Digital Classroom in Preschool: Adapting Digital for the Very Young
How to introduce digital in preschool responsibly? Suitable tools, recommended screen time and playful approaches for 3-6-year-olds.
The introduction of digital in preschool raises many questions. Between recommendations for limiting screens and the educational opportunities offered by digital, teachers must find the right balance. This guide accompanies you in creating a digital classroom adapted to the very young.
🎯 Why introduce digital in preschool?
Preschool lays the foundations of learning. Digital, when used appropriately, can enrich these first steps in the school world while preparing children for their future digital environment.
Creativity
Draw, create, explore new forms of artistic expression
Logic
Develop reasoning through adapted puzzles and games
Language
Enrich vocabulary, discover sounds and letters
Collaboration
Learn to share and work together on a common support
⚠️ Point of Caution
Digital in preschool should always complement activities of manipulation, motor skills, and social interaction. It never replaces fundamental learning that involves the body, the senses, and the relationship with the teacher and peers.
⏰ Recommendations and screen time
Health authorities and the National Education recommend a highly controlled use of screens in preschool. Here are the essential guidelines to respect.
The golden rules of digital in preschool
- Always accompany the child: no screens in complete autonomy
- Favor short and interactive activities
- Always alternate with motor activities
- Avoid screens before nap time and at the end of the day
- Favor collective uses on big screens rather than individual
- Verbalize what happens on screen to maintain the language link
💡 The 15-15 Approach
Adopt the 15-15 rule: 15 minutes of digital activity followed by 15 minutes of physical activity. This alternation preserves the attention of the very young and promotes memorization. It is exactly the principle of COCO BOUGE which automatically imposes sports breaks.
📱 Suitable equipment for preschool
The choice of equipment in preschool meets specific criteria: robustness, ergonomics adapted to small hands, and ease of use.
Collective interactive screen
Large format (65"+), at child's height, for group activities
Reinforced tablets
Shockproof cases, 8-10" screen, few shared tablets
Bluetooth speaker
For musical activities and sound stories
Recommended configuration
- For 25 students: 1 interactive screen + 4-5 tablets in rotation
- Cases with handles for easy grip
- Tilted stand to avoid neck fatigue
- Ergonomic styluses adapted to small hands
⚠️ Safety First
Securely attach the interactive screen to the wall, secure all cables, and provide a clear space in front of the screen. Tablets must be stored out of reach outside of dedicated times.
🧠 COCO: designed for children from 5 years old
The COCO application offers cognitive games adapted to young children with an intuitive interface and automatic sports breaks every 15 minutes.
Discover COCO →📲 Applications suitable for 3-6-year-olds
Applications for preschool must be simple, intuitive, and adapted to the development of the very young. Here are the selection criteria and our recommendations.
Selection criteria
- Clear interface, little text, intuitive navigation
- No advertisements or in-app purchases
- Positive and encouraging feedback (no "lost" or failure)
- Adaptive difficulty level
- Possibility to limit usage time
- Compliance with GDPR and protection of minors' data
COCO (5-10 years)
Cognitive games with integrated sports breaks, child-friendly interface
Lalilo
Reading learning, adaptive, recommended by EN
Tayasui Sketches
Digital drawing, realistic brushes, free creativity
💡 COCO Feature
COCO is particularly suitable for kindergarten and CP. Its mandatory sports break system every 15 minutes with COCO BOUGE automatically ensures the recommended alternation between screen time and physical activity.
🎓 Digital educational activities in preschool
Digital in preschool should always serve the fundamental learning defined by the programs. Here are examples of relevant activities.
Mobilize language
- Listen and tell interactive stories
- Record oneself to listen to oneself speak (phonological awareness)
- Create sound picture books of the class
- Play with sounds and letters on a tablet
Build the first tools to structure thought
- Progressive digital puzzles
- Interactive sorting and classification games
- Discovery of shapes and colors
- First algorithms with sequences to reproduce
Explore the world
- Observe nature up close (digital magnifier)
- Discover animals of the world in video
- Explore space with virtual tours
- Document class projects with photos
⚠️ Always extend into reality
Each digital activity must be extended with a real manipulation activity. After observing insects on video, go outside to really observe them. After a digital puzzle, offer the same one in wood. Digital prepares and enriches, it does not replace.
🏃 Active breaks and alternation
In preschool more than elsewhere, the alternation between screen time and physical activity is crucial. The very young need to move to learn.
Danced breaks
Follow a simple choreography on the interactive screen
Motor skills course
Alternate with a physical course in the room
Calm moments
Relaxation, children yoga, guided calm return
💡 COCO BOUGE: the integrated solution
The COCO BOUGE application offers fun physical exercises specially designed for children. The movements are simple, guided on screen, and adapted to the motor skills of 5-10-year-olds. A few-minute break that allows expending accumulated energy before resuming cognitive activities.
🏃 Sports breaks with COCO BOUGE
Fun physical exercises adapted to children to alternate with screen time. Perfect for recess and motor skills workshops.
Discover COCO BOUGE →🎯 Conclusion
The digital classroom in preschool is possible and beneficial as long as strict rules are followed: limited screen time, constant adult supervision, alternation with motor and manipulation activities, and choice of applications adapted to the development of the very young.
Digital then becomes a tool among others, enriching learning without ever replacing the fundamentals: play, movement, oral language, and the relationship with the teacher and other children.
Need support to integrate digital in preschool?
DYNSEO offers training adapted to the specificities of early childhood.
