December Preschool Themes

Preschool Theme UnitsHolidaysResources for EducatorsWinter

The holiday season is upon us and that means that the year is quickly coming to an end. But that doesn’t mean that it’s time to start preparing for the new year just yet.

In fact, we’ve still got a month left to plan before Christmas break and this list of December preschool themes is perfect for keeping your students engaged and learning throughout the entire month of December!

December Themes for Preschool

From major holidays to community helpers, these December preschool themes are so much fun and with crafts, printables, and some sensory play, you can easily weave in your various subjects along with plenty of hands-on learning while working on a number of different concepts all at the same time!

Preschool teachers: Make planning out your theme units easier than ever with these printable lesson planning templates! Print them off today and immediately start adding all of your favorite December preschool activities!

Christmas

You expected this one, right?

I sure hope so!

It just wouldn’t be a list of December preschool theme ideas if a Christmas theme didn’t make the cut.

Whether you’re counting ornaments on the Christmas tree, learning with gifts or candy canes, using those fine motor skills to build Santa’s beard out of cotton balls, or matching shapes with Santa and his reindeer, there are so many easy ways to learn while incorporating some of that holiday magic.

Christmas Around the World

Speaking of the Christmas season, different variations of this winter holiday are celebrated around the world and this instantly opens up an amazing number of educational opportunities for your preschoolers.

Teaching your preschooler all about this magical time of year and how the holiday is celebrated in Germany, Italy, or France will help them make a connection between themselves and people in other parts of the world as they learn about the different ways that they celebrate the same holiday.

The Arctic

While the Arctic may not be specifically a winter theme unit, this time of year is the perfect time to add this one to your lesson plans!

Learning about one of the coldest places on Earth while it’s cold in their own communities can help your preschoolers establish a connection with what they’re learning.

And a theme unit like this can go well beyond the weather!

With a little bit of research, you could put together some great activities that teach about the animals of the Arctic and how they survive in such a harsh climate and it’s also a fantastic way to introduce habitats.

Gingerbread

Whether you’re constructing a gingerbread house and counting gumdrops, working on fine motor skills with some gingerbread themed playdough mats, or sequencing the story The Gingerbread Man, the opportunities for fun and engaged learning are endless when it comes to a gingerbread theme for young children.

BONUS: If you’re using real gingerbread or even making some of your own, your home and/or classroom will smell amazing for days!

New Years

Of course, all good things must come to an end and Christmas is no exception. Just because the holiday is ending though doesn’t mean that the learning has to stop!

There are plenty of fun activities and creative ways to tie learning into a New Years theme. The holiday itself is full of math!

Counting down from ten and changing the calendar over to a new month and year are both super simple ideas, but your preschoolers will have a blast learning about how a new year begins!

Polar Express

I just couldn’t pass up the chance to get this theme on this month’s list of ideas.  The book, the movie, the story in general; the whole thing is gorgeous and absolutely perfect for the holiday season.

Work in new vocabulary words with things you find in the story or practicing forming letters with a personalized letter to Santa. You could even work on those fine motor skills by making a few snowflakes out of construction paper for a theme like this!

This is one of our all-time favorite December preschool themes and I can’t imagine trying to celebrate the holiday season without it.

Community Helpers – The Baker

With the amount of baking that we do during the holidays, it should come at no surprise that this one makes the list.  While bakers may not be as prominent as they once were in our communities, it is still an important role to teach your kids about as there are some incredible learning opportunities that can go along with it.

Whether you’re making a batch of Christmas cookies and having your preschooler help you measure the ingredients or talking about what happens when you bake a cake for the batter to go from a liquid to a solid, this learning filled December preschool theme would be the highlight of the month!