r/preschool

I feel like birthday invitations have somehow become one more thing to organize when you already have a million things going on with a preschooler.

For my child’s last birthday, I wanted something simple that I could send to the parents without printing a bunch of cards. I ended up using RizzInvites and liked being able to send the invite from my phone and keep track of the RSVPs in one place.

Now I’m wondering what everyone else does. Do you still send paper invitations through school, hand them to parents, or just send a digital invite by text?

Also, do you find that people actually RSVP when you send digital invitations, or do you still end up chasing everyone down?

My daughter always struggle with breakfast and I observed that she is a bit more open to eating breakfast if she’s been awake for > 45 minutes rather than waking up and eating right away. I have an older son in middle school who will be home and getting ready for school at the same time so it’s not possible for me to leave and drop off my daughter to daycare and have her eat there, etc.

Should I wake her up at 7 so she can eat breakfast around 7:45-8 and leave by 8:30-8:45? Or let her sleep in and try eat breakfast in school (timing wise, she’ll probably have 15-20 mins but knowing kids, I doubt if she’d be able to take more than a bite or 2 for breakfast in school).

Their dad is home for the summer so we’re still able to wing it for 2 weeks but gotta start figuring this out as I’ll be handling morning routine all by myself.

I need ideas for healthy(ish) lunches. My daughter is starting preschool soon and they don’t have a refrigerator or microwave. I can pack with ice bags but I need some ideas. Just stuck in my head only thinking about sandwiches. Help!

I am a first year Head Start teacher (3-4y/os). I have a degree in elementary education and experience with infants and toddler as well as a year of elementary school experience. Preschool has been a different beast for me. Between all the assessments I’m required to do on all my kids and being new to it, I feel like I’m drowning. I have a hard time with getting my students to listen to me when I speak and to take me seriously. The strategies I use now work for a good portion of my students individually but not as well for the whole class at once. We are told to not say “no” and to use positive phrasing as well.
My TA has much more life and teaching experience than I do and I already feel like I rely on her too much. I’ve been told that I have a “spaghetti noodle backbone” and that I still need to “find my teacher voice”. I’m so stressed because my students come from low income backgrounds and some have trauma at this young age already. I want to be their safe person, but I also need to get though curriculum, rules and have them engaged. Any advice? 😭🫠

We are in charge of bringing snacks some days. My daughter’s classroom has a nut free and dairy free requirement. Gimme all the snack ideas for these little tots! Thank you!

I’m a fairly new TPT seller and I’ve been offering a couple of free resources. I’m noticing that people may view or download freebies, but getting feedback or reviews seems much harder.
For more experienced sellers, is this normal in the beginning? Do most buyers simply not leave reviews, especially on free resources?
I’d also love to know if there’s anything that helped you encourage genuine reviews or build trust when your store was still new. I don’t want to pressure buyers — just trying to understand what’s normal and what I could improve.

i'm a preschool teacher and one of our wealthy parents is deadset on having the kids learn how to use ipads for their "development." he offered to buy the whole classroom a set of screens, and now i'm stuck trying to figure out how to make this productive and not a thing where the kids are just begging round the clock to use the ipad. anyone have tips?

My child goes to a public school preschool program (VPK) in Tennessee. It goes from 7:45-1:45. They have a mandatory 30 minute “rest time”. This is not a time where they can play quietly. They have to lay down. I’m very upset because the teacher makes them lay directly on the floor. They are allowed to lay on the regular classroom rug, but they do not have anything like a mat or cot. She said they also cannot bring a blanket. They are allowed a small pillow. My son says he’s uncomfortable and cold during this time. I know it’s not a long time, but I’m sure it seems long to a 4 year old who is cold and laying on the floor. This seems insane to me, but am I the crazy one? I also think this would be illegal! I feel like this would be illegal at a state funded daycare program so I don’t know how this would be any different. Is this normal? Should I let it go? Is it perfectly legal? Help!

I’m a new TPT seller and I’m trying to improve the quality of my resources. I made a free worksheet/resource for Kindergarten and would really appreciate feedback from teachers or homeschool parents.
I’d especially love feedback on the layout, font size, instructions, activities, and whether it feels classroom-ready. I’m not looking to promote a paid product—I genuinely want to know what I should improve before creating more resources.
If links are allowed here, I can share the free TPT resource. Thank you!”

I’m debating whether I want to send my daughter to preschool when she turns 4 or if I should skip and wait for kindergarten. She just turned 3 but I’m trying to plan ahead.
She’s very social when we’re out in public and talks a lot at home too.I take her to the library at least once a week, we go to museums & we practice ABCs, numbers and days of the week, etc at home. She’s bilingual speaks Spanish and just started learning English this past year and is doing great with speaking both now.
I could also go back to work which would also be a huge plus since I haven’t worked in the past 4 years old basically since i was pregnant. I just dont know if it’s worth it if it means giving up time with my daughter/My only kid and I doubt I’m having anymore.
Give me your best advice I’m all ears!

My school has decided to lean more into Reggio. As part of this transition, they’re adding an atelier space and changing how we plan. I used to work at a center that was also Reggio, so I’m setting up the atelier and basically showing the teachers how to use the space.

But, the more I try to figure out how to do this in the most Reggio Way, I feel like the understanding of Reggio I learned at my old school isn’t actually Reggio. I’m so lost and confused. I always thought atelier was literally just an art studio - like going to electives in grade school. But I’m realizing it’s much more than that… I think?

The atelier is such a specific piece of Reggio, I really want to get this right and be as Reggio as humanly possible lol I’ve been reading up on it, I got the Reggio Way book from the library (can’t remember the actual title). And it’s helpful, but I can’t help but feel like my interpretation isn’t accurate.

I’m here hoping someone can guide me in the right direction? How to set up/stock the atelier? What should/should not be there? How to actually use the space? I’m also lost on how it’s different than using provocations in the classrooms. How/when do you do artist studies vs project work? If kids do project work in the atelier, do they do project work in the classroom too?

How do I create and use a Reggio Emilia inspired Atelier? How do I ensure I’m being as Reggio as possible?

My daughter is starting first grade in a few weeks, and I’m currently stuck in this exhausting gray area between pure excitement and intense parenting anxiety. She is genuinely looking forward to going to school, but lately, I’ve been putting way too much pressure on making sure she’s actually ready for the transition.

Instead of just focusing on routines or independence, I found myself getting overly fixated on the academic side of things. We started doing these little daily math and reading worksheets at home, but within a few days, it completely backfired. The second she ran into a problem she didn't instantly understand, she would get frustrated, drop her head, and completely tune out. I realized that by trying to prepare her, I was accidentally turning our living room into a high-stress "school practice" environment and making her feel insecure about learning before she even steps into a real classroom.

I’ve been looking into different approaches for preparing for first grade that actually prioritize building confidence and curiosity rather than just rote memorization or strict drilling. I want her to understand that making mistakes is just a normal part of figuring things out, but it's incredibly hard to maintain that supportive, low-stress vibe when you are the one enforcing the lessons.

For the parents who have already gone through the first-grade transition, how did you handle this balance?

A week or so into the school year I want to send in some things that are actually helpful to the teacher/paras/ helpers.

Thinking things like: soft tissues, Lysol wipes, sticker books etc. please let me know what YOUd find helpful and or thoughtful.

I plan to do gift cards for holidays / teacher appreciation week etc.

Thanks everyone

Hi everyone, we recently shifted to Vizag from Hyderabad and are looking for a good preschool for our child.

He was attending FirstCry Intellitots Preschool in Hyderabad, so ideally we were hoping to find something similar here in terms of curriculum and overall environment.

We came across the Firstcry Intellitots Preschool Akkayyapalem branch and heard a couple of very good things, but would love to get honest feedback from parents here. How is it in terms of teachers, hygiene, and overall learning experience?

Also open to other preschool recommendations in and around Akkayyapalem. Thanks in advance!

hi I am looking to set up one activity for my three year old so that I can drink hot coffee lol and then one that I can do with her. instagram is full of people with ideas for fun games, crafts and activities but Im really trying to stay off social media for my mental health. does anyone know of sites I can routinely visit or subscription emails/Substack so can subscribe to (for free hopefully) to get some ideas? thank you

Hey guys, I really need your suggestions / help to prepare my 3 year old for her preschool. Books, any website/ video for my learning or just any suggestio. she has never done anything without me and so clingy to me. I am scared of the drop offs and want to prepare and talk to her about the transition too! I have never show. her cartoons but don’t mind showing one or two videos if it’s helpful! thanks 🙏