Many preschool theme pictures

 

Having been asked about preschool themes to teach, I’ve compiled a list of various themes that can be used with a preschool child at home or with a whole class at a preschool or childcare centre.

I’ve attached a free printable pdf of my list of themes at the bottom of this post.

How long should you use a theme?

That depends on your situation and your children. I’ve taught in preschools that use one theme a week, though sometimes a big theme is extended over two weeks or more. Other preschools will choose to combine two themes and keep them for an entire month. The best length for you will be affected by how engrossed you are in the theme and how often you teach or do crafts regarding the theme. Also, pay attention to your children’s interests. If you know your children love animals, you likely could use an animal theme for longer. Other times, however, changing up the theme every week will keep the children more engaged.

What aspects can be affected by the theme?

You can embrace your chosen theme as much or as little as you want. Here are some areas you could choose to incorporate your theme.

  • Circle time:
    • The first place most people think of incorporating a theme is during the teaching time, referred to by preschool teachers as circle time. Themes can be incorporated through songs, stories, activities, and direct teaching. Using visuals is beneficial whenever possible.
    • If you’re looking for song ideas, glance at my Big List of Simple Preschool Songs.
  • Crafts:
    • There are endless craft ideas available online to go with nearly any theme. A quick search on Pinterest will show you a few. Keep in mind, theme-focused crafts are often product-oriented (i.e. the child is given a specific example to replicate). There are benefits to product-oriented crafts, but don’t forget to include some open-ended art as well. For “Autumn” you could give your child a blank paper and yellow, orange, and red paints to use however they’d like. For “Transportation” you could allow your child to drive cars through paint and make tracks on their paper. (Cleanup for this one is trickier!) For other open-ended ideas check out Beyond the Paintbrush then put on your thinking cap to tie them into your theme.
  • Books:

    • If you have a local library, books are a great way to incorporate a preschool theme. Is “Under the Sea” your theme? Search for books about fish, sharks, and the ocean. Some themes have countless fantastic books, for other themes it’s harder to find suitable books. Here are some books I’ve enjoyed with my preschoolers, sorted by theme: Books for Preschoolers and Toddlers
  • Decoration:
    • Some preschools will totally transform their classroom with theme-based decorations (bulletin boards, posters, etc.). It’s a lot of work! Others rarely change their decorations. A happy compromise, in some cases, could be having one theme-decorated area or bulletin board that you change based on the theme. If you don’t have posters, consider putting up crafts the children made or printing colour sheets corresponding with the theme. However, don’t feel bad if you don’t decorate by theme. It is not essential.
  • Games/Gym:
    • Get creative during gym time. With preschoolers, a simple game such as this one “4 Sides Preschool Gym Game can be adapted to countless themes. Alternatively, if learning about Space, grab some hula hoops and pretend to fly to the moon together.
  • Field Trips/Outings:

    • Some themes work well to be taken outside the home/classroom. Are you learning about bugs? Go on a bug hunt around the yard or neighbourhood. Are you studying transportation? See how many different types of transportation you can find on a walk around the block.
    • Visit the zoo, aquarium, pet store, science center, or a farm, if your area has them.

Looking for more tips for how to implement a theme and use it to create a curriculum that’s just right for your children? Check out my post: Create Your Own Preschool Curriculum for Free

Preschool Themes List:

Any season:

  • All About Me
  • Alphabet
  • Numbers
  • Shapes
  • Colours
  • Safety
  • Community Helpers
  • Science
  • Space
  • Music
  • Emotions
  • Five senses
  • Healthy Eating
  • Healthy Habits
  • Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
  • Transportation/Things that go
  • Mighty Machines
  • Wheels
  • Ramps
  • Bible
  • Multicultural
  • Circus
  • Superheroes
  • Princesses and Pirates
  • Fables/Nursery Rhymes

Animal:

Here is a fantastic action song that could go with nearly any of these animal themes: If You Want To Be A…

 

  • Zoo Animals
  • Desert
  • Jungle
  • Safari
  • Birds
  • Pets
  • Bugs
  • Farm
  • Dinosaurs
  • Baby Animals
  • Under the Sea
  • Winter Animals
  • Forest Animals
  • North American Animals
  • Reptiles and Amphibians

Fall:

If your program begins in September, remember to keep these first few weeks simpler as you and the children settle into routine.

  • Welcome to School
  • Leaves
  • Apples
  • Harvest
  • Forest Animals
  • Fruits and Vegetables

Winter:

  • Winter Sports
  • Winter Olympics (when it’s on)
  • Winter Animals
  • Snowflakes
  • Snowmen

Spring:

  • Bugs
  • Flowers
  • Baby animals
  • How Plants Grow

Summer:

  • Beach Party
  • Fun in the Sun
  • Teddy Bear Picnic
  • Summer Olympics (when it’s on)

Special days:

  • There are many holidays that can also be used as themes, but I’ll let you make your own list of those.

 Click here to download your free printable pdf of the Preschool Themes List

 

What other themes would you add to the list?

Picture of Animal Skin Matching Game and toy animals

 

Preschoolers love animals and so do I. Preschoolers also love guessing and learning. That’s why I’ve created this Zoo Animal Skin Matching Game.

Get started

Download and print the free Zoo Animal Skin Matching Game which includes 12 zoo animal skin pictures and photos of the corresponding animals. No sign up needed. (Big thanks to the Unsplash community for providing such excellent photos!)

If you want more than the 12 Zoo Animals, I encourage you to join my email list to receive another set of 12 animals (Exotic Animals) for a total of 24. Alternatively check out my selection of other Animal Skin Matching Games available on Teacher’s Pay Teachers.

Cut out the photos and, if possible, laminate them for increased durability.

OptionalPhoto of Animal Skin Matching Game cards

If you have a set of small zoo animal toys, I would encourage you to use those to match with the printed skin pictures rather than using the matching animal photos I have provided.

Play at home (groups of 1-4 children)

  • Invite the children to gather around.
  • Set several of the animal skins in front of the children. (For younger children start with only a few distinct skins until they catch onto the game. For older children you could set out all 12 skins.)
  • Either set out all the matching animals or hand them to the children one at a time.
  • Encourage the children to match the animals to the cards.
  • Celebrate with the children when they have matched all the animals correctly!
  • Consider furthering the fun and education by using ideas listed in the “extend the learning” section below.

Play in group circle time (groups of 5+ children)

  • Count how many children you have and determine how you will enable each child to have a turn. The print out includes 12 animal skins to match. If you have more than 12 children, consider playing the game twice so that every child can participate.
  • Before circle time, arrange the animal skins on a wall or board where everyone can see them. Have tape or sticky-tack ready so the children can attach the animals to the skins.
  • Once everyone is gathered for circle time, point out the skins and explain that you will play a matching game.
  • One at a time, call the children to the front and hand them an animal. Allow them to match their animal to the appropriate skin. (Younger children may need hints at first.)
  • Consider furthering the fun and education by using ideas listed in the “extend the learning” section below.

Play in a video call

  • Option one: Show one skin at a time and see if the children can guess what animal they belong to. (This works better for older children.)
  • Option two: Show three skins and one animal. Encourage the children to guess which skin belongs to that animal.
  • Consider furthering the fun and education by using ideas listed in the “extend the learning” section below.

Extend the learning

  • Sing the animal song: “If You Want To Be A…
  • Read a zoo themed book. I have collected some of my favourite zoo books on my Pinterest board here.
  • Many of the animal photos have more than one animal. Have fun counting them.
  • See how many colours you can find in the photos.
  • After the children have finished the animal skin matching game, consider taking the opportunity to talk with your children. Topics could include:
    • Observe how different and unique each animal’s skin is, yet they are all animals. Discuss how people all look different but that doesn’t make us any less important – we’re all special!
    • Talk about how each animal is good at something different – monkeys climb trees, turtles carry homes on their backs, giraffes reach leaves at the top of the trees, etc. Then steer the conversation to how each person is good at different things.
    • Ask the children which animal is their favourite, or which they like pretending to be the most.
    • For Christians: Marvel together at how amazingly complex and varied creation is and how that reminds us that God is far more spectacular than all the creatures He has made.

Want more Animal Skin Matching Sets created by S J Little? Check out the following:

Exotic Animal Skin Matching Game

Free when you join S J Little’s email list (see form above)

 

Farm Animal Skin Matching Game

Free through Teacher’s Pay Teachers

 

Ocean Animal Skin Matching Game

Available for purchase on Teacher’s Pay Teachers

 

The following are some of my favourite animal picture books that get children interacting at storytime. These guessing books for preschoolers give clues, whether visual or through words, about what animal may be hiding on the next page or under the flap. Especially at the beginning of the school year, I find these books intrigue youngsters who are otherwise unwilling to sit for stories.

1. Are You My Mommy?

(Lift the flap)

Written and Illustrated by Mary MurphyAre You My Mommy? by Mary Murphy - review by S J Little

This is currently one of my absolute favourite preschool books. The storyline – a puppy looking for his mommy – is simple enough for my two year old class to follow and enjoy. As the puppy asks each hidden animal if they are his mommy, the children try to guess the animal based on visible clues. My two year olds enjoyed naming each farm animal after I opened the flap, while my three year olds were typically able to guess the animal before I opened it. Now here’s the part that makes this little board book so fantastic. I found that most of my three year olds were well versed in, and becoming bored of, the typical farm animal names: horse, cow, pig… In fact, many of my two year olds knew them all. Mary Murphy doesn’t stop with just the standard farm animals. Instead, under each flap is a baby to go with the mommy. These baby animal names were brand new for my three year olds. They hadn’t heard of ducklings, piglets, and calves before. This kept my advanced students engaged and learning while still providing review of the standard animal names for my children who were newer to learning English.

Reading tips:

  • By using identical phrasing on each page you can invite your children to say it with you: “Are you my mommy?” “No, I’m a ___(allow children to name the animal)__, and this is my baby calf.”
  • I like to use a different voice for each animal. It helps the children stay attentive.
  • Because this book is, to my knowledge, only available as a small board book, some older preschoolers may scoff at it as being for babies. Therefore, how you introduce this book is important. I like to tell the children I need their help naming the animals. Also, because the baby animal names were new to my class, I decided to read it on two days during our farm week. To prepare the children for this, I told them I was going to read the book today, and then a different day I would read it to them again to see if they remembered it. This way I didn’t get any “we already read that” complaints when I pulled the book out the second day.

2. Peek-a-Boo! Ocean

(Lift the flap)

Written and Illustrated by Jess StockhamPeek a Boo! Ocean and Peek a Boo! Safari by Jess Stockham

This series of books is right up there among my favourites. They are good-sized board books with only 5 page spreads each. The sad thing about these books, however, is that, to my knowledge, they are no longer in print. Also, since children are often rough on lift the flap books, they are quickly disappearing from my local library.

As a preschool teacher, I find that many children have trouble settling into our circle time routine during the first number of classes. Especially with my two year olds, I find it works best to start with songs for the first few weeks, then slowly transition to adding some books in those times of singing. These Peek-a-Boo books are excellent first books for circle time during that transition. With my two year olds, I might wait a month before beginning to introduce these books and then moving to other books, while for the three year olds I’d start with these books in the first week or two.

What’s so great about these books? Let me tell you. My favourite part is the way Jess Stockham has left little clues visible so the children can try to guess which animal is hiding behind the flap. For example, the children might be able to see the animal’s tail or ear. Another thing I appreciate about this book is how bold and simple the pictures are. On top of that, the flaps are large, nearly as large as the book.

Reading tips:

  • When you read the words, such as “Who’s ear is this?” Point to the place where you see the ear peeking out from behind the flap.
  • After opening the flap, your children might enjoy it if you tell them something about the animal, such as the sound it makes or where it lives, for example: “The polar bear lives at the North Pole where it is really cold.”

Other titles in this series include:

  • Peek-a-Boo! Safari
  • Peek-a-Boo! Forest
  • Peek-a-Boo! Jungle

3. Do You Want to Be My Friend?

Written and Illustrated by Eric CarleDo You Want To Be My Friend? by Eric Carle - review by S J Little

This nearly wordless picture book is a lot of fun for 3-4 year olds. Each page shows the tail of the animal you will see when you turn the next page. Children enjoy trying to guess which animal each tail belongs to. The book includes a wide variety of animals some of which my three year olds were not familiar with. The variety of animals would fit well with a zoo theme. When I tried this book with my two year olds, it seemed too long and the animals and their tails too tricky for guessing. Therefore, I’d recommend this one for 3-4 year olds.

Reading tips:

  • Only two of the pages have words on them. I typically end up repeating the same phrase on every page: “Do you want to be my friend?”
  • Wait a moment before turning the page and encourage the children to guess.

4. My First Peek-a-boo Animals

(Lift the flap)

Written and Illustrated by Eric CarleMy First Peek-a-boo Animals by Eric Carle - review by S J Little

This short book is unique. Each page has a four line poem giving clues to what animal might be hiding behind the flaps. The large flaps do not cover the entire animal leaving toes, tails, and maybe a nose sticking out. 2-4 year olds can enjoy this book, however, I would say that my two year olds were not able to guess based on the poems. Also, as a teacher at a preschool that uses typical themes, I find it hard to know which theme to use this book in. It has a random combobulation of animals from a lion, to a horse, to a butterfly, to a turtle, to an elephant and more. Still, regardless of what theme you put it under, this is an engaging book for preschoolers.

Reading tips:

  • Based on the age and development level of your children decide whether or not to read the poems. If you wanted, you could encourage the children to guess simply based on the visual clues sticking out from under the flap and read the poem after you’ve revealed the animal.

5. Dear Zoo

(Lift the flap or pop-up version)

Written and Illustrated by Rod Campbell

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

The simple repetitive words and basic storyline of this classic book make it excellent for youngsters. Only a couple of the pages have visual clues as to what animal is hiding making them hard to guess. Each animal has a description word, such as big, fierce, scary, jumpy, etc. These words could be used as clues to encourage guessing. They also enhance the learning side of this book as the children may not be familiar with some of the description words.

Reading Tips:

  • I highly recommend the pop-up version rather than the lift-the-flap as the pop-ups add tremendously to the excitement and engagement factor. However, note that the pop-up version is more likely to rip if left unsupervised in little hands.
  • One small group of 3-4 year olds I read this book to, enjoyed it so much that we read it several times in the first sitting. By the third or fourth time through, the children had memorized most of the animals and description words. They loved being able to fill in the words rather than hearing me read it.

6. Bugs From Head to Tail

Written by Stacey Roderick

Bugs From Head to Tail and other books in the series Written by Stacey Roderick, Illustrated by Kwanchai Moriya

Illustrated by Kwanchai Moriya

I highly recommend the Bugs and Ocean Animals books of this fairly recent series. Both books have a wide variety of animals some of which are familiar to most preschoolers and some of which will be new to them. While these books do not have flaps to lift, the pages have been cleverly designed so that on one page you see a part of an animal as a clue, such as their feet or tail, etc. Then you turn the page to find out what animal it is.

While I really enjoy the Bird book, most of the birds are far too specific for 2-3 year olds, unless the children have a specific interest in knowing unique animal names.

Reading Tips:

  • On the page that reveals which animal it is, the animal name is given as well as a lengthy blurb about that animal. The details in the blurb are targeted for a much older age group, therefore I entirely skip them. (Also, the dinosaur book’s blurbs are primarily based on speculations about the dinosaurs’ behaviours, not known facts, so I don’t read them.)

Other titles in this series include:

  • Dinosaurs From Head to Tail
  • Birds From Head to Tail
  • Ocean Animals From Head to Tail

7. I Spy Under the Sea

Written and Illustrated by Edward GibbsI Spy kid's guessing book series by Edward Gibbs

I was surprised how much my wiggly three year old class enjoyed this book! First, we look through a spy hole to see what’s on the next page. I read the clues, such as “my arms are called tentacles.” Then the children try to guess what animal it might be before I turn the page. My class guessed some of the animals easily while others they’d never heard of which kept the book from being boring for my more advanced children. While the artsy illustration style is not my favourite, my class had no problem with it.

To my knowledge, this series is available as hardback and board book.

Reading Tips:

  • Encourage the children to try guessing even if they’ve never heard of the animal. Be sure your response to their guesses is encouraging. Especially with the quieter children, when they gather the courage to voice a guess, be careful not to turn them off by laughing at their guess.
  • Read the book ahead of time so that you know what’s coming. That way you can provide extra clues. For example, when I read the Under the Sea book to my class, we’d seen clownfish on our field trip the week before which I was able to use as an added clue.

Other titles in this series include: (Each focuses on various preschool topics as listed below.)

  • I Spy With My Little Eye (colours and clues)
  • I Spy Under the Sea (clues and numbers)
  • I Spy Pets (food and clues)
  • I Spy in the Sky (colours, big/small describers, and clues)
  • I Spy on the Farm (colours, first letters, and animal sounds)

Interested in learning other ways to capture your young audience at storytime? Skim through these creative tips and ideas: Ways To Engage Preschoolers With Stories

Boy studying zoo map

What follows is one of my favourite preschool animal songs. I sing it often with my class.

I will share my favourite few verses, as well as a long list of other ideas.

Pick and choose which verses are your favourite, or fit best with your theme.

 

If You Want To Be A…

(tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It)

 

If you want to be a giraffe, stretch up tall,

If you want to be a giraffe, stretch up tall,

If you want to be a giraffe, if you want to be a giraffe,

If you want to be a giraffe, stretch up tall.

 

Actions: Reach for the ceiling everytime you sing “stretch up tall”

Other favourite verses include:

  • If you want to be a lion, roar like me
  • If you want to be a turtle, hide in your shell
  • If you want to be a kangaroo, jump up and down
  • If you want to be a flamingo, stand on one foot
  • If you want to be a butterfly, flap your wings

Strategies:

  • I don’t follow the same order of verses every time I sing this preschool animal song and I vary which animals I use. This keeps the children’s interest longer as it feels new each time. 
  • I switch between loud, medium and quiet verses depending on the children’s energy level. If they have lots of energy I do two or three loud ones, but if they start going crazy I regain their attention by using medium volume verses. Finally, I calm them down at the end, and sometimes in the middle too, by using a quiet verse. Your tone, volume and choice of actions will determine how exciting or calming each verse is.
  • Pay attention to your children’s interest levels. Some days they may be happy to do a large number of verses, while other days they may only stay engaged for three or four. Once you start losing their attention move on to the next song/activity.
    • If I am transitioning into story time next, I sing the song through again but with these words:

                   “If you want to hear a story, sit right down.”

  • As you read the different verses below notice how they use a wide range of motions and sounds. I would encourage you to use a variety so as to give the children developmental benefits in many areas.

 

Possible Verses (by theme)

 

Zoo Animals:

Lion – “roar like me”

Elephant – “swing your trunk”

Giraffe – “stretch up tall”

Flamingo – “Stand on one foot”

Gorilla – “thump your chest”

Kangaroo – “jump up and down”

 

Jungle Animals:

Gorilla – “thump your chest”

Tiger – “roar like this”

Elephant – “swing your trunk”

Snake – “slither like me”

Monkey – “swing your arms”

Sloth – “move real slow”

 

Safari Animals:

Lion – “roar like me”

Elephant – “swing your trunk”

Giraffe – “stretch up tall”

Cheetah – “run real fast”

Hippo – “stomp your feet”

 

Farm Animals:

Horse – “shake your mane”

Bunny – “hop up and down”

Pig – “oink like me”

Mouse – “get real small”

Frog – “jump up and down”

 

Insects:

Grasshopper – “jump up and down”

Bumblebee – “buzz like me”

Butterfly – “flap your wings”

 

North American Animals:

Bear – “roar real loud”

Eagle – “flap your wings”

Jack Rabbit – “hop up and down”

Skunk – “pinch your nose”

Wolf – “look at the moon” (howl)

Squirrel – “eat an acorn”