope and sequence that is available at the beginning of each unit.
Vinay says
September 18, 2016 at 2:41 amThanks Sarah, this is really helpful. Planning detailed lessons avoids problems in class. This gives the teacher confidence that they have done their best to plan for any eventuality, or at least minimize some problems.
Heather Call says
February 16, 2017 at 7:37 pmHi Sarah! I just found your website via Pinterest. I am wondering if I could get a copy or if you have the picture available in full of your yearly calendar. I am a visual person and would like to see how you have it set up with the month, week, concept and suggestions. I just purchased a preschool curriculum, but honestly looking at it seems over whelming so I am trying to figure our a way to get everything ready and organized for the upcoming year. The snippets of your pictures looked amazing and I would love to have something to refer to as I am making mine with what I have. I don’t know if that is an option, but I would love it if it was. Thank you for all our work. I am excited to continue to go through your blog and hopefully glen the information that will help me to teach my son at a amazing level.
Sarah Punkoney says
March 1, 2017 at 4:53 pmTo which calendar shot are you referring? If you are looking for my math scope and sequence template, you can download it here: https://stayathomeeducator.com/step-2-decide-on-how-to-teach-reading-and-math/
If you are looking for the calendar with all my themes and activities to go along with them, essentially my lesson plans, they are available for purchase in this post. You will continue to find more templates in this series.
Hope this help!
Kids Songs says
November 28, 2017 at 9:46 pmOh man, I so needed to read this today! And you are a great example of this. I notice you give your full attention to whatever you’re doing. Thanks for the insight!! Keep sharing and keep updating your content so that we get more and more information from your post.
Sarah Punkoney says
November 30, 2017 at 12:56 pmI’m so glad you have found it helpful! This makes my day. Please subscribe and follow on Facebook to keep in touch.