themes
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Preschool Volcano Theme
I’m a huge proponent of exploring themes that are relevant to the children you teach, but I also strongly believe that doesn’t always mean that they HAVE to be themes that children interact with in their everyday life in order to be relevant. If children are especially fascinated with a topic, to the point that it has become a regular topic of conversation in their classroom, then it is relevant in my eyes. This is where topics like dinosaurs, space, make-believe, wild animals, far away landscapes, etc. begin to become appropriate classroom themes. This week we’re tackling one of those topics; volcanos! There are so many ways to explore volcanos…
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Airplane Books for Preschool
Airplane week is in full swing, but let me tell you, choosing books for this week was a bit of a challenge. Books about airplanes can easily get way too technical for young children, and sometimes they are a little too history-heavy for little ones who don’t have an understanding of the concept of past and present. Here are the books that we chose (all links are affiliates). Planes – National Geographic Kids I Want to be a Pilot – Peter J Eyewitness Flight – DK Books We Are Going on an Airplane – Mavis Camellia Ask a Pilot – Justin Kelley
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Airplane Activities for Preschool
Mondays have been tough around here – these summer weekends are busy and we’re feeling it by Monday! I hope that you’ll forgive me for not always getting a Monday post up throughout the summer, I’m really leaning into Mom life and sometimes that just doesn’t leave the time. That doesn’t mean that I’m totally leaving you hanging though! I’ve got so much to share. We’re prepping for a vacation, and it’s a big one because it’ll be my daughter’s first airplane experience. This felt like the perfect time to dig in and explore airplanes. It’s relevant for my family at the moment, but it can be an excellent theme…
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Valentine Party Themes
You know I love a good theme party, it can really help focus the event and narrow all of the ideas to pull things together. If you’re looking for a little more direction for your Valentine’s Day celebrations, then here are some ideas to work with!
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35 Autumn Themes for Preschool
I’m always looking for new ideas, and sometimes that means exploring something different. Luckily, autumn offers so many natural themes! Here are 35 ideas to inspire your lesson plans over the next couple of months:
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President’s Day with Preschoolers
President’s day can pose a challenge for preschool teachers because so many of the concepts that we connect with commemorating this day are extremely abstract for young children. They don’t understand history, what it means to live in a certain country, or the job of a president. In many cases, not only are these concepts difficult for children to grasp, they also aren’t relevant to their day to day experiences. There are still some great ways to acknowledge President’s day and help children make connections that increase their understanding – here are my favorite President’s day lessons. I’ve created a couple of vocabulary sets that help children have the words…
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Community Helpers Preschool Activities
I promised yesterday that I would share my favorite activity centers for exploring community helpers, here they are: Community Helper Handprint Wreath – A great visual for all of the places in your community that you would find helpers. Community Helper Occupation Booklet – Explore the tasks of each job and the tools and materials that are associated with it. Community Helper Hats and Badges Freebie – Perfect for your dramatic play area! Community Helper Matching – Great for a language center, encourages children to practice letter and word recognition to match the helper to their title. Community Helper Dances – A little music and movement is always appreciated, and…
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32 Winter Themes for Preschool
If you’ve begun to plan your winter lesson plans, I’m here to help! Here are 32 different winter themes and topics that you can choose from when you’re looking for new ideas! Ice Snow Snowmen Christmas Hanukkah Kwanzaa Winter Clothing Christmas Lights Pine Trees Jingle Bells Cookies Gift Wrap Bows Sledding Skiing Ice Skating Winter Animals Peppermint Candy Canes Pine cones Cranberries Cinnamon Quilts and blankets Boots New Year Ground Hog Day President’s Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Valentine’s Day Conversation Hearts Hot Chocolate Igloos Here’s a graphic if you prefer!
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36 Autumn Themes for Preschool
I’m a Reggio teacher, but I love to throw some seasonal themes in my lesson plan too so that my students get to experience a variety of topics. The other day a teacher asked me for some new ideas for autumn themes because she was tired of the same old pumpkins and apples, I was able to think of a few! Here are 36 themes that are perfect for exploring in the fall: If you prefer plain old text, here’s the list: Leaves Trees Logs Campfires Mums Sunflowers Acorns Squirrels Owls Farming/Harvest Tractors Scarecrows Corn Pumpkins Gourds Apples Farmers market School safety Fire safety Candy Corn Spiders Monsters Bats Halloween…
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Summer Ideas for Year-Round Preschool Programs
I’ve learned more about the preschool world in the last year than I ever thought was possible, and the one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the sheer number of different schedules for preschool programs. I’ve always taught at year-round programs, which pose their own challenges: The children rarely get a break or vacation from the program The teachers rarely get a break Teachers have to engage the children in more activities because they are there for more days The teacher and children’s day are often longer than a typical school day They also come with some really great perks: once children learn the routine they don’t have…
