Preschool Schedule: How to Plan for a Half Day Pre-K Classroom

Posted by admin on Aug 10, 2020

Having the right preschool schedule set up can make all the difference to your school year.

There are a lot of factors to take into account when you’re planning your preschool day. So let’s jump in . . .

cartoon image of kids in a schoolhouse with text that reads half day preschool schedule

Considerations for Your Pre-K Schedule

As I mentioned above, there are multiple things to think about when mapping out your day.

Time Parameters

First, you need to take a look at your school hours. I know that sounds obvious, but it really is the best place to start.

When you’re looking at your school hours, here are a few questions to keep in mind:

What time will children be arriving? Many schools allow children to arrive a little before the official start time.
What is the time frame for dismissal?
Are the hours the same each day of the week, or is there an early dismissal at any point?

Specials in Your Schedule

Next up, take a look at any special times you’ll have in your week.

Specials might include a visit with a music teacher, a class with a foreign language teacher, or other special weekly trips (to the park, for example).

Oftentimes, you won’t have much say in the timing of these specials. So you just need to fit the activities into your preschool schedule.

Keep in mind, playground or outside time might be included here.

Keep these questions in mind as you’re planning out the specials:

What days of the week will the special activities take place?
How long will each of these activities last?
Where are the specials located? How long will it take the kids to get there and back?

What Do You Want to Include in Your Day?

Now let’s take a look at the specifics of what you’d like to include in your preschool schedule.

Some possibilities include:

Circle time or morning meeting
Centers
Small groups
Music and movement
Nap or rest time
Snacks and meals

Write out each additional aspect of your preschool day. I’d suggest putting every single item on paper, even if you don’t know if it will “fit”. A schedule wish list, if you will.

When you’re writing everything out, consider:

How long will the activity last?
Do the children have enough time to fully experience what’s planned?
What part of the classroom will be in use?
Is there a way to combine some of the activities to make better use of the time?

Write Your Preschool Schedule Out

At this point, you have all of the basics thought out. So now it’s time a matter of putting it all together on paper (or computer, depending on your preference).

It might help to write each activity down, along with an approximate length of time, on individual pieces of paper.

This way, you can move each part of the day around within your day until you find the right setup.

It might take you a few drafts before you settle on the right schedule for your classroom. That’s okay! This just means you’re really taking the time to make an appropriate daily schedule for your students.

Some things to keep in mind as you’re finalizing your daily schedule:

Have transitions been kept to a minimum (as much as possible)?
Are the times for each activity reasonable?
If there’s not enough room for everything you want, is there a way to combine multiple activities?
Have you considered transition times?
Are basic necessities (hand washing, restroom breaks, etc.) included?

There’s No Such Thing as the Perfect Preschool Schedule

I feel that it’s VERY important to remind you of this!

No schedule you create will be perfect.

Within the first few weeks of school, you’ll find areas of your routines that you need to tweak. Honestly, you might find a few that you need to scrap and completely re-do.

Again, that is okay! You are adapting to meet your students’ needs. And that’s more important than a “perfect” schedule.

My Half-Day Preschool Schedule

Now that I’ve shared with you how to plan your own schedule, let’s take a peek at a previous schedule of mine.

Keep in mind I made tweaks to this schedule every year depending on my students’ needs, input from my director and coworkers, etc.

I’m a big believer in planning and scheduling in the preschool classroom, but I’m also a big believer in flexibility when teaching kiddos. So this schedule wasn’t always strictly adhered to!

8:50 to 9:00 – Welcome

I greet the children as they come into the classroom. They hang up their backpacks, bring in their daily folders and water bottles, then add their name to the sign in sheets book.

Depending on the time of year, the children might move their names to “at school”, answer a daily question, or use our sign-in book.

9:00 to 10:30 – Developmental Learning Centers

I used to allocate about an hour for centers in preschool, but I eventually decided to add more time.

I absolutely loved having that extra time for the kids to explore and learn.

This is the time when I observe the children, and it’s also a wonderful time for me to interact with the children as they play.

I do also pull small groups at this time. Since this is a half day preschool schedule, it’s just the best use of everyone’s time.

10:30 to 11:00 – Snack

Around this time, I usually take the children down to the restroom as a group. All of the children wash their hands before snack.

Then it’s on to snack time together.

If they’re done early, they’re allowed to choose from a few “quiet choices” (reading, writing, drawing, puzzles, etc.).

11:00 to 11:30 – Playground

The “big” pre-k kids get to use the playground for free play during this time.

We do movement and gross motor play inside if we can’t go outside.

11:30 to 11:50 – Circle Time

This is when we get together as a whole class. It’s the perfect time to check in with each other and talk about how the day’s been.

We do a quick calendar run through, add to our preschool weather chart, and say the Pledge.

I usually read a book during this time.

We also do literacy games, math games, music and movement, and shared writing experiences during this time. (Not all at once, of course.)

11:50 to 12:10 – Resource

This is the time allocated for the children’s specials.

Sometimes it’s more outside time with a resource teacher, sometimes it’s music or Spanish.

I usually grab a quick break at this point.

12:10 to 12:50 – Lunch

Everyone cleans their hands, and then we all sit down for lunch, chatting and eating together.

If the kids are done early, they can choose some quiet choices.

They clean up after themselves and get their backpacks ready to go home after lunch.

12:50 to 1:00 – Story Time

We make sure everyone’s packed up and ready to go home.

Then it’s time for one more read aloud before the end of the day.

Related: Preschool Classroom Tour

Preschool Visual Schedule

I highly recommend incorporating a visual schedule into your classroom!

It will help your students learn the daily routine at the beginning of the year. It will also serve as a reminder after long school breaks.

Children appreciate a sense of routine, so being able to quickly check what’s next on the agenda will be soothing for the kids.

You can make your own visual schedule using the kids in your classroom. Simply take some pictures throughout the school day and create your own printable schedule!

Preschool Teacher 101 has an awesome done-for-you visual schedule cards pack!

It comes with multiple editable cards you can print and put up around the classroom. Check it out here: