February can be a great month to introduce preschool kids to a variety of ideas, people and events. You can use the preschool themes in February to show preschoolers the world around them. Here are some great preschool themes to get you started in February-
- President’s-February wouldn’t be the same without celebrating the presidents. Kids will love learning about Washington, Lincoln and even the more current presidents. Begin the unit by reading the applicable books and then add in these project ideas, for a fun filled theme.
George Washington’s Cherry Tree
You will need:
Green Paint
Brown Paint
Red Paint
Paper
Paint Brush
Start by painting the child’s arm and hand brown. Then have them carefully make a both an arm and hand print on the paper. The child can then use their hand to make green hand prints for the leaves. Finally, they can use their finger or thumb to make cherry prints with the red paint.
Abe Lincoln’s Log Cabin
You will need:
Popsicle Stick
Construction Paper
Penny
Glue
Scissors
Start by having the child glue the Popsicle sticks side by side on the paper. They can then cut a triangle for the roof, a square for the window and a rectangle for the door. Have them glue all the pieces in place. Finally, have the children glue the penny on the square window to show Abe Lincoln looking out the window.
Cooking with Kids-This is a great way to show the kids what Washington ate for breakfast.
Hoecakes
You will need:
2cups Cornmeal
1 ½ Teaspoon Salt
4 Teaspoons sugar
Mixing bowl
2 Cups of water
4 Tablespoons of butter
Saucepan
Mixing spoon
½ Cup Milk
Skillet
Additional butter for frying
Spatula
Honey
To prepare the hoecakes, place the cornmeal, salt, and sugar into a mixing bowl.
Put the water and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly pour this hot mixture over the cornmeal while mixing. Gradually add the milk as you continue stirring.
Cooking the hoecakes:
Heat the skillet and generously grease with butter. When the skillet is hot, drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the skillet, cook until golden brown on both sides.
Serve topped with honey
This recipe makes 24 four-inch hoecakes.
- Fun with clothes-Preschoolers are still learning about dressing, buttoning and zipping their clothes. Having a unit in February provides lots of options, since in most places; everyone is wearing winter or winter type clothes. These fun activities will let the preschoolers become more familiar with the ins and outs of dealing with clothes, while still having a lot of fun!
Books to read: To set the theme you an read:
Froggy Gets Dressed Written by: Jonathon London or
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? (Jesse Bear) Written by: Nancy Carlstrom
Clothing Collage
You will need:
Magazines
Scissors
Glue Sticks
Paper
Keep in mind that this project can be done two ways. One way that adults can scan magazines and cut out all different types of clothes, being sure to leave off the heads of the pictures. Or you can give each of the children a pair of scissors and ask them to find clothing that they like to wear and cut them out. Once they have all the pictures they would like make a collage of them. They can put them in any order that they like. They can be random or they can be by type of clothing.
Shoe Prints
You will need:
Multiple Types of Shoes
Paint of any color
Paper
Newspaper
Optional: Baby Wipes
Start by laying out newspaper on the floor or table to protect it from paint. Then the child can either place the shoe into a plate of paint or they can brush the paint onto the shoe. Once your shoe has paint on it, use it to make print marks on your paper.
Tip: Baby wipes are great for clean up.