10 Ways to Embed IEP Goals Into Preschool Centers
If you teach preschool special education, you probably know the feeling:
You have IEP goals to work on.
You have data to collect.
You have a curriculum to teach.
You have centers to run.
And somehow you’re also supposed to find time to individually work on every student’s goals.
Here’s the good news: You don’t need to create a separate activity for every IEP goal.
In a preschool classroom, so much of the learning we want to support can happen naturally during play, routines, and center time.
Instead of pulling students away from the activities happening in your classroom, you can intentionally embed IEP goals into activities they’re already interested in and participating in.
This approach, often referred to as embedded instruction, involves intentionally supporting individualized skills within everyday classroom activities and routines.
And honestly? Centers are one of my favorite places to do this.
Centers already give students opportunities to communicate, problem-solve, interact with peers, practice fine motor skills, follow directions, make choices, and engage with academic concepts.
The trick is learning how to look at the center through the lens of your students’ individual goals while still honoring their interests, communication, autonomy, and way of engaging with the world.
Let’s look at what that can actually look like.
1. Communication Goals → Dramatic Play
Let’s say you have a student working on requesting, commenting, or communicating using a particular type of language.
You don’t necessarily need to sit at a table with picture cards and practice those skills in isolation.
Go to dramatic play.
If you’re playing restaurant, you might naturally create opportunities to communicate:
“I want pizza.”
“More.”
“My turn.”
“Help.”
“Open.”
“Drink.”
If a student uses AAC, this is also a great opportunity to model language on their device while you’re playing. I have some low-tech center boards made for you HERE.
And remember: you don’t have to wait for the student to independently use AAC before you model it.
You can model words and phrases while you’re interacting with them without turning the play into a test.
And don’t forget that communication can look many different ways. A student may communicate through speech, AAC, gestures, signs, facial expressions, body movements, pictures, or other forms of communication.
The goal isn’t to make every child communicate in the same way.
The goal is to give every child meaningful ways to communicate.
2. Social Goals → Blocks
Blocks are basically a giant social-learning laboratory.
Students have opportunities to navigate:
- Sharing materials
- Entering someone else’s play
- Taking turns
- Asking for a block
- Responding to peers
- Solving problems together
- Repairing interactions
- Playing alongside or with others
If a student’s IEP goal focuses on peer interaction, use the block center as an opportunity to support connection.
You might model:
“Can I play?”
“You build. I build.”
“My turn.”
“Your turn.”
“Let’s build together.”
But here’s an important distinction:
We don’t need every child to engage socially in the same way.
Parallel play, watching, observing, playing alongside a peer, and brief interactions can all be meaningful forms of participation.
Your role isn’t to force an interaction.
Instead, think about how you can create opportunities for connection and support the student in whatever level of interaction feels accessible to them.
The goal isn’t to make the interaction look perfect.
The goal is to support meaningful connection and participation.
3. Fine Motor Goals → Art
Art centers are an easy place to embed fine motor goals because students are already motivated to explore and manipulate materials.
Depending on the student’s goal, you might support:
✂️ Cutting
🖍️ Using writing tools
🧴 Squeezing glue
🧩 Placing small objects
📄 Tearing paper
🧵 Threading
🖌️ Painting
And here’s something important:
You don’t necessarily need to give every student the exact same materials or expect them to complete the same finished product.
One student may be working on cutting along a line.
Another may be practicing snipping.
Another might be exploring different ways to grasp and manipulate a writing tool.
Another might be working on opening and closing containers.
Another may prefer to use their hands rather than a tool.
Same center.
Different goals.
Different supports.
That’s differentiation—and it also means honoring different ways of participating.
4. Following Directions → Any Center
Following directions doesn’t have to mean sitting at a table while an adult gives a series of instructions.
You can support receptive language and following directions throughout the day.
At the sensory center:
“Put the scoop in.”
At blocks:
“Give me the red block.”
At dramatic play:
“Put the plate on the table.”
At art:
“Get the glue and paper.”
You can adjust the complexity of the direction based on the student’s current skills and provide supports that make the direction accessible.
Visuals, gestures, modeling, repetition, and extra processing time can all help.
And remember to give students enough processing time.
Sometimes we’re so quick to repeat ourselves that we don’t actually give the child an opportunity to process what we’ve said.
Most importantly, following directions shouldn’t mean expecting unquestioning compliance.
There are times when children need to understand a direction, and there are times when they need to communicate that they don’t want to participate, need a break, or need something changed.
We can teach receptive language while still respecting autonomy.
5. Matching, Sorting & Categorizing → Pretty Much Everywhere
You don’t need a worksheet to work on sorting.
Look around your classroom.
You have opportunities everywhere.
At the dramatic play center:
Sort food.
At the block center:
Sort blocks by color or size.
At the art center:
Sort markers by color.
At the sensory table:
Sort objects by type.
During clean-up:
Put each item where it belongs.
These everyday opportunities can make academic skills feel much more meaningful because students are using them for an actual purpose.
And remember: not every child needs to demonstrate a concept in exactly the same way.
A student might sort independently.
Another might match one item at a time.
Another might make a choice between two categories.
Another might participate by handing materials to an adult.
Meet the learner where they are and build from there.
6. Early Math Goals → MEaL Time
Meal time is one of my favorite hidden opportunities for math.
You can support:
🍎 Counting
🍎 One-to-one correspondence
🍎 More/less
🍎 Same/different
🍎 Making choices
🍎 Sorting
🍎 Early quantity concepts
Instead of creating a separate math activity, you might say:
“How many crackers do you have?”
“Do you want one or two?”
“Who has more?”
“Let’s count them together.”
You can also use snack as an opportunity for communication and participation.
One routine can support multiple areas at once.
And because mealtime is a meaningful part of the day, the skills you’re supporting have a real purpose.
I love the concept of learning through mealtime SO MUCH I used to cook every Friday with my students. You can learn more about how HERE.
7. Independence Goals → Clean-Up
Clean-up is not just something we have to get through before moving on to the next activity.
Clean-up can be a meaningful opportunity to practice participation and independence.
If a student has a goal related to completing a routine or increasing independence, clean-up can be a great place to embed it.
Instead of automatically doing everything for the student, think about:
“What support would allow this student to participate in this routine?”
Maybe that’s:
- A visual showing where materials belong
- A labeled bin
- A first/then visual
- A smaller number of items
- A peer model
- A verbal or gestural prompt
- Extra processing time
- Hand-under-hand support when appropriate
The goal isn’t necessarily “clean up independently.”
Think about the smaller skills that support participation.
And remember: independence doesn’t mean doing everything alone.
Knowing how to ask for help, using a visual, relying on an appropriate support, or working alongside another person are all valuable ways to participate.
8. Self-Advocacy Goals → Choice Time
Choice time gives students opportunities to communicate what they want, don’t want, need, and enjoy.
And that’s important.
If we’re always telling students what to do, when to do it, and how to do it, we’re missing opportunities to support self-advocacy and autonomy.
During centers, you can support communication such as:
“I want ___.”
“No.”
“All done.”
“Help.”
“More.”
“Different.”
“My turn.”
A student doesn’t need to use spoken language to advocate for themselves.
Choices can be communicated through speech, AAC, gestures, signs, pictures, eye gaze, body language, or other communication methods.
And sometimes the most important thing we can teach is that their communication has an impact.
If a child communicates “all done,” we want them to learn that we will listen.
If they communicate “help,” we want them to know that help is available.
If they communicate “no,” we want to consider what they’re telling us.
Self-advocacy isn’t about teaching children to ask nicely enough. It’s about making sure their communication is heard and respected.
9. Problem-Solving Goals → Play
Play naturally creates problems.
The block tower falls.
The toy someone wants is being used.
The puzzle piece doesn’t fit.
The train track won’t connect.
The baby needs a bed.
And those moments can become learning opportunities.
Instead of immediately fixing the problem for the student, pause.
Try:
“Hmm. What could we do?”
“Let’s try something different.”
“Do you need help?”
“What could we use?”
Depending on the student’s goal, you might be supporting persistence, flexibility, communication, problem-solving, or social interaction.
But remember that flexibility doesn’t mean forcing a child to accept something that is genuinely distressing.
Sometimes the best solution is changing the environment.
Sometimes it’s asking for help.
Sometimes it’s taking a break.
Sometimes it’s trying again.
And sometimes it’s deciding that the original plan isn’t working.
You don’t have to manufacture a problem.
Play creates plenty of opportunities for problem-solving all on its own. 😂
10. IEP Goals Don’t Have to Stay in One Center
This might be the biggest takeaway.
If a student’s goal is communication, don’t only work on communication during speech group.
If their goal is fine motor, don’t only work on it during art.
If their goal is social interaction, don’t only work on it during a social-skills activity.
Look for opportunities throughout the day.
A communication goal can happen during:
- Arrival
- Snack
- Centers
- Books
- Outside
- Art
- Transitions
A social goal can happen during:
- Blocks
- Dramatic play
- Games
- Snack
- Outdoor play
- Group activities
A following-directions goal can happen almost anywhere.
That’s the beauty of embedding goals into the classroom.
The classroom becomes a place where students can practice meaningful skills—not just a place where they leave the room for “IEP work.”
A Simple Way to Start
If the idea of embedding every student’s goals into every part of the day feels overwhelming, don’t start with everything.
Pick one student and one goal.
Then ask yourself:
1. What is the student working on?
Be specific.
2. When does this skill naturally happen?
Think about your existing routines and centers.
3. What can I do to create more opportunities?
Maybe you need to add a visual, change the materials, provide a choice, or intentionally pause.
4. What support does the student need?
Think about prompts, modeling, visuals, AAC, peer support, adapted materials, or environmental changes.
5. How will I collect my data?
You don’t need to turn every center into a data-collection session.
Choose a manageable way to capture the information you need.
And as you collect data, remember that data is information—not a judgment of the child.
It can help you understand what supports are working, what barriers might be getting in the way, and what you might want to try next.
You Don’t Need 20 More Activities
One of the biggest mindset shifts I had to make as a special education teacher was realizing that I didn’t need to constantly create more activities.
I needed to get better at seeing the learning opportunities that were already happening.
Your centers are already filled with opportunities for:
Communication.
Social interaction.
Fine motor development.
Early academics.
Independence.
Problem-solving.
Self-advocacy.
Play.
Your job isn’t to turn every moment into therapy.
Your job is to create an environment where students have meaningful opportunities to practice the skills that matter to them.
And sometimes that means stepping back, watching what your students are already doing, and asking:
“How can I intentionally support this student’s goal right here?”
That one question can completely change the way you look at your classroom.
Want to Make Centers Easier?
If you’re tired of wondering what students should be doing during centers—or how to make centers work for a classroom full of different learners—I’ve created resources to help.
My Centers Bundle for Preschool & Kindergarten includes supports designed specifically to help you scaffold center activities for students with different developmental, communication, and learning needs.
And my How-To-Play in Centers Visual Instructions & Prompts can help make expectations and participation more accessible for students who benefit from visual support.
You don’t need to reinvent your centers.
You just need the right supports to help more students access and participate in them.
And if you’re looking for deeper support with creating an inclusive, developmentally appropriate ECSE classroom, you can also check out my Foundations of ECSE Master Course, where I dive deeper into the practices behind the classroom systems and supports.
One Last Reminder
Your students’ IEP goals are important.
But the child is more than their IEP.
Their goals don’t have to take them away from the things that make preschool meaningful.
We can work on communication while playing.
We can work on social skills while building.
We can work on fine motor skills while creating.
We can work on independence while cleaning up.
We can work on academics while exploring.
Learning doesn’t have to happen at a table to count.
And support doesn’t have to look the same for every child.
Sometimes the best teaching happens right in the middle of play—with a visual, a pause, a model, an AAC device, a little extra support, or simply an adult who is willing to follow the child’s lead.
