Typical Preschool Daily Schedule (with rationales)

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If you are designing a daily schedule for an early childhood classroom, there are many factors to think about, beyond simply knowing whether it is a full or part day program. For example, at what times does the school open and close for the day? Do all children attend full-time or do children have flexible schedules? Do children arrive on a school bus or do their families bring them to school? I will lay out a typical preschool schedule, explain the rationale behind this schedule and offer some variables that you may find in a variety of preschool settings. But in real life, you probably will come up upon factors I haven't addressed. You have to be flexible and make adjustments as needed.

8:00-9:00 Arrival and Free Play Time *Rationale: Starting the day with a block of free play time allows the teacher a chance to talk to family members as they drop off their children. Communication is extremely important in creating a strong bond between the teacher and the child's family. A second (and equally important) reason for the long block of free play time is that children need an extended period of time in order to make choices about their play and settle into activities.

9:00-9:20 Large Group Time (Some schools refer to this as "Circle Time") *Rationale: This is the time when the teacher and the children will gather for a morning meeting. Depending on the ages of the children you might start by looking at the calendar. (This is more appropriate for four-year-olds, not so appropriate for threes.) The ...