Recently another preschool special education teacher asked me for suggestions to increase student engagement during table play activities. Preschool teachers put toys out on tables every day, and putting out things that are interesting to the students is important because interesting toys = interested students. In turn, interested students are less likely to display problematic behaviors. However, I think it is important to look beyond finding toys that prevent problem behaviors to seek toys that promote engagement. Because engagement = learning. (And yes, also prevents problem behaviors).
A few years ago, I read Engagement of Every Child in the Preschool Classroom by R.A. McWilliam and Amy M. Casey. Not only does this book explain the importance of preschool student engagement, but it also gives some excellent methods of tracking engagement in preschool classrooms. As an early childhood special education teacher, I was especially interested in what the research says about how children with disabilities engage in the classroom. According to McWilliam and Casey (2008), children with disabilities spend less time engaged in the preschool environment than children without disabilities. Therefore, promoting engagement in the preschool classroom is important to all students, especially those with disabilities.
With that information in mind, what are some ways to increase student engagement in table activities? Here are some suggestions:
#1 Way to Increase Preschool Student Engagement During Table Activities: Rotate Choices Regularly – And Make Changes When Necessary
The first way to increase preschool student engagement during table activities is to ensure that toys are rotated frequently. In my classroom we generally put out one set of toys on the tables each week, then we change and have different choices the next week. However, I will keep an eye on how the table toys are being “received” – if I notice that one item is not being played with, or doesn’t seem interesting after a few days, I will add something new toward the end of the week.
#2 Way to Increase Preschool Student Engagement During Table Activities: Limit Amount of “Have To” Table Play Time
If you have a classroom schedule that has “have to” activities, you might have some part of the day when you expect your students to stay at the table for a period of time. I know this can be a little controversial, but in my classroom, we have a station time in the middle of the day where students are expected to stay at the table and play with the choices provided. While this happens, the teachers alternate working with individual students on IEP goal work. If this is something that you do, you want to make sure this is for a developmentally appropriate amount of time. We keep our stations extra short at the beginning of the school year and then add a few minutes as the year progresses.
#3 Way to Increase Preschool Student Engagement During Table Activities: Distribute “High-Interest” Toys Equally
Another suggestion is if you use any “have to” table time, you will want to ensure all the toys offered at the table are “equal”. In other words, if Johnny gets the small garage with the mini cars, and Suzy gets just blocks, there will be trouble. Students who are unhappy about not getting what another student has are not engaged. In these situations, I try to find toys about the same interest level, so everyone has the same basic thing to play with as teachers are moving around the table working with students on goal work.
#4 Way to Increase Preschool Student Engagement During Table Activities: Offer Choices with Table Play
One way to “stretch” any “have to” table time is always to have an easy second option available. For example, you can keep paper, markers, and stickers nearby during these times. If a student does not care for the toys provided, they always have an acceptable second choice. Another good option is to always provide one more tray at the table than students seated at the table so that students can always have a choice of activities.
#5 Way to Increase Preschool Student Engagement During Table Activities: Don’t Overlook Unusual Play Choices!
During “have to” table activities, or just free-play time, don’t forget to think about more unusual play choices. One of the most popular choices in my classroom is our “miscellaneous toys”. These are completely random small toys that I have collected from different sources. In fact, these are some of the easiest (and least expensive) things to get at yard sales. These toys are kind of the “dregs”, or leftovers of the toy box. Because they don’t have a toy home, you can buy them very inexpensively. You can see some of our miscellaneous toys in the pictures below. We always have a huge amount of engagement when we have these out.
#6 Way to Increase Preschool Student Engagement During Table Activities: Add Containers to Play Areas!
The NUMBER ONE thing I have found to improve engagement with table toys is to provide containers with any small objects. Providing containers makes the toys MUCH more interesting to them. Some good examples are zip-up pencil bags, small jewelry boxes, empty peanut butter jars, etc. Students will put toys in and out. They will experiment to see how many toys will fit. Sometimes they start sorting objects. – just because the containers are available to them. I’ve attached a picture of some containers we put out.
There are the six ways to increase preschool student engagement during table activities!
