April will provide lots of opportunities for education and fun, if you have a preschooler (or a whole class of them) in your life. Spring has arrived in most places, and this lends itself to whole host of themes that can be used for preschool. However, don’t let the month or the season tie down your creativity. You can use any of these themes as a starting point, for working with preschoolers and build on them as well. Here are some preschool themes for April-
- Earth Day-It’s never too early to begin teaching preschoolers to love appreciate and take of our planet. You can use this theme throughout the entire month of April with the activities culminating on Earth Day, April 22nd.
Books to Read:
Earth Day–Hooray!
By Stuart J. Murphy
Let’s Celebrate Earth Day
By Peter Roop
Earth Day Bracelet-Preschooler are avid collectors, so they will especially love this easy to do craft.
You will need:
Contact Paper
Start by cutting the contact paper, into a long strip to form a bracelet. Make the bracelet so that it will be sticky side up. Go on a nature walk and let the children put whatever they find (grass, flowers, feathers, sticks, pebbles, etc) on the bracelet.
Indoor Terrarium
You will need:
Permanent Black Marker
Seeds
Water
Very Sharp Scissors or Knife (used ONLY by adults)
Potting Soil
2 Liter Soda Bottle w/ cap
Start by taking the label off the bottle, however be sure to save the cap. Wash and rinse out the bottle and the cap. Cut the bottle near the bottom, (a good place to do this is at the bottom of where the label was). Have the children fill the bottom with the soil. Make sure to leave the soil loose. Plant a few seeds in the dirt and lightly water. Place the cap on the bottle. Cover the bottom with the top of the bottle. Place it in a sunny spot and the kids will love watching their seeds grow.
Dirt Cups-This tasty treat may just be the center of the celebration on April 22nd.
You will need:
Chocolate Pudding Mix
Milk
Oreo Cookies
Gummy Worms
Cool Whip
Cups
Spoons
Zip Lock Bags
Start by placing the Oreo cookies, in a zip lock bag and have the children take turns breaking them up by banging the bag. Cover the bottom of cups with crumbled Oreos. Combine the pudding mix and milk to make your pudding, pour into cups; leaving 1/2 an inch of space at the top. Refrigerate pudding until set. As a final touch have the children add crumbled Oreos to the top of each cup and garnish with a gummy worm.
- Dinosaurs-Most preschoolers love dinosaurs and will readily join in on a unit about them. Kids this age love the idea of dinosaurs and often fascinated with them. This theme can easily be combined with reading, math and even cooking.
Books to Read:
How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Room?
by Jane Yolen
Ten Little Dinosaurs
by Pattie Schnetzler
Noodle Dinosaur Fossil-This helps preschoolers to develop fine motor skills as well, as have fun!
You will need:
Very fine potting soil
White glue
Pasta: (Penne, elbow, large elbow, rigatoni)
Styrofoam plate or tray
Measuring cup
Scissors
Start by mixing a cup of potting soil with enough glue to make it stick together. Have the child mold it into a ball and press the ball down flat until it is about a half inch thick. Next they can press the pasta shapes into the dirt making a dinosaur design. When they are done creating their dinosaur fossil, they will cover the fossils with a layer of glue. Keep in mind that drying time could take two or more days.
Meat vs. Plant Eating Dinosaurs: What did Dinosaurs Eat?-This activity allows the children to explore the dietary world of dinosaurs.
What you will need:
Broccoli Florets
Hot Dogs
Salad Dressing for Dipping
Give the children both of these foods and the dressing for dip. Talk about how some dinosaurs are meat eaters and some are plant eaters. Point out that Meat Eaters had lots of sharp pointy teeth while Plant Eaters had square flat teeth.