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With the month of August comes the back to school season, and of course, the August preschool themes to match.
This list of theme ideas, in particular, gets you back to the basics of theme units, the ones that you almost instinctively think of when planning out your yearly lesson plans.
August Preschool Themes
From the days of the week to colors and shapes, this list of August preschool themes will make your first month of school both fun and educational.
All About Me
One of my absolute favorite preschool themes, we like to plan this one for the very beginning of our school year. An all about me theme easily allows me to work in activities for teaching my kiddos the letters in their names, their address, phone number, etc. and they are always so excited to start learning because they are learning all about themselves.
Emotions
A big one, for sure. Teaching little ones to handle sometimes big emotions isn’t easy, but during an emotions themed unit, we can cover a vast array of emotions and strategies for dealing with them. I’ve always found it incredibly helpful to cover this one at the beginning of the year so that we can then practice and work through a few of the strategies we’ve learned as the year progresses.
5 Senses
Another one of my favorites! The 5 senses unit is always so much fun as we learn all about our senses and what each one is used for through a variety of hands-on activities. A quick taste test and some extra sensory play easily make this a favorite of the little ones as well.
Colors
Teaching colors to your toddler or preschooler can be a ton of fun with books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Mouse Paint and with a little matching and sorting thrown in, it’s super simple to work in a little extra early math practice as well!
Shapes
Much like colors, knowing their shapes is an essential skill for preschoolers. This early math concept will make learning more difficult math skills possible in the future as they build on their knowledge.
Not only can you introduce the various shapes in this theme unit, you can add to the learning by talking about how many sides each shape has, how big or small they are, and what real-life objects look like the shapes that you’re learning about.
My Body
From the head, shoulders, knees, and toes, to the fact that bones and muscles make our bodies work, there is so much learning that you can pack into a human body theme unit for preschoolers.
They don’t need the full anatomy lesson at this age, but it is still a fantastic time to introduce them to how our bodies work and how best to care for them.
Germs
Practicing good hygiene is an excellent skill to have, but small children don’t always understand why. With a good majority of the toddlers and preschoolers that I know, the messier, the better.
While getting messy and dirty certainly has its place, it’s a good idea to teach your little ones about germs, the impact they can have on the people around us, and how to avoid spreading them.
Transportation
Planes, trains, automobiles, and more! Most of the preschoolers that I know have at least one thing in common, they all seem to love things that go. Whether it’s a boat out on the open water or a motorcycle zooming down the street, they’re fascinated by vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Use this to your advantage and build a theme unit around those cars and trucks. You could easily work in a little color practice, introduce sequencing and sorting by size and so much more.
Days and Months
One of the first things that we cover in our preschool is how to read and use a calendar. WIth a few fun songs or stories, it’s easy to introduce your preschoolers to the concept of days, months, and years. With a little prep work, you could even create a portable calendar board that can be used every single day to introduce and reinforce those calendar skills.
Airplanes
With the 19th of August being National Aviation Day in the United States, it makes sense to spend some time learning all about the vehicles that make air travel possible. Whether you’re making and flying a few of your own paper airplanes to opening up an airport in the dramatic play center, there is plenty of learning to be had with this theme.
Community Helpers – Pilots
An extension of the previous theme, a theme unit all about airplanes just wouldn’t be complete with learning all about the men and women that fly them as well. These community helpers not only pilot the aircraft that allow people to travel from place to place, but they also travel the world moving cargo as well, giving you the perfect opportunity to add a little geography to your pretend play as well.
