I think the easiest (and most fun) way to teach preschool at home is by planning activities around weekly preschool themes. It’s a fun way to keep it fresh, and for my kids and I to learn about something new every week.
How to choose a theme
When you’re picking a preschool theme for the week, a good place to start is with the season, or time of year. Think about any holidays or events that are coming up that you would enjoy teaching your kids about.
Another place to get ideas is by listening to the questions your kids are asking you. (And aren’t they always asking questions? Haha!) Could one of their questions be answered by doing a theme on that topic next week?
For example, my girls were both very concerned about the animals as the weather started getting colder last fall.
“But how will the birds stay warm? Where will the squirrels go? What about the bugs?!” So we did an animals in winter theme, and learned all about hibernation, adaptation, and migration. It was great!
Free printable planner
Here is a great printable that you can use if you’re having trouble thinking of preschool themes. It has enough theme ideas to last you an entire year.
Click here to download your list of weekly preschool themes.
You can also enter your email address below, and I’ll send you my entire preschool planning pack.
These 5 pages include a blank preschool planning sheet, a completed planning sheet with four weeks of books and activities, a blank activity list, and a completed activity list with links to all of my favorite resources.
OK, here is the big list of weekly preschool theme ideas, first by season, and then by topic for themes that you could do any time of year.
The Big List of Preschool Themes
Winter
- Christmas
- The Polar Express
- Christmas around the world
- Snow
- Hanukkah
- New Years
- Animals in the Winter
- Chinese New Year
- Valentine’s Day
- Black history month
Spring
- St. Patrick’s Day
- Rainbows
- Flowers
- Birds
- Eggs
- Easter
- Garden
- Butterflies
- Earth Day
- Bugs & insects
- Mother’s Day
- Nature
Summer
- Strawberries
- Father’s Day
- Fireflies
- Camping
- The beach
- The ocean
- Independence Day
- Sharks
- Whales
- Watermelon
- Ice cream
- Water
- Picnic
Fall
- Apples
- Pumpkins
- Leaves
- Owls
- Squirrels
- Halloween
- Thanksgiving
Community places
- Library
- Fire station
- Grocery store
- Post office
- Restaurant
- Hospital
Transportation
- Cars, planes, and trains
- Construction zone
- Ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars
Careers
- Community helpers
- Astronaut
- Dentist
- Veterinarian
- Doctor
- Chef
- Detective
- (Any other career that your child is interested in learning about)
Foods
- Nutrition
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Cooking and baking
- Pizza
- Pancakes
- (Any specific food that your child wants to learn more about)
Science
- Outer space
- Experiment week
- Plants and seeds
- The human body
- Rocks
- Magnets
- The sun and moon
- Bubbles
- Germs
- Weather
Animals
- Dinosaurs
- Pets
- Teddy bears
- Animals at night
- Arctic animals
- African safari
- Reptiles
- Mammals
- Birds
- (Any specific animal that your child is interested in learning about)
Places
- Desert
- The wild west
- Farm
- Zoo
- Forest
- Jungle
- Coral reef
- (Any continent, country, or city that you or your child would be interested in learning about)
Authors
- Eric Carle
- Dr. Seuss
- Laura Numeroff
- Mo Willems
- Jan Brett
- Jane Yolen
- Leo Lionni
- Bill Martin
Sports
- Gymnastics
- Ballet
- Soccer
- Basketball
- Baseball
- Football
- The Olympics
Other
- Nursery rhymes
- Fairy tales
- Art week
- People (choose a different historic figure to learn about each day.)
- Fire safety
- Robots
- Clothes
- Colors
- The alphabet
- Numbers
- Shapes
- All about me
- Day and night
- Feelings and emotions
- My family
- The 5 senses
- Recycling
- Birthday party
- Music
The ultimate preschool planner
This colorful, spiral-bound planner includes everything you need to plan and organize a successful year of preschool, whether you’re a mom who is teaching one child at home, or a teacher working with multiple classes and groups.
Learn more!
Printable checklist
Don’t forget to print out your free checklist so that you’ll never be scrambling to come up with a theme again.
Thanks for reading! And if you have a favorite preschool theme idea that is not on the list, leave a comment- I’d love to keep adding to the list. 😉
-Laura
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Rubeena says
Good
Reply
Thien says
Can you please help me? I need a school year theme
Reply
admin says
Oh wow, I usually pick a theme for just a week or 2 at a time. 🙂 I’ll leave this comment here in case anyone else has any suggestions!
Marcia Adelman says
I teach a class of 2–4-year-olds on Friday’s only for 1 1/2. It’s a mommy and me class. I obviously don’t have a lot of time; however, I do need to come up with themes and create activities and a craft around that theme. Sometimes it’s hard to let them play, have a snack, do a craft and then play some more. I have wonderful supportive parents.
I’m looking for some ideas that are quick and easy for the children to do. When I was teaching full time, I was able to do all the things I wanted, like making ice cream with the kids, however I just don’t have time to do that.
Can you help me come up with some quick crafts related to a theme?
Thank you so much!
Reply
admin says
Oh wow, that sounds fun! I’m all about the quick and easy activity ideas. If you check out my “preschool” archives (under the categories tab) you’ll find a bunch of units that I’ve done with my own kids. Ocean animals is a fun one I like to do around this time of year!
https://theorganizedmomlife.com/ocean-animals-preschool/
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