You may be wondering what a typical day might look like in your child's preschool classroom. Or, maybe you are homeschooling your child for the preschool years and want to know what to do. Either way, here is a basic idea of topics, lessons and activities in an average preschool classroom. Of course, creativity and classroom dynamics alter this snapshot. The information below is a baseline for curriculum and activities.

Morning Routine: (15-20 minutes)

Pledge of Allegiance
Sing songs, fingerplays, nursery rhymes
Calendar and weather skills
Daily news, review schedule for the day

Phonics (30 minutes)
Letter sounds and decoding skills
Handwriting
Usually a letter of the week

Play Break/Snack- Mid Morning (15 minutes)


Shared or Reading Whole group reading (30-45 minutes)
Reading strategies and grammar skills taught within this time
Focus on practicing and developing reading strategies and decoding skills

Lunch (30-45 minutes for both)
Playground or playtime

Afternoon Routine:

Math (30 minutes)
Develop number sense
Hands-on experience and practice

Science (20-30 minutes)
Weather, animals, senses, magnets, healthy habits, life cycles, habitat study, simple experiments, work in groups or as a class

Social Studies (20-30 minutes)
Typical curriculum includes:
Life Skills
Character education
Community helpers
Holidays
Famous Americans

End of the Day Routine: (15 minutes)
Review skills learned, activities completed
Short storytime or song

Times are suggested, and these are often altered based on a number of circumstances. For example, if you are homeschooling a single child, chances are that you will get through certain lessons quicker, compared to a teacher with a class of 20 students. Each child is individual, too. Some children are perfectly content to sit for 30 minutes or so while others find it difficult to sit still for 15 minutes. The above guideline is a point of reference only. if your child attends a preschool they may also experience art, music, gym and library time. In addition, many preschools still offer a "Show and Tell" time daily to encourage sharing and a classroom community.