Saturday, September 17, 2011

Using A Picture Schedule in Pre-K



In one of my most popular posts last year, Picture Schedules in the Pre-K Classroom,  I described the picture schedule that we used in our class.  I've received many emails about that schedule. Shortly after writing that post, my friend I and were fortunate to be invited to observe a preschool program in South Carolina that had implemented Conscious Discipline in all 22 of their pre-k classes.  We visited many of those classrooms and saw some really exciting things going on. One of the classrooms had this picture schedule posted for their kids to manipulate. I had to take pictures! Our class theme/acronym is F.I.S.H. (Family Involvement Starts Here).


I made one of these this year. Mine is pretty similar to the one above. I have it located on the bottom of a low hanging bulletin board, so it is at just the right height for little hands to manipulate.  We have a "time keeper" class job, so the children take turns being in charge of the schedule.


We have a "time keeper" class job, so the children take turns being in charge of the schedule. They simply move the fish to the appropriate fishbowl at each transition time throughout the day.


The kids really enjoy manipulating the schedule and will remind each other that it's time to change it. I often see children going over independently to refer to it. As I mentioned my my earlier post,
 "manipulating the schedule can be an especially helpful task for some children with autism or special needs. It is also very soothing for a child with separation anxiety. They can look and see what comes next and when "Mommy or Daddy is coming back."


 This new picture schedule seems to be really working out so far. I have a few that are struggling with separation anxiety and this has been a  really helpful tool to them. Now, I just need a little teacher magic to help me manage my time. I keeping getting behind schedule!


6 comments:

  1. Hi Ayn,
    Thanks for following on my blog. I love yours and am enjoying perusing your great ideas. Come back next week to my blog, for a fun way to recycle bottles.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was just thinking that I need to put up a schedule for my prek class. This is a really fun idea!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful "hands on" way to learn about time and what comes next! Thanks for sharing!
    Dee

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great idea. I may make one on index cards and make it into a flip book because I don't have that much wall space and I think the flip book may be easier.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is great, I love how someone can move the little fish to the correct bowl...and what a great way to encourage early learning of the clock too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I also have a picture schedule, but I use velcro on the wall and we pull off each card as we go. They know when all the cards are gone it is time to go home. I love the cute fish bowls:)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting little illuminations. I'd love you to share your thoughts!

Thanks for stopping by!

Popular Posts

AdSense