15 Resources Pre-K Teachers Use to Create Engaging Learning Experiences

Pre-K classrooms give children the foundational skills they need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Through play-based learning, young children develop early literacy, math, social-emotional, and motor skills while building confidence and curiosity. 

Pre-K teachers play a vital role in creating developmentally appropriate learning experiences that nurture the whole child, which is why resources and professional development in this area are so important to educators. New Jersey pre-K teachers enrolled in the Rutgers Alternate Route Program selected the resources below to plan engaging lessons and support their teaching.
 

Coursera
Teacher Name: Arunima Kuila
Grade: K-5

"This is an online learning platform that offers a variety of professional development courses for teachers."

Create Printables
Teacher Name: Stephanie Collura
Grade: K-5

"CreatePrintables.com lets preschool teachers easily make customizable worksheets for literacy, numeracy, and fine motor skills, including tracing sheets, playdough mats, and themed activities."

edWeb
Teacher Name: Arunima Kuila
Grade: K-5

"It is a professional social network for educators to connect with peers, providing resources and free webinars on timely topics, with certificates of completion."

Five Musical Transitions
Teacher Name: Leacock Cole
Grade: K-5

"The benefit is that it gives preschool teachers more ideas for song transitions to help with classroom management when moving throughout the day with different activities."


Ignite by Hatch
Teacher Name: Andrea McKenzie
Grade: K-5

"Ignite is a digital learning platform designed for children 28 months to 5 years old. Children play digital curricular experiences encompassing 7 learning domains. Ignite’s 203 curricular experiences are sequenced to build skills necessary for children to be prepared for kindergarten. Ignite is available in English or Spanish."


NAEYC
Teacher Name: Crystal Montanez
Grade: K-5

"Promotes High-Quality Early Learning Standards. NAEYC provides clear guidelines and standards for developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). These help teachers ensure that instruction meets children’s developmental needs while promoting curiosity, exploration, and play-based learning. Offers Professional Development Opportunities: Educators can access webinars, conferences, online courses, and publications that support ongoing learning and growth in the field of early childhood education."


Play to Learn Preschool
Teacher Name: Leacock Cole
Grade: K-5

"This gives preschool teachers 10 different creative ideas for practicing with the kids to write their names, which helps with their writing skills."


Pocket of Preschool
Teacher Name: Stephanie Collura
Grade: K-5

"Pocket of Preschool provides preschool teachers with ready-to-use activities, lesson plans, and tips to create engaging, developmentally appropriate learning experiences."


PreKinders
Teacher Name: Marissa Cirone
Grade: K-5

"This site is a fantastic resource for teachers who need a little extra in their lesson plans to engage the children."


Pre-K Pages
Teacher Name: Rachel Seay
Grade: K-5

A go-to site for Pre-K/preschool teachers: printables, lesson ideas, center ideas, and dramatic play suggestions. Helps save time planning, gives concrete classroom-level tools and activities you can use immediately. Great for supporting children with behavior issues because many of the activities are hands-on and engaging (which can help with attention, motivation).


Pre-K Printable Fun
Teacher Name: Marissa Cirone
Grade: K-5

This site is an awesome resource because it helps guide you with lesson topics. It also has a section where there are ideas for different subjects- fine motor, small group, outside, craft, etc.


Scholastic Early Childhood
Teacher Name: Hannah Kurzman
Grade: K-5

There are many resources not only for the classroom but also for parents. Can set up a bookstore for books to be bought/donated.


Sesame Workshop
Teacher Name: Crystal Montanez
Grade: K-5

"Promotes Social-Emotional Learning. Sesame Street in Communities offers engaging videos, stories, and activities that help children identify emotions, build empathy, and develop self-regulation skills. These lessons support positive behavior and classroom community. Supports Early Literacy and Numeracy: The site provides fun, play-based activities that teach foundational skills in reading, writing, and math through songs, games, and stories with familiar Sesame Street characters. Addresses Real-World Topics Sesame Workshop covers sensitive and important topics such as family changes, health, diversity, and resilience in developmentally appropriate ways. This helps children build coping skills and understanding. Strengthens Family Engagement: Many of the resources are designed for educators to share with families, encouraging learning at home. The bilingual materials (English and Spanish) make them accessible to diverse families. Free, Research-Based, and Easy to Use: All materials are free and based on decades of child development research. Teachers can easily integrate them into circle time, small groups, or home connection activities."


Start Early – Resources for Early Childhood Professionals
Teacher Name: Rachel Seay 
Grade: K-5

"Offers professional-development tools and resources specifically for early childhood educators. Includes curriculum tools, research summaries, and state-based supports that help you build your knowledge and classroom practices. Useful for teacher growth and also for understanding systemic practices (helpful since you're moving toward a classroom teacher role)."


Tools of the Mind
Teacher Name: Zeinab Chahine
Grade: K-5

"It is curriculum-based and has so many helpful tips and tricks for any Pre-K classroom, not just one that follows the curriculum."

If you’re considering following your dream of teaching, Rutgers Alternate Route can offer you the support and training you need to succeed. Be sure to follow Rutgers Alternate Route on Twitter or sign up for Alternate Route’s monthly newsletter to receive more information and stories from the field of education.