So you want to start teaching your preschoolers at home. But how do you go about that? What does it look like day-to-day? How should you organize the activities, lessons, and games? Lucky for you, after years of trial and error I created what I have found to be the most effective at-home preschool lesson plan. Behold, a flexible yet reliable format that keeps your kids engaged, learning, and having fun all at once. 

Before Getting Started On Your Preschool Lesson Plan

There are a few things you must have before you get started. Don’t worry, I understand that all homes, families, and preschoolers have different needs, these are simply the bare essentials for a basic preschool lesson plan. 

1. Preschoolers

Alright, this one’s a given. Obviously, it’s hard to run a preschool without a preschooler, so you’re going to need at least one. However, I do want to point out that You Can Teach was founded on the idea of flexibility and adaptability to age, group sizes, and learning abilities. For example, I conducted my first day of preschool at home with my oldest at age 2, and her younger brother at just a year old. As you can see, It’s never too early to start exploring the world of education!

2. A Learning Area  

You’re going to need a place to move, color, sing, dance, eat, play, and work. Luckily, almost anywhere in the house can be made into a preschooling area. The kitchen, a table, a playroom, the family room, or even the great outdoors. Wherever your kids are best able to freely explore, play, and learn. 

3. Various Supplies  

As a busy mom constantly trying to make life easier, I created activities with objects that most people would already have around the house. Additionally, throughout the blog, I have included links to the products I recommend you use if you want to keep things consistent. Of course, feel free to substitute if you don’t have exactly what I used for my kids. We always encourage creativity and improvisation! 

That’s it! Now that you’re armed with crayons, space to be creative, and little minds to mold, you’re ready to get started. And if you feel confident just taking the activities and running with them, please go right ahead! That’s exactly what If It Isn’t Fun, It Isn’t Learning was made for! But if you are new to this idea and looking for a little help structuring the day, I’ve prepared a simple format for you to follow. 

Daily Preschool Lesson Plan Break-Down 

Welcome

Start with the same beginning each day; a prayer, a welcome song, the pledge of allegiance or whatever else you feel comfortable with. This should just be something to signal the beginning of your preschool. It lets the kids know that we are starting now.

Calendar

You can use any kind of calendar to talk about what day it is. Something big that they can manipulate and help out with works well to teach the days of the week, months, etc. At our house, along with putting up the date for each day, we like to sing a song. 

“Today is Monday,
Today is Monday,
Monday all day long,
Yesterday was Sunday,
And tomorrow will be Tuesday,
But today, today is Monday.”

Weather 

Next, talk about what the weather is like and after the children decide, have them show it on a weather chart. Also if your children are older, it is fun to keep a graph and mark how many days of snow or sunshine or rain you have been having. You can also talk about what kind of clouds or precipitation you are having or what temperature it is.

Letter Of The Week 

Now comes the “Letter of the Week” part. Get a large piece of paper (newspaper roll ends, purchased at most local newspaper offices, work great for this). Hang up the paper and write the letter of the week (uppercase) larger than life in marker right in the middle. If the kids are older or have already learned upper-case letters, draw both the upper and lower-case letters.

Talk About The Letter 

Depending on how advanced they are, ask or tell them what the letter is, what it says (its sound), and then practice it together a few times.

Pictionary 

On your big paper, draw pictures of words that begin with the letter and have the children guess. Use colorful, washable markers and let the kids have a turn or two drawing a picture for everyone to guess. 

You can suggest a word for them to draw or sometimes (as in the case with my 2-year-old) let them draw what they want and then give it a name that begins with the letter of the week. For L week, we called Rachel’s picture “litter”. Her I week picture was “insect”. And when B week rolled around we helped out by adding a string to her drawing and called it a “balloon”. 

ACTIVITIES

Finally, break up the rest of the time with learning activities. Emphasize the word that goes with each activity and the sound that the letter makes in the word. In each activity make sure to mention the word that begins with the letter of the week. 

For example say, “We are going to catch some w-w-w-worms. Can you hear that ‘w’ sound at the beginning of worms? What letter makes that sound?” Emphasize it a little with each word throughout the whole week.

Have a good mix of activities in your preschool lesson plan. You can do them in the same order each day (for example, science, then art, then physical, then stories, then music, then food) or shuffle the different activities each day, depending on the mood of your children. Not every day will include an activity from each area, due to time restraints or attention spans, but include a good mix each day. 

Collect Your Own Ideas For A Preschool Lesson Plan! 

You can come up with tons of activities for each letter. Whether you have your own ideas or get your inspiration from somewhere else, I would recommend collecting everything together for each letter and type of activity. Become a packrat of sorts and gather anything you can find to go along with each letter. 

If you have no idea where to start, feel free to thumb through some of mine! I have been collecting the activities and ideas that we have found over the years and compiled them into a book, If It Isn’t Fun, It Isn’t Learning.  

Preschool Lesson Plan For The Preschool Pros 

I’ve said it already, and I will say it again. Please take every opportunity to go off the beaten path! Chase the adventure of fun and learning (which also often involves chasing your preschoolers around) and let every day bring something completely new and exciting. I would recommend starting the day with some kind of routine, similar to the preschool lesson plan above, before things get too crazy. But remember, most important is to have fun. If the routine isn’t fun some days, drop it and head out to the sandbox. 

Ready to start play-school? Before you begin, here are some tips for teaching each subject!