I am a pre-school teacher and, in my experience, when children are given the opportunity to play freely, things go awry. I also work with children with behavioral problems so my opinion may be irrelevant. I implement weekly themes in my classroom based off of the letters in the alphabet. (A-animals, B-bubbles, C-circus, etc) I plan several activities for each day that relate to the theme. Usually I will have two art activities, one science, one math, an outdoor experience, sensory activity and 4-6 books to read as well. ALL of which relate to the theme. But the children also have ample time (about 4 hours total) of free play whilst in the indoor gym, on the play ground, or in the classroom. I choose my themes based off of the children's interests, keeping them happy and their parents happy
