Preschool Lesson Plans for 4-5 Year Olds

Are you a teacher or homeschooling parent looking for preschool lesson plans for 4 or 5-year-olds? You’re in the right place! We know that balancing teaching with everyday life can be challenging, so we’ve created a collection of fun activities to help your children learn while having fun.

We have complete and comprehensive lesson plans for teaching reading, writing, and math to your preschoolers. Keep reading to discover how to spark a lifelong love of learning in your child.

The preschool years are a period of rapid development, and preschoolers are like little sponges, soaking up new knowledge and skills every day.

Developing a strong foundation in math and literacy during the preschool years is crucial for future success. We know that creating engaging and effective preschool lessons can be a challenge for busy teachers and parents. That’s why we’ve created a complete literacy and math curriculum that takes all the guesswork out of your planning while also being a huge time-saver!

Imagine having a fun and easy-to-follow guide for teaching your children to read, write, and do math. Our complete and comprehensive preschool Literacy and Mathematics curriculum is just that! We’ve carefully crafted age-appropriate activities to make learning an adventure. Let’s work together to build a strong foundation for your preschoolers.

How Do You Teach a 4-5 Year Old?

Four and five-year-olds are busy growing! They’re mastering big movements like running and jumping while also learning to use their hands better with puzzles and crafts. Imaginative play is a big part of their world, and they learn new words daily. As their vocabulary grows, they can understand more complex ideas and things around them. 

Teaching preschoolers requires a blend of creativity, patience, and child-centered approaches. Effective strategies include:

• Hands-on activities: Engaging children through sensory experiences and interactive play enhances learning.
• Storytelling: Reading aloud and discussing stories sparks imagination and vocabulary development.
• Music and movement: Incorporating rhythm and movement into learning makes it enjoyable and memorable.
• Positive reinforcement: Encouraging and praising children’s efforts builds confidence and motivation.
• Individualized attention: Recognizing each child’s unique learning style and pace is important.

What Should a 4-5 Year-Old Know Academically?

By the age of four or five, children are experiencing rapid growth and development across various areas. 

• Communication and Language Skills are significantly improving. They can now understand and follow simple instructions, like “Put your toys away” or “Go get your shoes.” Their ability to express themselves clearly also expands, with children sharing their thoughts and feelings using complete sentences.
• Early Literacy Skills are beginning to take shape. Children at this age are often fascinated by letters and sounds. They may be able to identify some letters of the alphabet and connect certain letters to their corresponding sounds.
• Math Foundations are also being laid. At this stage, counting to ten and recognizing basic shapes like circles, squares, and triangles are common achievements. These foundational skills are essential for future mathematical understanding.
• Physical Development, particularly fine motor skills, is crucial for early learning. Activities such as drawing and cutting help children develop the dexterity and control needed for writing and other tasks. These skills are essential for school readiness.

Lesson Plans for 4-5 Year Old Preschoolers

Preschoolers are naturally curious and energetic, making them eager learners. Effective preschool programs capitalize on these qualities by offering stimulating and interactive experiences. Short, varied, and hands-on activities are essential for capturing and maintaining their attention. By encouraging exploration and discovery, educators can foster a lifelong love of learning while accommodating young children’s shorter attention spans.

Preschool Literacy Lesson Plans 

Our Preschool literacy lesson plans are designed to guide your little learners step-by-step. Each lesson builds on the previous one, helping your students feel confident and excited about learning to read and write.

The lesson plans include easy-to-follow instructions and fun activities for both group and individual learning. Watch your students blossom as they develop the skills they need to become successful readers and writers.

Oral Language Lesson Plans For Preschool

Oral language is the foundation for all future communication and literacy skills. Effective oral language development involves building vocabulary, understanding what others say, and expressing thoughts and ideas clearly. Preschoolers benefit greatly from engaging in activities that foster these skills.

Storytelling, puppet shows, and group discussions are excellent ways to enhance vocabulary, listening comprehension, and expressive language. By participating in these activities, children learn new words, improve their ability to follow along with narratives and gain confidence in sharing their own thoughts and ideas.

Phonological Awareness Preschool Lesson Plans

Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds of language. It’s a crucial skill for developing reading proficiency. Preschoolers can begin to develop this skill through fun and engaging activities.

Rhyming, clapping syllables, and identifying beginning sounds are effective strategies for introducing children to the sounds of language. These activities help them become aware of the different sounds in words and how they fit together.

Letter Recognition (phonics) Lesson Plans for Preschool

Letter recognition is the first step in learning to read. By teaching children to recognize and name letters, we provide the building blocks for phonics and decoding words.

Phonics lesson plans focus on the relationship between letters and their corresponding sounds. Through explicit instruction and hands-on activities, children can learn to identify letters, match them to their sounds, and begin to sound out simple words.

Preschool Math Lesson Plans

Preschool Math Curriculum offers a dynamic approach to math learning. It replaces traditional worksheets with engaging daily activities that cover all essential math concepts. Each day, children explore new skills, reinforce what they’ve learned, connect math to reading, and practice independently. 

Below are the different components of our complete and comprehensive math curriculum.

Counting Lesson Plans for Preschool

Our counting lesson plans are divided into three separate units to account for different developmental needs: Counting 0-5, Counting 0-10 and Counting 0-20. All of the counting units are based on five and ten-frame math. Fundamental skills taught include number identification, one-to-one correspondence, comparing quantities and composing ten. Take counting and number sense to the next level with our fun and complete counting curriculum!

Comparing & Sorting Lesson Plans for Preschool

Laying the groundwork for logical reasoning and problem-solving starts with comparing and sorting objects. By examining differences and similarities based on size, color, shape, and other attributes, preschoolers begin to understand patterns and categories. Our math curriculum helps preschoolers develop logical thinking and classification skills by comparing objects based on size, color, shape, and other attributes. Our curriculum also focuses on making matches, identifying and comparing sets, and recognizing relationships between sets.

Shapes Lesson Plans for Preschool

Introducing basic shapes like circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles through songs, stories, and hands-on activities helps children develop spatial awareness and visual discrimination skills. Our Shapes curriculum focuses on identifying and manipulating shapes in fun and engaging ways. It focuses on shape attributes, formation, matching, sorting and even identifying shapes in irregular positions.

Positions & Patterns Lesson Plans for Preschool

Creating and recognizing positions and patterns with objects, colors, and shapes helps children develop logical thinking and problem-solving skills.  Our positions and patterns lesson plans help preschoolers develop spatial awareness and understanding of patterns through a variety of fun, hands-on activities. Our curriculum teaches recognizing, describing, creating, copying and extending patterns. Patterns included are: AB, ABC and AABB, which are developmentally appropriate for preschoolers.

Measurement Lesson Plans for Preschool

Measurement introduces the concepts of length, height, weight, and capacity using everyday objects and fosters curiosity and exploration. Children learn to compare quantities and make estimations through hands-on experiences. Our measurement lessons also include: more and less, number order according to quantity, size, and practice in non-standard units of measure. Your preschoolers will love our lessons as they measure their way around the room!

Graphing Lesson Plans for Preschool

Graphing introduces children to data collection and analysis in a fun and accessible way. They learn to organize information, make observations, and draw conclusions by creating simple graphs.

Addition & Subtraction Lesson Plans for Preschool

Building a strong foundation in numbers begins with concrete experiences. Through manipulatives and real-life examples, preschoolers can start to understand the concepts of addition and subtraction as they explore quantities and relationships between numbers.

Creating engaging and effective preschool lessons is a key step in nurturing your child’s love of learning. By focusing on early literacy skills, you can ignite a passion for reading and writing that will last a lifetime. Remember, every child is unique, so tailoring your lessons to their interests and learning style is essential. Let’s embark on this exciting journey together!

Sarah Punkoney, MAT

I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m 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 a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of 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.

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