How Do You Manage A Preschool Classroom? Best Practices

A Preschool classroom is where children stay for a long time for the first time after home. Therefore, a preschool classroom takes an important place in a child’s life. There should be a favorable environment for kids, and so that preschool classrooms must be purposely and adequately managed.

I have been asked by many teachers the question of how do you manage a preschool classroom. Since this is very important to the teachers, I will cover all the facts regarding preschool classroom management from this article. 

So, how do you manage a preschool classroom? The preschool classroom management needs creativity and knowledge of child psychology. Since preschoolers are curious and shy at the same time, it is very important to maintain the classroom appropriately. Teachers may use different ways such as the role model method, avoid punishments, praise, and reward in classroom management.

Further, you can use behavior charts, appoint class helpers, and action cues to create a better atmosphere in the classroom. Organizing the classroom strategically, allowing the kids to express their feelings, organizing group activities, and understanding their interests can be named the best tips for preschool classroom management. 

Accordingly, I have covered the meaning of classroom management in early childhood education, the ways of managing a classroom properly, the preschool classroom management ideas and finally, some valuable tips.

I have listed the topics I discuss below. Please, feel free to jump straight to the section you want by clicking on the topic.

Let’s get started!

What is classroom management in early childhood education?

Classroom management can be simply understood as a set of skills and techniques needed to make students active, attentive, organized, focused, and academically productive in their studies.

Classroom management is prominent in early childhood education since it is the foundation of a child’s life. When concerning how you manage a preschool classroom, it should be designed in a well-planned manner.

Preschool children struggle to adapt to the new environment since the classroom is a new environment for them as it’s their first place after home. As a teacher, you can mitigate this problem by maintaining a fancy, kids’ friendly atmosphere in the classroom.  

However, the traditional concept of classroom management in early childhood education mainly focuses on rules and strategies to control students.

It forces children to sit in their seats, be silent, and pay attention by using punishments. But the new version of preschool classroom management concerns more with creating a favorable and good learning environment for children.

Most of the time, teachers use intellectually stimulating learning materials all around the classroom that will support several activities and make the place more pleasant. The concept of effective classroom management in early education is parallel with good teaching.

The teacher is the person that interacts with young children within the classroom, and she needs to know classroom management.

The teacher should be brave enough to use classroom management techniques and strategies to develop children’s learning abilities, and social skills while making it a good environment for them to interact.

Therefore, every preschool teacher must know about the topic, how do you manage a preschool classroom.

What are the ways of managing a classroom properly?

What are your ways of managing a classroom properly? What are the main facts that you would pay attention to? And How do you manage a preschool classroom?

The classroom management techniques differ from teacher to teacher according to their attitude, knowledge, creativity, and qualities. As a preschool teacher, try to find ways to manage preschool classrooms properly.

Use your creativity and make it a better place for kids to study as well as a favorable place for you to work. Below I have mentioned good ways to manage her classroom properly with preschoolers.

1. Maintain role model behavior

Be a role model to your kids. Since the preschool teacher is the first person they are closely associated with after their parents, it is important to be a role model.

Therefore, you can maintain good classroom behavior by making children follow your behavior. The preschool teacher must always act politely with good manners.

2. Avoid punishments

Try to limit punishing the class since preschoolers are at a young age, and punishing will hurt their mentality as well as affect the relationship with you.

Therefore, try to be friendly with kids and call out to them in a friendly manner by discussing their misbehaviors.

Explaining the rules, consequences and encouraging good behaviors will help you maintain a punishment-free, well-behaved classroom. 

3. Promote initiatives

Preschoolers are in the best age of their growth, and a preschool teacher is a person who should identify their talents and initiative minds first.

Identify their skills and abilities and encourage them further by giving them some responsibilities related to class management.

For instance, you can name kids who love to keep their personal belongings clean and tidy as the monitor of classroom cleaning.  

4. Praise and rewards

Encourage students to do their work well by praising and offering simple rewards. Once they behave well or help you maintain the classroom, you can reward them with fancy stickers or beads. 

Further, don’t forget to use your kind and nice words to appreciate the good behaviors. 

5. Encourage children to help in creating classroom guidelines

Discuss with children regarding the things which are okay or not and take their ideas and encourage them to follow guidelines.

Always ask for their help and keep their involvement in creating classroom rules. It will lead to a mutual understanding with kids, and they’ll enjoy sharing opinions with you.

Examples of Preschool Classroom Management Ideas

As a preschool teacher, you may be trapped with the issue, how do you manage a preschool classroom.

To support you, I hereby mentioned some examples of preschool classroom management ideas. Try them out in your classroom. 

1. Behavioral Charts

Displaying behavior charts is a good way of answering how you manage a preschool classroom. The teacher can show a behavioral incentive chart representing the names of children and their behaviors.

You can use stars or any other creative ways to indicate the incentives. Children love to earn incentives, and they do not like to have poor symbols of bad behavior next to their names.

This will be a good motivation for kids and a good way to get rid of the poor behavior of kids that interrupt the peaceful environment of the classroom.

2. Appoint classroom helpers

Giving children a chance to support in classroom activities is a good example of preschool classroom management ideas.

You can display a bulletin board representing the day’s classroom helpers and their tasks. These helpers can be assigned as calendar assistants, art supplies assistants, line leaders, or snack helpers.

Every student should be given a chance to perform as a classroom helper, and it will be a good experience for them since it feels as if they are a part of the classroom.

3. Clear rules

You can set clear classroom rules and they should be displayed at children’s eye level. Do not act harsh or strict in making kids follow the rules.

Just make it a daily task of following them and always try to implement rules with positive phrases rather than using the “don’t” phrase.

Engage children in creating rules, and then they will be eager to follow them, and it will develop a good classroom environment and support children to develop social skills.

4. Action Cues

Create a set of sounds, motions, and commands to monitor the actions of students. You can create regular command words and separate respond words or behaviors to take the active participation of students in classroom activities.

Some teachers use musical instruments for this or switching on and off classroom lights. Preschoolers like to respond to these familiar and specific cues, and it will help to manage the preschool classroom properly.

5. Make the classroom full of colorful charts and toys

Children love to see colorful things and toys, which are favorable for them. When the classroom is full of supporting materials, it will create an engaging environment for kids to learn.

And further, displaying charts with several rules and inspirational factors too will lead kids to follow them.

Preschool classroom management tips

Managing a preschool classroom is not an easy task. Since preschoolers are energetic and excited, interacting with them and taking their attention to studying is a challenge.

Therefore, teachers must have knowledge, patience, and creativity to manage preschool classrooms properly.

So, let’s pay attention to how do you manage a preschool classroom by stating tips that will make your task easier.

1. Organize the classroom strategically

The classroom can be organized with separate demarcations. It indicates the separation of the classroom into several small areas for reading, eating, playing, art activities, and resting.

The boundaries of those spaces should be demarcated and organized. Then, you can minimize noise and can manage the clean and tidiness of the classroom.

It will teach kids to behave accordingly in each area and perform well.

2. Allow kids to express their feelings

Preschool is the place kids spend long hours after their home. Kids may have adaptation matters to a new place as well as some other psychological issues.

Kids don’t know how to manage and communicate their feelings and emotions. The teacher needs to provide children with gentle assistance to express their feelings creatively rather than enduring them alone.

It is better to allow kids to stay in a quiet, safe place until they can engage with others again. In addition, singing, drawing art, or dancing movements can minimize the stress of children, and it will allow them to express feelings creatively.

3. Follow kids and find their interests

Sometimes kids may be interested in totally different things than you. Therefore, you need to follow kids from time to time, observe them, and understand what they love doing.

You need to change your prior teaching styles and plans according to their interests since it is more fruitful to take their attention. 

4. Organize both active and passive activities

Organizing activities for kids is a matter which should be planned carefully. Some activities make students active with energy and excitement, and some need their passive engagement with mellow and calm.

Therefore, you need to understand kids’ moods and balance these two activities according to their moods. The way you plan these activities will decide the success of the learning procedure of kids.

5. Allow brain breaks

Brain breaks are an excellent tip to preschool classroom management. Since that age is their crucial age of brain development, preschool kids need brain breaks between lessons.

Playing games, brain break songs, fun rounds, and DIY crafts are some activities you can make kids engage in brain breaks.

This will support them to relax their minds and engage in the next lesson in a more effective manner.

6. Group activities

Always try to engage kids in group activities since they need to interact with other kids to develop social and communication skills.

Group the kids randomly for activities by numbering them, using colored bracelets, or color dots marked in desks.

Also, make them interact with every student in the classroom and allow them to make friends.

The group activities will enhance their skills of leadership, coordination, respect for others, and empathy. Further, it will create a good and friendly classroom environment.

Conclusion – How Do You Manage A Preschool Classroom?

In this comprehensive article, we have observed how you manage a preschool classroom and its importance. I have stated how to manage a classroom properly together with examples of preschool classroom management ideas and tips.  Hopefully, now you know how to manage a preschool classroom. It is not an easy task, and it matters your knowledge, patience, and creativity. As a preschool teacher, you need to understand the psychological development of kids and must follow your ways of classroom management that suit your students. 

Thank you for reading this post. Stay tuned with Edu Nursery for more valuable content. Good Luck with effective preschool classroom management!