Tag: preschool themes

Bugs & Insects Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

The bugs that I chose in the science section are ones that we see around our home all the time. If you do not come across these, you can substitute for something more common to your area. As always these are just some ideas for this theme and the activities are associated with what we are focusing on at our house, you can substitute if you are working on something else.

Note: These end blends are not the ones that I would normally start with, but I thought they would be easy because the blends are also sight words (one that we have practiced (and) and one that we see all the time in books that is very similar and can be sounded out (end)).  I am not so much worried about mastering concepts at this age, but more so introducing them.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read Jesus Returns story – Matthew 28:16-20 Comprehension Questions Color Jesus and create shaving cream clouds around Jesus on the My Father’s House worksheet “Is Jesus Gone?”  Puppet Lesson Jesus Ascends Craft 
Language (2)Sandpaper letter Z Buzzz coloring sheet (we’ll just color this and I’ll point out the letter Z) Letter Z Binder Fill the letter Z printable with bug/insect stickers/stamps Z Miniatures 
Language (4) Introduce sight word by & use sandpaper letters to spell it.  Spring word tracing from EMLC Box Practice the word and + practice sight word of the week: by Use letter magnets to spell END, then write it on the board + by practice Introduce the concept of final blends + by practice Practice final blends with words that end in and and end (I’m using easy examples like land & bend) 
Math (2) Intro 17 sandpaper numbers 17 coloring sheet 17 Bees pollinating** 17 Ladybug spots** Spring iSpy from EMLC Box 
Math (4)Bugs in a jar**  Estimate how many cubes long the bug figurines from the sensory bin are Do an estimation jar with leaves or plants (bug & insect food!) Get a bag of gummy worms or bug gummies and estimate how many is in the pack. Use tweezers to count. Measuring worms from EMLC Box – estimate before measuring  
Art/Sensory Bug moves from EMLC Box Bug sensory bin – bug figurines, fake worms, plastic jars, tiny shovels, fake leaves Make egg carton bugs Go outside and dig for bugs Try to catch lightning bugs this evening 
Science
Geography
History 		Parts of a stink bug Facts about and parts of ants Facts about and parts of a honey bee & more facts Ladybug Lifecycle Facts about lightning bugs 

Comprehension Questions: 

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

What did the angel promise? 

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. 

Ladybug spots – Print the ladybug without spots template and then use a dot marker to make 17 spots 

Bugs in a jar – Fill up a jar with pom poms (‘bugs’) and estimate how many are in it. Then count them. If it’s a large jar group in 10’s to count. 

Easter Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

I don’t know why, but holiday themes are always so exciting at our house. They really just get you ready to celebrate and Easter is a BIG one at our house. Here is what we will be doing this week.

We are reviewing letters this week for my 2 year old and working on the number 16. For my newly 5 year old we will be reviewing our blends and introducing estimation.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read Jesus is Arrested, Crucified & Risen Comprehension questions* & Jesus is Risen sequencing Use paint to stamp the worksheet with an aluminum foil ball Jesus is King* Make and do resurrection eggs or (another resource here) pick your favorite 🙂 
Language (2) Hide Easter eggs filled with miniature objects (of review letter sounds) – once found, match them to the correct letter E is for Easter Color by code bunny Hide letter magnets in Easter eggs then match the magnet to the letter (print A-Z on a piece of paper to match to) Letter matching  
Language (4/5) Blend scavenger hunt (must be subscriber to get freebie) – can do an egg hunt with this Blend write & read (pick a couple) Sorting blends Write the blend/diagraph Create diagraph eggs (could do blends too) 
Math (2) Count 16 easter eggs from the egg hunt Peeps graphing (after count all the peeps) Count 16 jellybeans Easter roll & cover  Use easter erasers or jellybeans to count 16 in a 10 frame 
Math (4/5) Introduce estimation by putting different sized easter items or candies into jars Peeps graphing (after  estimate how many peeps then count) Get a bag of jellybeans and estimate how many are in it – then practice grouping to count them Estimate how many Easter eggs it would take to fill the bottom of a basket – then find out!  Now that you’ve done some ‘how many’ estimations.. Introduce others too like how much (liquid/volume) and how long (length) – use Easter objects! 
Art/Sensory Make Easter eggs out of playdo and decorate with sequins, buttons, pipe cleaners etc.. Balance an Easter egg on a spoon and have a race Dye Easter eggs Easter dot markers – could also do stamps; and make egg shakers with easter eggs and beans Easter sensory bin – Easter grass, mini eggs, tongs, bunny figures,  
Science
Geography
History 		Fizzy Eggs* Egg races Dissolving jelly beans Protect an egg and do an egg drop Egg crystals 

Comprehension Questions: 

Tell me what happened in this story. 

Which one of Jesus’ disciples wasn’t a friend to Jesus? 

Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? 

What makes this a happy story? 

Jesus is King (from ABCJesus Loves Me) 

Make a paper crown as a reminder that Jesus loved us enough to die on the cross and He is now the King of Heaven.   Precut a strip of paper the diameter of the child’s head.  Allow the child to decorate before stapling into a crown. 

(Using a premade crown, ask the child to identify the object that you have on your head or in your hands.)  Who would wear a crown?  What does a king do?  Jesus would be a great king.  He’s kind and fair, and He loves us all very much.   Many people wanted Jesus to become a king on earth.  The people wanted Jesus to lead an army and take over the country and fight the Romans.  But Jesus said no.  Jesus preached peace because He knew God wanted Him to be the King of Heaven not earth.  Even though He could have been king, Jesus chose to die for us so we could be forgiven. 

Fizzy Eggs – In a bin but some Easter egg halves and fill with baking soda. Use food coloring and vinegar to make a fun rainbow experiment

Butterfly Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

It definitely feels like the start of spring with a theme like butterflies!! Here is what we will be doing this week. You could probably find some more ‘butterfly’ themed language and math resources, but I wanted to keep focusing on our blends and money to really finish it out with a good understand and foundation for my littles.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read Jesus Washes Feet & The Last Supper & Comprehension Questions* Read & Color the Jesus Serves the Disciples Worksheet Happy Hands are Helping Hands Activity Send thank you cards to someone who has helped you Take turns washing each others feet 
Language (2) Y SANDPAPER Color Y worksheet yellow and glue yarn to it Y binder Draw a butterfly from the letter Y Y Miniatures 
Language (4) Intro Sight word IF S blends Use dot marker to complete the worksheet S sort activity again Say the S blend 
Math (2) Make 16 playdo balls and then form a 16 out of it as well Fingerprint caterpillars * Butterfly dots – this butterfly has 16 dots between the wings. Count as you stamp. Then do the body in a different color Make a 16 out of playdo and then count 16 ‘caterpillar egg balls’ to go with it Count 16 blocks or legos then build a house for a butterfly 
Math (4) Equivalent coins Caterpillar coins Money lesson from a butterfly Go over dollar bills again, use math beads to visualize the values Adding dollar bills 
Art/Sensory Very hungry caterpillar sensory bin Use clothespin and pom poms to paint a caterpillar & butterfly on paper Coffee filter butterfly Break out of the cocoon activity Butterfly exhibit* 
Science
Geography
History 		All about butterflies  Lifecycle of butterfly  Cut & glue lifecycle  Types of butterflies Butterfly habitat, migration & where they live 

Comprehension Questions: 
What did Jesus do to serve the disciples? 
Tell me about a time that you helped someone. 
How does it make you feel when you help someone? 
How does it make God feel when you help someone? 
If you can’t see God, how can you tell that He is happy and smiling at you because of what you did? 
What are some examples of being a servant to others? 

Fingerprint caterpillars – Draw the head of a caterpillar on the left side of a piece of paper (landscape style, not portrait). At the top write the number 16. Use fingerpaint and a finger to dot on 16 dots for the caterpillars body. 

Butterfly Exhibit – Near us there is a conservatory that has hundreds of butterflies in a room that you can go in and let them land on you and observe. If you don’t have anything like that near you, you could see if you could get a butterfly kit and do that. 

Rainforest Preschool Theme

Rainforest Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

This week we will be talking about the rainforest and all the animals that are in it. This tends to be a favorite theme among my kiddos. Here is what we will be doing.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read the Poor Widows Offering Comprehension Questions Decorate the gift worksheet by gluing on purple construction paper squares  Cut a slit in the lid of a container and make it a bank. Decorate it and collect money to give to the church  Give one person many coins (rich) and the other just 2 (widow). Put offering in a box and see what is left in each pile. Widow gave all, rich man had much left 
Language (2) W sandpaper, green rice writing tray – write with mini rainforest animal Dot to dot – I will pick one write the letter W in the dots and have her make the sound as she stamps W binder Dot to dot – same as Tuesday but with another animal W miniatures 
Language (4) Intro sight word how & S blends – give examples from here – look for S-blend (initial, medial & final words) S beginning blends + sight words S blends cut and paste + sight words Sblend word sort + sight words Visual s blends – I tweaked this for spin & smell. I did pin instead of pen & mall instead of mail to make small 
Math (2) Review numbers with counting manipulatives (I’ll use leaves and animal erasers) Count to different using unifix cubes (snakes) then help write the number on the board Make number pyramids using Montessori beads Montessori spindles 0-9 numbers Rainforest counting 
Math (4) Rainforest addition (anytime there is a 1,5 or 10 relate it to a coin) Rainforest 10s and 1s – relate this to dimes & pennies Shopping for toys  Place value Money yard sale  
Art/Sensory Sensory bin – green rice, rainforest animals, fake trees Make snakes out of playdo – play with rainforest habitat printable Paper plate parrot* Do a rainforest animal craft kit from DollarTree, Michaels etc.. Make a rainstick 
Science
Geography
History 		Parts of a rainforest- look at a couple & find on map: Brazil/Amazonand Africa/Congo Kinds of rainforests – tropical v temperate Look at a few more rainforests & find on map: Nicauragua , Southeast Asian rainforests & Alaska Tongass  Rainforest animal nomenclature  Rainforest fact cards  

Comprehension Questions: 

How much did the widow give to God? 
The rich man gave a lot more money to God than the widow did yet God liked what the widow gave better.  Why? 
When you place money in the offering at church, you are giving to God.  What are other ways you can give to God? 

Paper plate parrot: Cut a paper plate in half and hot glue together to make head & body. Use yellow tissue paper to cover the front half of the head for the beak. Then glue red, yellow and blue feathers to cover the rest. Add a large google eye

Presidents Preschool Theme

Presidents Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

Just in time for Presidents day, this week we’re learning about the Presidents. I love that some weeks we focus more on geography and physical science, while others we lean more towards government and history.

Let me know if you have any questions!

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read the Prodigal Son Story Comprehension Questions Marble paint the Prodigal Son ABCJ worksheet Feeds the pigs activity Forgiveness Activity 
Language (2) Sandpaper F Letter F dot marker page F Binder Draw a big F on a piece of paper and have child glue feathers to it F Miniatures 
Language (4) Introduce SH sound (dramatize with finger up to lips shhhhhh) 
Introduce sight words SHE & HE 		President word of the day sheet Review sight words sight words + Listen for sh in words. Practice initial sounds – You can find picture cards here – look for SH sounds – initial words sight words + Listen for sh in words. Practice medial sounds – You can find picture cards here – look for SH sounds – medial words  sight words + Listen for sh in words. Practice final sounds – You can find picture cards here – look for SH sounds –final words 
Math (2) 14 Learn about coins Count 14 coins and then sort by color or size (or both!) Place 14 star stickers on the worksheet or use red & blue dot markers to stamp 14 times each Flip a coin 14 times and graph the results  Snap cubes 
Math (4) Learn about coins Presidential Problems Presidential equations  Log cabin counting Snap cubes  
Art/Sensory Easy word search or harder President’s Day word search Make a hat, wig or beard Coin rubbings Lincoln Unscramble President directed drawing 
Science
Geography
History 		Talk about what a President is** Then talk about a few (Washington, Lincoln, Trump, Biden) Washington & Lincoln sheets + our flag sheet Talk about where the president lives, find it on a map, show pictures of the white house Cleaning/ polishing pennies  Presidential 4 in a row game  

What is a president – I really like this resource, but it’s a little too advanced for preschoolers. I did take the page talking about holiday, country, President, leader etc.. And will use it to intro the President’s Day unit – I will save the resource for future years. 

Healthy Habits Preschool Theme

Healthy Habits Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

2024 update below this plan.

This weeks theme is healthy habits, and by that I mean things like teeth hygiene, germs, handwashing, and exercise. I am purposely NOT focusing on the body as I already have a separate theme for that (here). I’m also not touching on diet/food because, again, I have a whole theme for that (here). Let me know if you have any questions!

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read the Good Samaritan Comprehension Questions Good Samaritan worksheet – glue sand to the road and put bandaids on the hurt man Read Zuzu’s Wishing Cake by Linda Michelin Make Get Well Survival Kits and give to someone you know 
Language (2) Practice L with sandpaper then write letter L in salt tray – use a toothbrush for fun L dot marker page L binder activities Alphabet teeth cleaning – letter L and review letters L miniatures 
Language (4) Introduce Th by putting teeth to tongue and blowing air – intro They, This & That (review ‘the’) – other words too ie thank you & thumb Review They & That sight words & Practice th in syllables. Put a long or short vowel after th (thy, thee, though) and before (ath, eth, ith) and middle (atho, ethee, athi) Review They & That sight words & Listen for th in words. Practice initial sounds – You can find picture cards here – look for TH sounds – initial words Review They & That sight words & Listen for th in words. Practice medial sounds – You can find picture cards here – look for TH sounds – medial words Review They & That sight words & Listen for th in words. Practice final sounds – You can find picture cards here – look for TH sounds –final words Try this worksheet 
Math (2) Germ clip cards (easier or harder depending on skill level of child) Make 13 ‘teeth’ out of playdough then use tweezers to count and ‘remove’ them 1 by 1 into a bowl Germ (pompom) color sort  – use tweezers to sort Germ patterns Put 13 stickers on the 13 coloring page 
Math (4) Subtraction word problem story  Tooth subtraction One page of subtraction to 10 Bite out of math subtraction problems  One page of subtraction glue and categorize 
Art/Sensory Use dry erase to draw on a mouth/teeth model and use a toothbrush to brush off the cavities (I bought mine at dollar tree) Paint with a toothbrush Do exercise cards Decorate paper towel tubes and pretend they are dumbells Dirty v clean hand craft* 
Science
Geography
History 		Parts of a tooth On a large plate smear food samples such as pb, jelly, syrup, ketchup etc.. Then use a real toothbrush and toothpaste to clean – see which are hard, which stain etc.. Glitter germ handwashing activity Germs scatter experiment  Dip a hard boiled egg in coffee or dark soda and let sit overnight.  Remove the egg from the soda and observe the stain. Then use a toothbrush and paste to brush and see if the stain lifts. 

Comprehension Questions: 

Who should have helped the hurt man? 
Who did help the hurt man? 
Give me an example of some ways that you can be kind to people. 
Some stories talk about the Good Samaritan being a “foreign man”.  In this story a foreign man represents someone who is different than you. 
How can we be kind—even to people who are different than us? 

Dirty Vs Clean Hand Craft – Fold a white piece of computer paper in half. Trace both of the childs hands on the upper half and the lower half (so 4 total hands). On the top half write ‘Dirty’ and on the bottom write ‘Clean’. Let the children draw dirt or germs on the dirty hands and use a blue dot marker to draw soap bubbles on the clean hands. 

2024 Healthy Habits Preschool Theme

Because my themes are a little different this year, I want to touch a little on the body and nutrition as well as germs, dental & exercise.

Books The Busy Body Book: A Kid’s Guide to Fitness – Lizzy Rockwell; Why Do I Need To Brush My Teeth? – Caressa Simmons; Lift-the-flap Very First Questions & Answers: Why Should I Get Dressed? – Katie Daynes; Grow Strong!: A book about healthy habits (Being the Best Me!) – Cheri J. Meiners; Look Inside What Happens When You Eat – Emily Bone; Wash Your Hands!: Keeping Clean in a Messy World – Noreen R. Hussain; I Can Take Care of My Body (Healthy Me) – Andi Cann; I Can Eat a Rainbow –Olena Rose; Inside your Outside – Trish Rabe 
Language Review B; Introduce E & Y; choose a couple body words to practice writing (ex – body, hand, eye) Germ case matching & pre-writing/tracing sheets Use unifix cubes to create the letter E & Y – have them bring the cubes from one side of the room to the other for exercise if you wish Alphabet teeth cleaning with review letters 
Math Fingerprint graph* Give child pom poms (or germs); then have them count them and write the number; repeat with 1-10 Exercise counting game Playdo teeth counting 
Art/Sensory Food group sort (can also do this with play kitchen food) Germ guys Make dumbbells out of paper towel rolls and decorate them Draw on teeth model with dry erase marker and use a toothbrush to brush off the “cavities” 
S/G/H Energy for the body & Organ matching Germ experiement Exercise and heart rate experiment Teeth facts & anatomy 
Religion Pick a saint to read about each day 
2 Yr Ideas Body parts; Germ (pompom) color sort using tweezers; Germ patterns; practice hand washing;  

Groundhogs Day Preschool Theme

Posted on by Addie

Groundhogs Day is February 2nd, so what better week to have a groundhog & shadows theme. We’re working on the letter P and number 12 for my 2 year old. For my 4 year old we are continuing to talk about parts of a story as well as the sight word but. She’s also working on her addition skills.

 M T W Th F 
Religion Read Jesus Feeds 5000 Comprehension Questions* Paint worksheet with Qtips Doing the impossible activity Plan a picnic (indoor if its cold) 
Language (2) Sandpaper letter P P Dot marker sheet Letter P Binder Color by letter (will do the one with 4 – and do P with 2 other weak letters and a strong letter) P Miniatures 
Language (4) Introduce sight word – BUT – Build the letters with playdo Learn about the conflict of a story; Read a book or watch a movie and discuss the conflict Use sight word BUT to talk about the conflict or problem in a story – ex. Someone wanted something BUT XYZ Color by sight words  Practice sight words and CVC words using this game 
Math (2) Make 12 with playdo (can make numbers or do 12 balls) Create 12 with unifix or blocks on a piece of paper and trace around it Groundhog shadow matching Roll 2 dice and use counting bears to count the number rolled  Use a q-tip to paint the 12 poster 
Math (4) Color by sum Graphing groundhogs – then add them all up Addition BINGO Use counters to talk about place value and addition (example) Use dominos to create addition problems and solve 
Art/Sensory Draw your shadow (if too cold, trace your body) Crawl through a tunnel like a groundhog Flashlight play Shadow tracing (use a flashlight if it’s cold) example in here Groundhog puppet and song 
Science
Geography 
History 		Tell story of Punxsutawney Phil and groundhogs day – find PA on a map Talk about the habitat of a groundhog & hibernation Shadows are caused by objects blocking light – make shadows with flashlights and explore how they change based on position of light** Difference between transparent & translucent – does light shine through activity  Groundhog fact teller 

Comprehension Questions: 
Where did Jesus get the food for the crowd of people? 
What food did the boy have in his lunch? 
Jesus fed 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two small fishes.  Was there any leftover food? 

Shadow Position Change – Get a 2 liter or something and place it in the center of a piece of paper. Shine a light on it and trace the shadow, then change the position of the light and trace where the shadow went. Continue doing so until the concept is understood. 

Does light shine through activity – Get a variety of objects from around the house and use a flashlight to see if light shines through (Tin foil, dollar bill, plastic wrap, tshirt, paper, net etc…)