Pocket Chart

Here is a photo of the pocket chart I made using foam board and sheet protectors. The words and pictures can be tucked into the pockets and changed easily. It works for now, but isn't the sturdiest (I'd recommend buying one if you'll be using it a lot).

Question of the Day

A fun idea to use during Circle time is the "question of the day." This is a fun activity that helps welcome the kids to preschool each day and reinforces self awareness concepts. You could start with a pocket chart (The one pictured to the left is a good size, but I made my own out of foam board and plastic sheet protectors) and then I simply print out or write the sentence each time on a piece of paper or a sentence strip. I put it on the top and then arrange 3 different answers underneath that the children can choose from. We have a name tag for each child nearby that the kids can place in the chart under their selection.

I try to use a question that relates to the lesson, but any simple one will do. For the shapes lesson I used "What is your favorite shape?" Remember that most 3-4 year olds can't read, so you'll need to read the question to them as they come in. The choices for this question were circle, rectangle, or triangle. I used a picture of each shape and the word written underneath.

This also makes for a fun way to have a "discussion" about numbers during circle time. We can count how many people liked circle the best, how many people are there all together, which shape has the most, least, etc. We often count them all together.