[Jessica]

Our center has weekly themes based on the month; for example, this week’s theme is St. Patrick’s Day. So our centers, projects, gross motor and fine motor, will all focus on this holiday. Our director decides this. We do have the opportunity to make slight changes to this schedule.

[Trainer]

Great approach, Jessica! Integrating themes like St. Patrick’s Day can spark interest and enhance engagement. Consider tailoring activities based on children’s individual interests within the theme for even greater impact.

[Sarah Meneghel]

Our center decides on a theme for the month and we create lesson plans for each week around that theme. For april our theme is farm animals so the activities and math would include farm animal but we are also going to incorporate Easter and Earth day since they fall in the month of April.

[Trainer]

Great approach, Sarah! Integrating themes like farm animals with Easter and Earth Day enriches learning and keeps it relevant.

[Brittney]

In my class vocabulary is limited. They are ages 12 months to 2 years old. Things are always changing. April is full of weather and bugs and new beginnings to plants. We talk about it all. I do lots of hand prints because they are only that big for so long and I love letting them squeeze the paint and explore. I do subject biased on a list that was made for the year and sometimes switching subjects to go along with maybe a story we read or what’s going on .

[Trainer]

Great flexibility—your hands-on activities and adapting topics to children’s interests support meaningful learning and development.

[Chloe]

When I develop lesson plans, I usually base my learning goals on a mix of the children’s developmental levels, interests, and school readiness skills. I want activities to be meaningful and engaging, but also appropriate for where the children are developmentally. I also try to build off topics they are excited about because they are usually more interested and involved that way.One example is when I planned a dinosaur activity for Pre-K. I originally wanted to focus mostly on facts and vocabulary, but I adjusted it to include more hands-on activities like sensory bins, counting dinosaurs, movement and art because that worked better for my group and kept them more engaged.

[Trainer]

Great balance of goals—your adjustments show responsiveness to children’s interests while supporting development and engagement effectively.

[Te’Niesha]

When I make lesson plans in preschool I ask my students input on what they are wanting to learn following their lead. If during the week I notice they are interested in learning something new I let them lead and give them option and guidance

[Trainer]

Great approach, Te’Niesha! Following children’s interests fosters engagement and supports their developmental needs effectively. Keep it up!

[Donna Johnson]

I observe the kids and then determine what theme for the week and activities to place on my curriculum for the next week. Sometimes there is time when I need to adjust my activities to help those who were struggling with that activity. I do have some children who cannot use a scissor, then I just tell them to rip the paper with your hands when we were doing a mosaic college.

[Trainer]

Great approach, Donna! Observing children’s needs and adjusting activities, like using paper tearing, shows thoughtful differentiation in your planning.

[Med]

Our center has a monthly matrix where we follow in doing our lesson plan. We also have a prepared monthly lesson plan that contains a lot of activities that we can choose from considering that it aligns with our matrix, children’s interests, their developmental needs and goals. When I do small group with the kids, I usually divide them into 4 groups making sure that it’s low enough so that I could teach the lesson and at the same time be able to help kids (developmentally). I try to mix kids that are advance, average and progressing.

[Trainer]

Great approach, Med! Balancing developmental needs with interests ensures effective learning. Your group division strategy fosters collaboration and support!

[Abigail Harden]

At our preschool we follow monthly themes, for example May has been Living Things: Plants in the Neighborhood. Within these themes we are able to explore the topic and get creative with our activities. The lessons I plan grow more advanced throughout the year as the children develop and can handle more complicated or abstract ideas. The lesson plans in the beginning months of our year are mainly about learning the class routine, boundaries, and expectations through activities!

[Trainer]

Great approach, Abigail! I love how you align your lessons with developmental growth and themes, fostering creativity and understanding.

[Abigail Harden]

When planning lessons what’s most important to me is, “Will the children be engaged in this topic?” If the answer is yes, then I move on to what sorts of activities would developmentally appropriate. “Does this give them freedom to explore the material, or am I planning this project with a desired result?” Each activity I try to have a goal, yet I don’t overly emphasize getting them “school ready” as my primary goal is to build their self confidence and assure them that with repeated effort they will see results. For example, we practice writing words related to the months theme every month, at the beginning of the year it’s mainly encouraging them to think about how certain letters strung together convey meaning. By the end of the year they are beginning to recognize certain letters and are interested in learning how to write them the “right” way.

[Trainer]

Abigail, your focus on engagement and self-confidence is commendable! It’s great how you adapt lessons to nurture their growth.

[Camille]

My program organizes different days around Latin American traditions. We incorporate lots of art for kids of a wide age range. In the past, the older kids grasp the instructions much quicker than the younger kids. So, I offered options where they could build on the activity (draw more, add another piece to their artwork, etc.) to keep them occupied and interested as the younger kids finished.

[Codee]

In our school we have a specific curriculum we follow along with “study guidelines” for specific focus to have each week for shapes, numbers, letters, and colors. But I also do activities based on what I see and hear the kiddos may be struggling with. For example if we do a color activity and everyone is struggling identifying the color yellow. I would do an art project with all the different colors of yellow and ask them questions to help them basically “study” the color yellow to help them better identify it.

[Lisa Marshall]

I have children from 3 months to 8 years of age in my care at any given time. Lesson plans are always designed with a theme in mind and then have numerous activities to engage all the ages. The babies sit safely and observe the older children while the toddlers may work on gross motor skills involving a toy etc that matches our them while pre-schoolers will do the same but at a more advanced level that in turn helps the toddlers learn. Older children become more focussed on the details of the lesson many times with an attached worksheet or guided activity.

[brittany thornton]

When I develop lesson plans, I base my learning goals on the children’s developmental levels, interests, and school readiness skills. I observe what the children are interested in and use those interests to keep them engaged while still working on important skills. I also consider the different ages and abilities in the classroom and make adjustments as needed.One example is when I planned a counting activity. Some children were still learning to count to five, while others could count much higher. I adjusted the lesson by having younger children count small groups of objects while the older children practiced counting larger groups and matching numbers to quantities. This allowed all children to participate and be successful at their own developmental level.

[Amina]

When I develop lesson plans, I decide my learning goals based mostly on the children’s developmental levels, their interests, and what skills they need to build for school readiness. I also pay attention to what I observe during play, because that shows me what they are ready for and what they need more practice with.For example, if I planned a counting activity but noticed some children were still learning one-to-one correspondence, I would adjust the lesson by using real objects like blocks or snacks instead of just numbers on paper. For children who are more advanced, I would make it harder by having them count higher numbers or group objects together. This way, everyone can participate at their own level and still learn from the same activity.

[Vicky]

I have weekly planning time and am given a binder of our used curriculum. I fill out the spaces needed and pull resources needed for each activity that will be required to the kids to finish their tasks. Literacy math Scenice music arts and crafts reading play dough dramatic play and extra, as well special snacks . We have new therms every 2 weeks to learn and study. Just finished dinasour last week. Kids loved making their own Dino feet.