If you enjoy teaching young children, you may have the beginnings of a great career.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 457,200 preschool teaching jobs in the U.S. in 2008, 65 percent in day care and 15 percent in public and private education. Preschool teacher employment is expected to grow by 19 percent between 2008 and 2018. The median annual wage for preschool teachers in 2008 was $23,870.

Preschool teacher requirements vary from place to place depending on the licensing requirements of your state, but most preschools require a high school diploma and at least a child development certificate. This certificate is available through many online schools in as little as 24 credits (approx. eight classes).

Early childhood educational courses teach students about the stages of early childhood and how best to communicate with small children and resolve problems and conflicts.  While some institutions require their preschool teachers to have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, or a similar field, some day care centers or other facilities will accept just the teaching certificate. 

The courses required for a preschool teaching certificate are often offered through online courses or a hybrid format (partially online and partially in a classroom setting).  Other aspects of your training may include assistant teaching or a classroom internship.

Even if you’re not interested in a career in preschool teaching, taking a few childhood development classes can be valuable in teaching your own children preschool at home.  A basic child development course will teach you the learning and development of children through age five which may help you to have a more well-rounded view of your child’s development and capabilities.  These types of classes are usually offered through a variety of online college options.

The preschool years are a period of sponge-like development.  Children tend to absorb everything around them into their mental, physical, and emotional development. Children’s time is best spend exploring their world, reading books or learning through human interaction.  However, television is not all bad. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than one to two hours a day of educational, nonviolent programs for preschoolers.  Television time can be a good exercise of quiet time to give the child a chance to wind-down from an energetic afternoon and give mom a chance to catch her breath and get a few house chores completed.  When it’s time to turn on the TV, there are a few guidelines that are suggested to make television time more effective and less damaging:

1. Avoid channel surfing. When the program or DVD is over, turn off the TV rather than flipping through to find something else on. 
2. Don’t have the TV on if you’re not watching.  Television noise in the background can be distracting for toddlers and interfere with learning. 
3. Don’t use the television during dinner.  Use dinner as a time to teach manners and conversation, not watch TV. 
4. Try to make TV time happen at around the same time every day.

Giving your preschooler control of the remote and allowing the television to entertain all day long can be potentially damaging.  Mental and emotional development can be stalled when exceptional amounts of time are spent in front of a screen rather than interacting in real life.  Too much television time can also lead to inactivity and obesity in children.  On the other hand, refusing your toddler to watch any television denies the opportunity for valuable at-home learning. Programs aimed at preschool-aged children can help children retain key pieces of knowledge, especially if your child tends to watch the same program each day. 

Research shows as many as half of preschoolers have an imaginary friend at some point.  Imaginary friends used to be thought of as a sign of loneliness, neglect or maladjusted toddlers.  This is not true, kids with imaginary friends are in fact more likely to be creative, cooperative, sociable, independent, and happy.

Typically, imaginary friends show up with a name and distinct personality and can be human or animal. Imaginary friends can play an important role in helping kids practice relationship building without fear of getting hurt or hurting another person.  An imaginary friend can help a child their ever-expanding world and they serve several useful purposes.

When “Alice” appears, she may provide a valuable service to your child.  Imaginary friends allow children to explore issues of control, discipline, and power without the anxiety attached to real-life interactions.  An imaginary friend can help your child cope with difficult emotions. For example, a child who spills a glass of milk may blame the imaginary friend as a way of dealing with his or her guilt—a perfectly normal strategy. They may use their imaginary friend as a scapegoat to see what punishment lies ahead for misbehavior. 

Parents can use imaginary friends to get to know the inner workings and thoughts of their toddler.  For example, if your toddler asks you to leave the hall light on because “Alice” is afraid of the dark, your little one is most likely telling you that she is afraid of the dark too.  Parents should not discourage or try to eliminate imaginary friends.  Instead, let the friend phase run its course.  Be respectful and friendly to “Alice” without using her as manipulation or bribery.  Parents may include the imaginary friend in family outings or at family meals, but while it is very important to encourage your child to use their imagination, it is equally important to reinforce the fact that “Alice” is only make believe.  Your child may disagree with you and insist that “Alice” is real, but the truth is deep down they know she is not. 

Sometimes, imaginary friends can appear as a result of anxieties associated with major changes in a child’s life, such as a new baby or a divorce.  If you can tie the appearance of “Alice” with the appearance of a new baby brother, you can use “Alice” to gain valuable insights into how your child is coping.  Once your child gets into the pattern of school, friends and extracurricular activities, they won’t have any time for imaginary friends anymore and “Alice” will disappear. 

If “Alice” sticks around past the age of 7 or 8, you may have reason to be concerned.  We certainly wouldn’t want “Alice” to stick around until it’s time for college.  If you’re worried about your child’s imaginary entourage, watch to be sure they are not secluding themselves from the real world, and encourage them to make real friends.  If you find your little one avoiding social situations or isolating themselves, it might be worth asking a doctor about an underlying anxiety problem.

Thirty years ago people thought that there were no real behavioral or developmental differences between boys and girls at this age.  More recently, researchers are starting to confirm that boys and girls are indeed different, even from birth.

At Birth: When your little one enters the nursey with all the other babies from the day, your pediatric nurse will tell you boys and girls are different. Typically, boys are a little bigger than girls–about 10% heavier and longer at birth. Knowing this, it’s no surprise that first-time mothers spend almost 100 minutes longer in labor with a son than a daughter.  In their first weeks, boys tend to be a little more irritable, crying more and sleeping less than girls.

As Infants: Boys tend to use their senses less than girls, they taste less, see less, and don’t want to be held or touched as much as girls do. Boys also hear less and don’t pick up background noises as well as girls can. Girls typically talk earlier than boys, use a wider vocabulary and are more able to multi-task even at this young of age.  Boys and girls are often treated differently by their parents.  For example, research shows that mothers respond more quickly to crying girls than to crying boys.  When girls are fussy, mothers tend to be more affectionate, but when boys are fussy, both parents back off.

Toddlers: Girls and boys play differently as toddlers.  Boys are rougher and more energetic, while girls like to pretend and mimic.  Parents of toddler girls remain more protective where parents of boys tend to let their sons stumble and fall more often.  Girls are treated more gently from the very beginning.  While girls may be more protected, boys actually take more time in processing emotive information than girls.  This can sometimes make  it more difficult for boys to quickly adjust after being upset. 

In School: According to recent research, boys are more likely to exhibit more learning disabilities, behavior problems, and poorer academic performance in school.  However, that doesn’t mean girls have it easy.  Girls typically receive less attention from teachers, participate less in athletics, and experience gender bias in the classroom.

So yes, boys and girls are different and those differences start before the child takes their first breath.  While some of the differences are biological, parents have the power to break the gender barriers at certain points.  For example, girls can rough-house play at home just as well as boys.  Don’t use gender as an excuse to discourage girls from getting involved in certain activities and never assume that one sex is better or worse or smarter or dumber than the other.

It’s important to understand what skills elementary schools are anticipating your child come equipped with.  Knowing and understanding these skills is the best way to ensure you give your child the best early educational foundation as you possibly can.  Regardless of whether you choose to conduct preschool at home, or if your child attends an outside preschool with a certified teacher, review these landmarks to see if your child is reaching the milestones they should.  If your child is struggling in a particular area, emphasize those types of activities at home, and double check with your child’s preschool provider to ensure they are covering those subjects during school time. 

Reading – Most kindergartner teachers will tell you that in the course of their teaching careers, less and less students come to school prepared to read.  While most do not know how to read, they should be really close.  In order to be ready to start learning to read, your child should know how to point to and identify body parts, speak clearly and talk in sentences, tell stories, listen and enjoy being read to hold books correctly, identify some letters and beginning sounds.

Math – Kindergarten math is a lot about patterns, numbers and grouping.  To be ready for kindergarten, your preschooler should be able to count at least to 10, and correctly identify the numbers when written.  They should recognize shapes and colors, and be able to sort similar things.  They should also understand the difference between terms like long/short, big/little, heavy/light, etc.

Writing – Writing is a big deal in kindergarten, your child will begin to form words, spell and write legibly.  In order to be ready for these fine motor skills, your preschooler should be easily holding crayons, pencils and scissors correctly, they should know how to cut and paste, trace lines, and draw simple shapes.

In addition to the academic skills, you want to ensure your preschooler is ready for the social setting of kindergarten.  Your child should be able to clearly following rules and directions.  This doesn’t mean that they are a perfect angel, nor may they always listen to you, but the need to have the ability to follow directions.  They need to understand how to clean up after themselves without help, dress themselves including buttons and zippers.  It is also important to teach your preschooler about the feelings of others, they need to understand empathy and consideration when they are in a class of 15-25 other children. 

Lastly, there are a few safety tools your child needs before they are ready to go to school for the first time.  Make sure your children know their full names, their mother and father’s full names and their telephone number.  If possible, it’s helpful to know their address as well.  Today, with so much technology, it can be hard for a child to remember mom’s cell phone, dad’s cell phone, mom’s office, dad’s office, etc., so having an ID card that they keep in their backpack is a great idea as well. 

Some parents think that manners is something that is too advanced for small children.  This is simply not true.  Small children, even pre-school age can mimic words and behavior and teaching daily, repetitive habits will reinforce the importance of manners and being polite. 

You are the best teacher and the biggest influence in your child’s life.  Providing an example is the best lesson.  Always talk in the manner that you want your preschooler to speak.  This means that you need to always use “please,” “thank you” and “excuse me,” to teach your child the appropriate situations to use these words.  They will mimic you and follow your actions.

When you’re in social situations with your preschooler, expect them to be quiet, respectful and polite.  Your children will often try to live up to your expectations, but if you don’t expect them to be polite, they will never lean how.  Provide social settings to practice manners.  Encourage play dates to teach your child how to play correctly with other children who are the same age.

In addition to teaching manners outside of the home, reinforce manners inside the home.  Teach your children daily routines that are age appropriate such as taking empty plates to the sink after a meal or picking up their own toys. These early habits will teach your children structure, obedience and polite actions. That way, when you’re at a play-date your child will know to help pick up the toys without having to be told. 

As with any type of parental training, it is imperative to praise good behavior and enforce discipline. Children between the ages of 2 and 5 understand more than we often give them credit for.  They understand the connection between bad behavior and discipline and they understand much of what you say, even if they can’t form the words themselves.  This is also an age where they are learning how far they can push you and if you will follow through with a punishment.  Consistent discipline is key, empty threats will create nothing but havoc. 

Teaching your preschooler manners can be challenging with their limited patience and small attention, but manners are something that if ingrained early, can stick with them for life.  Good manners is a habit that should be practiced every day, not just a lesson plan to go over once and then forgotten. Unfortunately, manners are often overlooked; ask anyone training to become a high school teacher. 

Review manners at all times, when you’re on the way to the store review with your child what actions are appropriate and not appropriate when you’re inside the store.  If you’re watching a movie or television show and the characters exhibit bad manners, point that out to your child and explain what the correct behavior should be. 

While your child might not be old enough to understand the full impact of good manners, and the importance behind simple politeness, the practice will turn into habits and provide great value as he begins to interact with more children.

1.       Your little one skips happily into the building without looking back.

2.       Your toddler transforms into a mommy magnet and won’t peel her grip from your leg.

3.       The crying starts before you leave the house when your child realizes they must leave the blanket/animal or lovey at home. 

At some point, your child may experience one, two or all three of these scenarios.  Moving into preschool is a big transition for a littler person, but that doesn’t mean they’re not ready for it.  Preschool teachers are typically very helpful with dealing with some of the most common preschool problems and most preschool programs that are part of the regular public school curriculum have a public health nurse nearby if needed. Common preschooler problems include crying at the drop-off, potty accidents, separation from a security object, not eating, and general anxiety and fears.  Not to worry, we’ve put together some tricks of the trade to tackle all of the common preschool hurdles. 

The Drop Off: The worst part of preschool is often getting inside the room.  When your little one is separated from everything they know, it’s a big scary world.  The best way to ease this transition is to go to the school before the big day.  Go and walk around the halls, play on the equipment, talk to the teacher if possible.  When it’s time for you to leave, don’t make a big to-do while holding back your own tears.  Your child will take emotional ques from you, so if you look upset, they’ll get upset.  Say a simple goodbye and allow the teacher to distract your child in an activity.

Potty Training: If your child is nervous about using the potty at preschool ask more questions.  If he’s worried about getting there, finding it, etc., talk about them to understand where the fear is coming from.  Be sure your child knows where the bathroom is before you leave, if you sense they might be too nervous to ask someone else. 

Leaving comforts at home:  Most pre-school teachers will accept and even encourage students to bring their favorite toy, doll, blanket, etc. to preschool.  While this habit is one that your toddler will grow out of, it is often comforting to allow them to bring a safe object to school if it brings comfort.  Eventually, they will graduate from this practice and leave their special toy in the car and soon enough they won’t think twice before walking out the door without it. 

Fear of the Teacher/Other Kids: Many kids have exaggerated ideas about how hard school is and how mean the teachers are.  Introduce your child to the teacher before the first day.  Explain the classroom rules and teach your child that it is important to follow the rules, even if they are different than the ones at home.  Many times children equate a “mean” person with a situation where the rules are simply different.  If your child is afraid of the other children in the class, try to find a few that live nearby and schedule playdates before or after class.  If several weeks pass and your child still feels left out, speak with the teacher to find out whether there are other issues.

General Anxiety: From the big yellow bus to eating a different lunch menu, children can make everything seem daunting.  The best way to quench anxiety is to explain things.  Oftentimes, children are scared or frustrated about things they do not understand.  They may have the wrong idea about what happens on the bus, or what they’re going to eat for lunch. Usually, all you have to do is reassure and explain and they’ll be fine.  Sometimes it’s helpful to give your child something to release their fears, like a marble or small object they can keep in their pocket and rub when they get nervous, this will release nervous energy and allow them to focus on other things.  If it helps, give your child a business card with your phone number that they can give to their teacher if they feel like they need you.  Your teacher should be able to help solve whatever problem presents itself without having to call you, but having that card helps your child know you’re never too far away.  

I have a few rules associated with the learning centers that I use.  Generally, when my preschoolers have free time, when boredom is running high, or I need a time-filler, I will allow them to pick a learning center.  The rules are they only get to choose one learning center, I will not get two out at a time.  I also try to limit the time I use learning centers to once a week or less, this keeps them special and my kids understand that it is a privilege and an exciting time to get to pull out a learning center bin. 

Language Center: This is to encourage language development, vocabulary and increase the love of books.  Include special books in the language learning box that aren’t always available to keep them special. Also include blankets, floor pillows, audio books, alphabet games, letters or magnets, alphabet flashcards, and preschool magazines.

Science Center:  This center is to encourage exploration, discovery and scientific thinking.  Consider including a timer, scale, magnets, prisms, measuring spoons, a bug jar, sand, soil and seeds. 

Math:  This center helps children to strengthen their math skill before they get to the age of arithmetic problems. Stock your math center with puzzles, peg boards, geo boards, (great tutorial for a DIY geo board here), number tiles, lacing activities, and file folder games that involve money, numbers or patterns.  These are all great ways to increase mathematic skills. 

Theatrical Play:  Dramatic play taps into a child’s imagination and allows them to explore a new world through pretend play.  This is a great way for children to learn about emotions and the world around them in a healthy way.  Dramatic play can also increase social skills and interaction.  Store-bought costumes are great, but can hinder true imaginative play, so provide smaller props that allow the children to make up their own costumes such as old clothes, scraps of fabric, sheets, scarves, hats, caps, visors, backpacks, purses, jewelry, glasses, shoes, pots and pans, utensils, play food, and puppets.

Creation: A creation, or construction center allows your toddler to design, build and think abstractly.  They use both their scientific, math and imaginative skills.  Include blocks, cardboard boxes, Legos, Lincoln logs, small people and animals, and wooden trains or matchbox cars. Sometimes a play mat with city streets can also be helpful.

Music:  Music is a great way for children to be creative, burn off energy and learn important skills such as rhythm, beat and patterns.  Make a music center by including bells, shakers, drum sticks, a CD player and a tambourine.

Learning centers can also be a great way to see what your child is naturally drawn to.  If you allow them to choose which center they prefer you may find that a child who consistently requests the theatrical bin might be a budding actress, or perhaps you have a little scientist or architect on your hands.

Many preschoolers are not quite ready to leave mom and dad for an extended period of time during the day.  If a young child feels insecure, this will impede their learning because they are so fearful of being left along.  In addition, most 3 to 4 year olds need one-on-one attention and many parents prefer to be the one to work with them individually. 

While some at-home preschoolers will arrange social time with other neighborhood children through play groups, socialization at this young age is not crucial to development, but can be helpful.  Home provides many of the social skills needed by 3 to 4 year olds such as sharing, handling frustration, etc.  If your child does not have siblings, consider joining a playgroup as part of your curriculum. 

Your preschool homeschool program should focus on the same skills as a regular school curriculum; including math, reading, fine motor skills, and helping your child understand the world around him.

When beginning preschool at home, make the first lesson a time to teach your child what school is.  Explain what you’re doing, what each day will look like, etc.  Answer questions about what you are doing and why you are doing it.  

On “school days” build your day around simple routines that give structure to your child’s day with an established lesson plan.

Sometimes, children will get anxious or frustrated when they are trying to focus on a strict lesson plan.  With younger siblings, movies, toys and snacks within arm’s reach, it can be hard to focus at home.  If possible, use a separate room or area for “school.”  Setting up learning centers and stock it with easily accessible school materials.  If it’s not possible to set up a school room in your home, perhaps bring out a special object, like a large chalkboard or “school day” poster to let your child know that it is school time and the toys need to be put away.

Remember the attention span of your 3 to 4 year old and keep your lesson plans interactive, simple and fun. If your child is getting anxious or frustrated, put away the activity and try something different.  One of the best things about home-based preschool is the ability to incorporate real-world activities into your lesson plan.  If you’re teaching about good foods and nutrition, plan your trip to the grocery store as part of the school day.  If you’re learning about the color green, get out and go to the park. 

Teaching your preschool child at home allows you to have control over the topics and activities and provides your child with individualized instruction from a loving teacher.  While formal teaching experience isn’t necessary to teach your toddler at home, be sure you incorporate organization, structure, discipline and lesson plans to ensure your instruction is effective and successful.

Colors are always a fun lesson because there are so many options you can choose to incorporate into your color lesson.  The world is filled with colors, so it doesn’t take a lot of searching to find a great lesson plan to teach your little one colors. 

            The main goal with a colors lesson is to teach the child the name of the color, what it looks like, and a few things about that color.  For example, if you’re teaching about the color “green” you’ll want to reinforce the connection between the green color and the word “green” then you’ll want to connect the word and the color to items like trees, grass, vegetables, etc.  This will help the child understand that the word “green” doesn’t just apple to the crayon or marker they use, but to that color in the world around them. 

            Here are a few ideas to incorporate into your Colors lesson plan:

1. Art:  This one is a bit obvious, but perhaps try a different kind of art project.  Provide lots of different mediums, but all in the same color.  For example, provide orange crayons, orange construction paper, orange stickers and maybe even finger paints.  This allows children to be creative while using only the color of the day.
2. Books: Mouse Paint is a great book for teaching kids about colors.  I like to use a book to begin the day and explain the lesson.  This book always keeps their attention and is a great way to introduce colors.  This books talks about mixing colors, but that’s a little advanced for preschool.  Stick with telling the story and focusing on one or two individual colors each day until your students have a good grasp on identifying individual colors. 
3. Holiday colors: Holidays are a great time to teach about colors.  Valentine’s lessons could focus around red and pink, St. Patrick’s lessons could focus on green. 
4. Color Scavenger Hunt:  Before the lesson begins, hide colored objects throughout the house. You can hide papers (I like to use paint samples from Home Depot), or hide plastic foods from a play kitchen set, colored balls, marbles, and have the children collect them from around the house and create a “Basket of Blue” or a similar concept.   Once they find all of the objects inside, have them go outside and add to their basket with colored objects from nature.   
5. Dress the part: If possible, ask the parents to send their children to preschool wearing the color of the day (blue shirts, red shirts, etc.) Give parents plenty of notice so they can find something appropriate, and have extra shirts available for those who may not have one or might forget.