First Day of School Preschool Lesson Plan

The first day of school can be filled with anxiety and concern. By creating first day of school preschool lessons that are both informative and comforting, a teacher can ensure that his or her students will begin the school year off to a good start. Following are several ideas of projects and games that can be incorporated into the lesson plan for the first day of preschool.

"The Kissing Hand" Activity Reduces First Day Jitters

"The Kissing Hand," a story authored by Audrey Penn, can lead to a reassuring activity that is ideal for a first day of school preschool lesson. Begin by reading the story to the preschool class. It may help to use a stuffed animal or puppet to assist with the reading of the story.

Following the reading, place a heart sticker on each student’s hand. Tell the children that this sticker serves as a reminder that their mommies and daddies love them very much. If a child has a hard time throughout the day, remind him or her to look at the sticker and give it a kiss. This symbolizes the child kissing their mommy and daddy, and it also symbolizes the parents kissing their child.

Back to School Students Book Helps Kids Learn Each Other’s Names

One of the biggest issues that teachers face during the first day of school is helping their students learn each other’s names. This activity is both fun and can help to solve this issue. Before the first day of school, create a page for each student with "My name is ___" types at the bottom in large, easy-to-read letters. Be sure to make a page for each staff member, also.

Once the children arrive, take a Polaroid picture of each child and glue it onto their page. Then, allow the students to spend time decorating their page to show their individual personalities. Put all of the pages into a file folder to create the "book." Decorate the cover of the "book" with a picture of the entire class.

Throughout the next couple of weeks, read through the book with the class. Over time, the students will be reading along, learning everyone’s names and having fun while they are doing it.

Using Puppets to Model Class Rules

This preschool activity can greatly help children learn class rules in a fun way that is not intimidating or strict. First, find two puppets that look alike but are different colors or have other identifying features.

During the first day of school, use these puppets to model the class rules by interacting with each other. One of the puppets will always make good choices, and the other puppet will make the poor choices. This way, you are sure to set the example to the students.

For example, have the "poor choice" puppet pull on the "good choice" puppet’s arm in an effort to get his or her attention. Stop the interaction and ask the students if this was a good or poor choice. Ask the children what would be a better way to get the "good choice" puppet’s attention. This sort of activity instills good behavior and makes "good choices" fun.

By using activities such as those listed here in the first day of school preschool lesson, the students are able to have a successful first day. They’ll have fun and learn at the same time.