I believe teaching young children is not about planning structured lessons on music and movement, art and craft or mathematics. The focus should be on the children. The learning should be child-initiated. This requires understanding children's thinking through continuous observation, using a carefully planned physical environment and meaningful interactions to facilitate learning in various subjects.
Learning occurs naturally when an educator supports children's thinking and extends their play, and subsequently plans meaningful experiences with them. These are often conducted in a play setting, not necessarily delivered in formal lessons. While knowledge of subject content (numbers, the alphabet, etc.) is valuable, it is mostly to enhance the interactions with children and preparation of the environment.
It should not, as it often does, lead to a structured delivery of pre-determined content. In fact, such content should be developed from new thoughts and discoveries initiated by children. For example, children who are exploring insects can be encouraged to count the legs (mathematics), describe their encounter with insects (language) and use various mediums to recreate the insects (art).
Child-initiated experiences are valuable because such learning is self-motivated. The children are more likely to take ownership of their learning. Child-initiated experiences also promote self-esteem and produce confident children who enjoy life-long learning.
Education is about lighting a spark, not filling a bucket.