Sometimes it is easy to get bogged down in lesson planning.  It can seem overwhelming trying to plan a day or a week of lessons.  When you are short on time, the last thing you want to be is short on activities.  Teaching is hard work.  Lesson planning can be fun, and sometimes even easy.

This post is written for preschool teachers for students with or without disabilities.  For tips for lesson planning for Itinerant students, please click here.

1. Purchase a spiral bound lesson plan book. Expensive books can be purchased at a teaching store.  However, I buy my book every year from Target’s dollar spot or Amazon.  The books are cute (a must for preschool teachers) and have everything I need.  A good lesson plan book is a lifesaver.  Having a book allows you to write your lesson ideas whenever they strike. (Similarly, a lesson planning app for your tablet can be interchangeable for a book).  Also, you can reference past activities and incorporate them in your new week.  In your book, highlight activities that were the students’ favorites.  This will make scanning for activities easier.  Prepare your book for the school year.  On the tabs on top, write each subject area.  In my book the tabs are: Literacy, Music/Movement, Social, Fine Motor, Gross Motor, Science, Math, Sensory and Vision. 
2. Divide your lessons into units The school you work for may already have pre-planned monthly units. If not, I highly recommend writing them out.  Within each theme, write out a sub unit for the week.  For example, if you are doing an All About Me unit, a sub theme may be “My Likes and Dislikes”.  For an ocean unit, your sub theme for a week may be ocean animals.  If you take the time to create a list for sub units for each week for the school year, you will have a starting point. 
3. Choose a book that reflects your topic.  Base your lesson plan around the book.  Frequently, children’s books discuss adventures the main character has.  Plan to do those activities in the classroom.  Start or continue to build your classroom library.  Stock up on good books by shopping garage sales, thrift stores and library sales. 
4. Have pre-planned standby activities.  This can save you on a week when you don’t have anytime to plan.  Pre-write (when you aren’t under a time crunch) four weeks of lesson plans.  They can be generic lesson plans, which can be incorporated with only a little preparation time.  These generic lesson plans can also be used as your emergency substitute lessons.  That way if you are out unexpectedly, your sub can still have activities readily available.
5. Prepare a list of resources that you can reference quickly for ideas.  Mailbox magazines are always fun of great ideas.  Keep all of your issues as you will never know when you will need them.  Pinterest- as you know-is full of activities.  Pin ideas in your spare time, so you can quickly pull up an activity. 

Have fun and good luck with your lesson plans.  A little pre-planning will make it so much easier to plan on the fly.