Preschool: Fun Is in Order

Linda Parker

One day I noticed the principal looking through the observation window of my classroom. At the afternoon faculty meeting, I asked him about what he had observed. He laughed and said, "Linda, are you sure that you were teaching? It looked like everyone was just having too much fun!"

He was teasing, but often people have the misguided perception that "fun" should not be a part of learning. Early childhood educators realize, however, that children learn by doing. And although their learning experiences help to develop skills and comprehension, the experiences can and should be fun.

The preschool teacher must maintain a sense of order, of course. Having the teaching time, snack time, bathroom break, recess, and center time follow a daily pattern helps children feel secure. But every teacher knows that flexibility is paramount when the cocoon splits open and suddenly she has a "teachable moment" on her hands. Taking advantage of this moment to expand on the student's natural curiosity is actually easier in a well-regulated classroom.

Learning to get along in an orderly classroom can itself be fun. Young children must be shown how to line up, pass in papers, clean up areas, hang up backpacks and coats, and open packs of crackers. But children enjoy learning how to do things, especially if the environment is pleasant. When children visited my classroom before the school year started, they were delighted to find it well equipped with a bounty of toys, books, tapes, art equipment, and puzzles.

However, I knew that my room would be chaos if I did not first train the children in the proper way to treat, use, store, and share the materials. Guidelines must be planned and instituted from the beginning to allow the classroom activities-and the fun-to run smoothly throughout the year.

The early childhood professional knows that being prepared for each day is the only way to make each day count. Planning the best traffic pattern, selecting appropriate activities and visuals, choosing seating arrangement, or having papers with the children's names on them prevents interruptions that can be disastrous to classroom enjoyment. Preparation is also vital in helping the preschooler understand the classroom rules and defining acceptable classroom behavior. Choosing simple rules that the children can remember increases everyone's ability to have a good time-even in school.

Reprinted from Teacher to Teacher, Volume 5, Issue 4.

Used with permission from BJU Press. For permission to reproduce this article, please write BJU Press.