Author: Addie

Camping Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

We like to go camping at least once during the summer time and I always try to plan this theme the week before we go. It really gets the kids excited for what’s to come, and really expands into some great hands on learning adventures once we’re there.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read the Lame Man Use colored pencils to color worksheet Find the differences Jesus Simon says** Get moving** 
Language (2) A sandpaper letter Paint leaves and press on paper – write letters in leaves A binder Point out how the tent on this page creates an A shape then color the picture A miniatures 
Language (4) Build the word ‘That’ out of sticks – is the a in that short or long? Long & short vowel A sort Camping sounds – Instead of first letter sound I will have her identify the first vowel sound she hears Paint leaves and press on paper – write letters/words in leaves Read & sequence camping trip 
Math (2)  Camping number puzzle – do 1-10 or change to 11-20 depending on what you want your child to practice Write review numbers on a paper and help child identify them, then cover the page in camping stickers Camping cutting work Use marshmallows and toothpicks to paint dots on paper. You can count to certain numbers or practice patterns. Count 20 blocks then make a pretend campfire – pretend to make smores 
Math (4) Get 3D shapes out (I like this set too) and match to cards Shape camping pack** Camping cutting work Use marshmallows & toothpicks to build as many 3d shapes as possible 3D objects  & nets matching 
Art/Sensory Forest playdough – green play dough, blue play dough, bugs, twigs, moss, pebbles Back yard fishing** Campfire art – cut strips of brown for logs, glue to paper and paint a fire River/Creek bin – pebbles/stones, bugs, snakes, frogs, blue gems, green gems, water  Go camping (even if it’s just in your backyard!) 
Science
Geography
History 		Living v nonliving sort Explore rocks – magnifying glass, scale & book on rocks Learn about forests – Pick a national forest or park to learn about Look up the map of the area you learned about yesterday and practice reading a map (use cardinal directions) Learn a little bit about tracking you can use this chart to try to identify 

Jesus simon says – Play “Simon Says” with the children sitting down, mimicking your actions. Periodically say, “In the name of Jesus, get up and walk.” Walk around the room and then return to play again. 

Get Moving – Get or make flashcards #1-5 or #1-10 depending on age of your child. Have child pick a card and then tell them an activity to do that many times (hop on one foot, spin in circles, jump for joy etc..) 

Shape camping pack – Get a camping pack or bag and find things around the house to put in it (try to find something for each of the shapes you want to teach). After you’ve gathered them, take out each item from the bag and classify them by shape. Once they’ve been sorted, talk about the different attributes of each. 

Back yard fishing – Fill a kiddie pool or bin with water and place toy fish or other pool/bath toy animals inside. Use fishing nets (you can get from dollar tree) to fish them out. If you have a real kids fishing pole, you could also practice casting. If you prefer an indoor activity you could do a magnetic fishing game. 

Summer Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

The sun is out and the kids are excited for all the summer activities, so we are full on summer mode this week. A reminder that my themes follow my schedule & focus which you can find in the freebies section. If you don’t want to work on shapes and instead want to do numbers you can always find other resources for those. Make your learning, your learning!

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read the First Church Review questions** I’m in the Lord’s Army song Blindfold activity** Plan/make something to bring for after church Sunday 
Language (2) U sandpaper Make watermelon out of the letter U**  U Binder Bend different sizes of pipe cleaners into ‘u’ shape and glue onto paper U miniatures 
Language (4) Introduce Now sight word & use magnets to build. Then practice more words with magnets Long & short vowel U sort Summer U words** + sight word practice Write letters A-Z with washable marker on a pop-it. Use sight word cards to identify the word then pop the letters to spell them Writing & matching from this printable 
Math (2)  Get a variety of shells and count 20 of them, then sort them Hammer 20 golf tees into a watermelon Bees Pollinating** Roll out some playdo and use scissors to cut 20 pieces. Then place them into the holes of a pop it with a toothpick Summer ISpy 
Math (4) I know my polygons mini book Draw a shape on a watermelon then hammer golf tees on the shape Bean bag shape tape review** Applied polygons Build shapes on geoboard 
Art/Sensory Play with water table (can put seashells in it) Play in the sandbox (make it more fun by digging for treasures!) Watergun resist art with a summer themed image Paint the sidewalk or fence with water and a big paintbrush Go on a summer picnic 
Science
Geography
History 		Learn about seashells & Examine them Pick a place your child would like to go on vacation and research it Make a solar oven and make crayons or smores! Leakproof bag science experiment Make a lego water Dam 

Review Questions 

  1. What are the four things that the early church devoted themselves to? the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread (Lord’s Supper), and to prayer 
  1. Is the church a building? No 
  1. What is the church? People who are Christians are the church 

Blindfold Activity – Blindfold the child and have them try to walk somewhere without any direction (take care to make sure they don’t hurt themselves). Chances are they will be too scared or they will bump into something. Then have them do it again with you giving them directions and using team work. Relate this to how the first church was built and grown 

Watermelon U – draw a wide U in green for the rind of the watermelon. Tell your child that you can make a watermelon out of the letter U and ask if they want to help you do it. Let them help you color it in with pink/red for the watermelon and draw 20 seeds. 

Bean bag shape tape review – using masking tape, make shapes on the floor then have child throw bean bags into the shapes, saying the name of the shape the bean bag lands on/in. 

Dandelion shapes – Draw shapes on pieces of cardboard, then use screwdriver or knife to poke holes in the middle of the shape. While you are doing this, have the child go out and collect dandelions. Then have them stick a dandelion in each hole. 

Summer U words – I wrote down a list of summer words (sun, swim trunks, coconut, summer etc…) and will have my daughter find the u in each word, then tell me the sound that the u makes. 

Bees Pollinating – With 17 small bee manipulatives or 17 yellow & black pom poms (pretend bees) use tweezers to transfer them into a flower container to ‘pollinate’ them. Count each one. 

Sunflower Craft – Have children dip their hands into yellow paint and place their hand on the white paper. Continue doing this going around in a circle to make the sunflower. They then use their fingers to make the seeds inside the sunflower by dipping them in brown paint. Have the children practice using scissors by cutting various shapes and sizes of leaves from green paper. Also, draw a solid black line on their green paper to cut on to make the stem. They glue their stem and leaves under their sunflower. 

Ice Cream Preschool Theme

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You know you’re headed into summer with a theme like ice cream!! My kids love doing ‘school’ in the summer. If you’re following along on my themes, we are reviewing the letter O this week. My 2 year old will be working on the number 20 (the highest number she can count to right now), while my now 5 year old will be working on some of the ‘harder’ shapes.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read the Holy Spirit Comes Color the worksheet then add glitter to the flames Wind & fire streamers or wind twirlers Can you see the Holy Spirit Activity Make a Pentecost Sundae (could turn this into a float to show all 3 states of matter) 
Language (2) O sandpaper letter Decorate the Letter O worksheet with ice cream stickers or stamps O binder Ice cream dot sticker names (I will add O too since that’s our letter this week) O miniatures 
Language (4) Long & short vowel O sort  No & Not sight word introduction  Use a small tray of sprinkles to practice writing sight words and letters Ice cream dot sticker names (I will add O too since that’s our letter this week) CVC write short O 
Math (2)  Intro 20 – sandpaper + ice cream cone counters Ice cream counting (I made my own printable with a 20 and we will just do that one) Using yesterdays printable count 20 with pom pom scoops instead Stack 20 unifix or lego then see how many scoops it takes to get your ice cream cone that tall (We have this set) Popsicle math game 1 – number recognition (I’ll do 10-20) 
Math (4) Introduce Parallelograms  Introduce trapezoids Introduce pentagons Introduce hexagons & octagons Fill ice cream cone shapes with playdo 
Art/Sensory Puffy paint ice cream Ice cream summer activity Melting ice cream playdo Play ice cream shop Ice cream maze 
Science
Geography
History 		Ice cream history (I always like to show countries on a map) Ice cream taste experiment How is ice cream made What are the states of matter Make Ice cream for your sundaes 

How do we know – Blow up a balloon and release. Watch the balloon fly around the room. Ask the child, “What made the balloon fly around?” Air “Can you see the air?” Repeat several times and let the child try to catch the balloon. “Now let’s look outside. When you see the leaves moving on a tree, what makes the leaves move? Wind Can you see the wind? Just like we can not see the air and wind, we can not see the Holy Spirit. Then how do we know that the wind, air, and Holy Spirit are real? We can see the effect of the air as it blows a balloon across the room. We can see the effect of wind as it moves the leaves about. Christians can see the effect of the Holy Spirit when they make good choices and obey even when they don’t feel like it. 

4th of July Preschool Theme

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The 4th of July is about more than just parades, cookouts & fireworks, and I want my kids to know that. Over this week, I will play different American songs to get in touch with some of the feeling behind our independence. Some of the songs I will play are: The Star Spangled Banner, O Beautiful for Spacious Skies, My Country Tis of Thee, This Land is My Land 

I also have 2 videos with 4th of July ideas and some of the activities referenced are in them. You can find 4th of July Ideas for Kids here and 4th of July Preschool Learning Fun here. 

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read Pauls Journey Pick a Coloring page Say hello in 10 languages** Use a map to trace Pauls Journey – ask how he would have done this without planes & cars Tie Dye** 
Language (2) Musical stars** Shaving cream and R&B paint on a window and practice letters Pull & Dot activity**Salt activity from this video except instead of fireworks we’ll do her name Prewriting horizantal & vertical lines  
Language (4) Phonemes dot pages – do 1 a day, use red & blue dot markers Phonemes dot pages – intro can sight word Phonemes dot pages – Practice this emergent reader Phonemes dot pages – practice sight words & do sight word match Phonemes dot pages – 4th of july bump game 
Math (2) Pattern practice with marshmallows and paint Count 10 red and 10 blue unifix cubes then build a tower in an AB pattern How many are in each row worksheet (choose the level you want) What comes next worksheet Make pipe cleaner bead bracelets in RWB pattern (can practice sorting color beads first)  
Math (4) Pattern practice with marshmallows and paint Shaving cream and R&B paint on a window and practice numbers & shapes  Simple subtraction (we’ll choose 2 of the 3 worksheets) Roll & cover (pick one) Make pipe cleaner bead bracelets in RWB pattern and count the beads at the end  
Art/Sensory 4th of July sensory/water bin Make an American flag  Make a red white & blue collage with whatever materials you want USA puzzle (we have a big floor puzzle but use what you have) Supervise some basic firework play (like sparklers)  
Science
Geography
History 		What is 4th of july The American flag Learn the Pledge of Allegiance 13 colonies  How do fireworks work 

Hello in 10 languages – Say hello in 10 languages, just like paul had to speak the language wherever he traveled. The holy Ghost gave him that power. English Hello, Spanish hola, French bonjour, italian Ciao, Arabic marhabana, Chinese ni how, hindi Namaste, Portugese Ola, Russian Privet, Japanese Konichiwa 

Tie Dye – Lydia was a seller of purple cloth.  Flowers, berries, herbs, plants and even nuts can all be used to make various colors. A purple dye can be made using blackberries (rather than snail shells like in Lydia’s day) or you could just use a kit. Do blue & red for the theme. 

Musical Stars – Draw stars with sidewalk chalk and write review letters inside them, then play ‘musical stars’. Have them say the letter sound that they are standing on when the music ends 

Pull & Dot Activity – make a red, white & blue rice bin and hide letter magnets A-Z inside. On a piece of paper write letters A-Z in big letters. Have child pull a magnet from the sensory bin and then use red & blue dot markers to dot the letter that they pulled. Repeat until they find all the letters. 

Sports Preschool Theme

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For the sports theme, I like to touch on a variety of sports to broaden my kids’ experiences. I touch on some that they love, some that they’ve never heard of, and some that they might want to try based on their interests. If your children like something different than mine, feel free to work with what your child loves instead! 

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read Jesus Goes to Heaven Read  & Ask Comprehension Questions Color Jesus and create shaving cream clouds around Jesus on the My Father’s House worksheet. Is Jesus Gone puppet lesson Make a cloud jello snack 
Language (2) E sandpaper E binder  Fish for magnet letters and say their sounds (make your own pole with a dowel, string & magnet) E plate ball** E miniatures 
Language (4)Long & short vowel E sort  ‘Get’ sight word (also introduce them & these)  Fish for magnet letters, then build sight words Print the jersey and have child write their name and favorite number, then decorate it Sports emergent reader & practice sight words 
Math (2)Practicing throwing balls or bean bags into a laundry basket (count them at the end) Pattern matching with sports balls Lightly hammer (with a pounding toy) 19 golf tees into a foam block Draw child’s name on the jersey and 19. Help them identify the number then make 19 dot marker dots Match ball with sport worksheet 
Math (4) On a draw erase board, draw X & O play patterns Pattern matching with sports balls Lightly hammer (with a pounding toy) golf tees into a foam block in a pattern Athlete daily patterns** Talk about patterns in different sports** 
Art/Sensory Choose a sport to play (tball, golf, bowling, swimming, gymnastics, basketball, dance etc..) Play musical hot potato with a ball, when the music stops the person with the ball yells ‘touchdown!’ or ‘goal!’ etc.. depending on the ball used Winter sport dot marker page Shaving cream window – E, 19, different sports icons/balls  Sports charades – Act out different sports and have others guess 
Science
Geography
History 		Use blocks to build a sports arena or field, then they can play with it** What makes a ball bounce experiment Talk about the oldest sports in the world and also locate them on the map Ball Discovery** Hockey science experiment 

Comprehension Questions: 

What did Jesus tell the disciples to do after He left? 

What did the angel promise? 

Ball Discovery – Place a few different kinds of ball in a basket with a scale. Let them weigh the balls and see the differences. You could also help them cut open some of the balls (if you wish) and let them explore what they are made of. 

Block arena – Example: build a basketball court and baskets out of blocks then get some pom poms and little figurines and ‘play’ basketball 

Athlete Daily Patterns – Patterns aren’t just the repeating of color or ABAB type patterns that we think of. Patterns can also be things like a daily routine. Talk about what the routine of an athlete might be, you can pick any sport. For example, a soccer player might wake up, drink water, healthy breakfast, drive to soccer, change in to soccer uniform, put on shin guards, lace up shoes, listen to pump up music, stretch, do some warm up drills, play game or practice, cool down, shower, big meal, etc.. 

Patterns in sports – Discuss with your child some of the patterns that you might see in different sports. For example: a layup in basketball is step, step, knee up; freestyle in swimming is right arm, left arm right arm with breath; a volleyball spike does a L,R,L pattern etc… 

E Plate Ball – Write the letter E on the center of a paper plate. Then make the plate into a sports ball of your choosing (ie. Add baseball stitching or hexagons for a soccer ball) Then have child use dot stickers to go over the letter. 

Theme image: Sports balls vector created by macrovector_official – www.freepik.com

BIRDS PRESCHOOL THEME

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The birds theme gives us a chance to use so many different senses and is such a nice way to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather. There are so many different kinds of birds, you don’t have to talk about them all. But I would recommend discussing some that are in your area so that they have a chance to spot them when bird watching. With this theme you could stay at a high level or get more detailed depending on your child’s interest and age.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read Mary & Martha Story Comprehension Questions** Place some dollops of paint on the Martha worksheet.  Use craft sticks to move the paint around the worksheet. What’s More Important** Daily Choices** 
Language (2)  I sandpaper letter Paint the Ii worksheet with watercolors then place bird stickers around it I binder Color and say the words of the I coloring sheet I miniatures 
Language (4) Introduce THIS sight word Long & short vowel I sort + sight word Long & Short sort + sight word Color the I coloring sheet then say if each picture is long or short I + sight word I picture clues + sight word 
Math (2) 19 sandpaper introduction & use math beads demonstrate the number value Go outside and collect 19 objects to build a bird nest with (acorns, leaves, twigs etc..) Count 19 feathers then sort them by color using tweezers to move them Cut a few pipe cleaners into 19 pieces to make ‘worms’. Then use a clothespin or tweezers to transfer them to the nest for the babies Make 19 bird eggs out of playdo  
Math (4)  Preposition opposite match up  Using the cards from Monday, use a chair to act out the cards one at a time Nest positions**  Prep activity above, but direct the child where to put the worm (left, right, in etc..) Draw a bird cards from Monday and use the preposition with this room printable to place the playdo 
Art/Sensory Bird chalk** Make a bird nest from math objects Make your own birdhouse (This is an easy kit) Make your own bird seed Go birdwatching 
Science
Geography
History 		Learn about birds Birds & their feet + Birds & their beaks Birds of Prey Labpook Birds of Prey lapbook continued Match birds and their continent of origin to the map 

Comprehension Questions: 
Name the people in the story. 
What did Mary do while Jesus was at their house? 
What did Martha do while Jesus was at their house? 
When Martha started to complain, what did Jesus tell her? 
Doing work is very important, but it is always more important to listen to Jesus.  What would be more important than work? 

What’s More Important 
Explain to the child that you are going to say two different things and he is to choose which one is more important. 
Examples: 
•“What’s more important, playing with the dog or feeding him?” 
•“What’s more important, getting what you want or making your mommy smile?” 
•“What’s more important, eating ice cream or eating a good dinner?” 
To end the game say, “But what’s the most important thing of all?” Jesus! 
 
Daily Choices 
Discuss choices that we face every day: 
Food to eat:  cookie vs fruit, potato chip vs carrot stick 
Words we say:  loving vs mean, praise vs hurt 
Activities:  pick up toys or leave them out, come when Mommy says come or ignore her request 

Bird Chalk – Use chalk to draw birds of all sizes. Then have the kids jump from bird to bird making a bird call in a different voice depending on the size of the bird. For example, the small birds might have soft little peeps while the large birds have a loud booming squwak. 

Nest Positions – Using an egg and small basket (nest) move the egg around and have the child describe its position. For example: to the right of the nest, in the nest, above the nest etc.. 

POND PRESCHOOL THEME

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Perfect for spring, the pond preschool theme is one that my kids love!! It’s a great time of year to get really hands on with this theme and go visit different ponds around the city.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read A Hole in the Roof Comprehension Questions** Color the Lame Man Healed worksheet.  Then glue fabric on the bedroll and string on the rope. Play “doctor” and talk about how only Jesus can command a lame person to get up and walk Kindness discussion** 
Language (2) Fish for letters (I have a game I will put post it letters on, but you could make this instead) Dragonfly sort Pond review letter stamping game (choose duck, frog, turtle, fish or a combination!) Put magnet letters in a bin (the pond). Then pull one out, identify it and sort into 2 piles – letters in your name and letters that aren’t Write struggle letters on green post its (lily pads) and place them on the floor – have child hop to the letter you call 
Language (4) Fish for sight words (like above) Mud writing** Sight word & end sound word stamping game (above) Make and read a fun pond story Lily pad hop like above, but with words you want to review 
Math (2)  Count 18 goldfish then do Fish cracker patterns with them Write 18 on the board, then jump like a frog 18 times counting each jump Count, sort & graph goldfish  Make a shape turtle** Count 18 pom poms then use tweezers to feed pom poms to a rubber duck 
Math (4) Write a time in numbers and have child draw where the hands should go Draw the time with hands and have child write what time it is Greater gator game Make a turtle clock** Practice reading digital clocks 
Art/Sensory Pond process art Frog craft Pond life match up Parts of a turtle puzzle Frog directed drawing OR pond playdo mats (both are freebies from here) 
Science
Geography
History 		Pond habitat Frog lifecycle + 3 pt cards with frog facts & how frogs grow Learn about the Difference between reptiles & amphibians & do sorting activity Turtle 3 pt cards & facts Alligator lifecycle  

Comprehension Questions: 
What did the four friends do for their hurt friend? 
Do you think it was hard to carry their friend so far to see Jesus? 
These men really loved their friend and knew Jesus could heal him.  What kind things have you done for your friends? 

Kindness Discussion – Focus on the kindness the men had for their friend.  So much kindness that they were willing to do whatever it took to get the man to Jesus so that he could be healed.  Discuss how you can be kind to others as well. 

Shape Turtle – Tape a construction paper head and four legs to a green paper plate ($Tree). Add google eyes to the head. Count out 18 foam shapes and use them to fill the center of the plate to make a shell. (Adapted from Pocket of Preschool) 

Clock Turtle – Tape a construction paper head and four legs to a green paper plate ($Tree). Add google eyes to the head. Have child write the numbers of the clock on the perimeter of the plate and draw hands to make a clock. (Adapted from Packet of Preschool) 

Mud Writing – Instead of a salt tray, make a mud tray with a little dirt and water. Make a list of words that you want your child to practice. Have your child read the word then practice writing it in the mud with their finger or a stick