November: Thanksgiving!

This month’s thematic theme for preschoolers is THANKSGIVING! 

Wondering how this works? Use the compiled list below as a starting point for your own homeschooling or use simply as a list of "fun" activities with your little ones. I will post monthly thematic units as the year continues. Next month's theme is CHRISTMAS.

Enjoy! Genevieve 

Math, & Reading, & Writing...oh MY!

Below are links to high quality (& free!) printables from 1plus1plus1equals1 and 2teachingmommies for both math and writing/reading. Honoring the original creators' requests, you have to go directly to the sites and then click on the links. But TOTALLY worth it! Click on the image to get to each website. 

Reading, Vocabulary, & Literature

• Read a minimum of 20 minutes per day to your child
• Go to your local library and look-up/checkout both fiction and nonfiction books on thanksgiving. Let your child help you select the books. Have her read the pictures or retell the story to you.
• Vocabulary Words: turkey, pilgrims, native americans, thanksgiving, Mayflower
• 10 Steps to Teaching Your Child to Read

Letter Awareness

• Turkey dot-to-dot printable
• Feather Letters
• Flashlight Show & Tell

Art & Fine Motor

• Marshmallow Turkeys
• Native American Attire
• Mayflower Boat

Content (Science & Social Studies)

• Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (video)
• This is America, Charlie Brown (video)

Cooking

• Teepee Cupcakes

• Happy Thanksgiving Goody Packs

• Pumpkin pie
• Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

Music

• Mr. Turkey (video)
• Thanksgiving Songs (video)
• Mr. Turkey's Feathers (video)
• We Eat Turkey (video)
• If Your Thankful and You Know It (video)
• Did You Ever See a Turkey (video)

Outings, Sensory, & Large Motor 

• "Thankful" Feather Toss
• Thanksgiving Dances

Faith & Love

• Thanksgiving Countdown
• Turkey Thank You Cards

Online Educational Fun

• Starfall
• ABCya
• Dance Mat keyboarding (do not focus on hand position at this age)
• IXL Math Skills

Thanksgiving Greeting Photo licensed for reuse under Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagehalloweencollector/2051078698/

October: Pumpkins!

This month’s thematic theme for preschoolers is PUMPKINS! Like September, there are other autumn topics sprinkled in the midst--and even a couple apple activities from September (if you didn't get to them already). 

Wondering how this works? Use the compiled list below as a starting point for your own homeschooling or use for supplemental activities. I will post monthly thematic units as the year continues. Next month's theme...THANKSGIVING, of course! 

Enjoy! Genevieve 

Amendments
10-5-12: Tons of high quality (& free!) pumpkin printables from 1plus1plus1equals1 and from 2teachingmommies for both math and writing/reading. Honoring the original creators' requests, you have to go directly to the site and then click on the downloads. But TOTALLY worth it!

Reading, Vocabulary, & Literature

• Read a minimum of 20 minutes per day to your child
• Go to your local library and look-up/checkout both fiction and nonfiction books on pumpkins and autumn. Let your child help you select the books. Have her read the pictures or retell the story to you.
• Vocabulary Words: pumpkin, orange, autumn, fall, life cycle, seed, vine, carve, stem, fruit, pulp
• Pumpkin Feels Lonely (video)
• Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on the Gate poem & printable
• The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything Ideas #1
• The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything Ideas #2
• Pumpkin Adjectives 
• Recommended Book: 

Letters & Writing 

• Pumpkins & "P"
• Printable Letter “P” #1 with Pumpkin theme
• Printable Letter “P” #2 with Pumpkin theme
• Printable Letter “P” #3 with Pumpkin theme
• Pumpkin acrostic poem
• “L” is for Leaf
• Create a pumpkin simile 

Math

• Pumpkin Math Mat while practicing addiction using dice
• Play Pumpkin Bingo while practicing shape identification
• Pumpkin Glyph
• Pumpkin Seeds Match-Up Game 
• Pumpkin Symmetry
• School House Rock Counting by 5's (video)
• Scarecrow Pumpkin Counting by 5's
• Create Estimation Jars using pine cones
• Counting Tree Leaves 

Art & Fine Motor

• Leaf Man 
• Leaf Garlands
• Leaf Suncatcher

• Fall Magnet Pages
• Cut out play dough with pumpkin cutters
• Autumn Tree
• For bigger kids, try hammering golf tees into pumpkins
• Make a pumpkin out of lunch paper bags
• Marble Painted Pumpkins 

Science

• Venn Diagram a Pumpkin & an Apple
• Time Lapse of Pumpkin Vines Growing (video)
• That's How a Pumpkin Grows Song (animated video)
• Share the lifecycle of a pumpkin plant 

Cooking

• Pumpkin pie
• Quinoa Pumpkin pancakes
• Pumpkin seeds
• Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

Music

• Where is Pumpkin (super cute!)
• 10 Little Leaves
• Hojas, Hojas is a spanish song teaching colors

Outings, Sensory, & Large Motor 

• Visit a farm and pick out pumpkins! 
• Go for a nature walk and take pictures. Make a photo book of your pictures together.
• Cut open and explore the insides of pumpkins
• Rake and jump into leaves
• Collect acorns, pine cones, and leaves often. These are needed for many of our fine motor art activities!
• Fall Sensory Table

Faith & Love

• Pumpkin Carving & Poem
• How a Christian is Like a Pumpkin

Online Educational Fun

• Starfall
• ABCya
• Dance Mat keyboarding (do not focus on hand position at this age)

Pumpkin photo© Copyright RichardBowen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licencehttp://www.storyit.com/pcolor/rhymes5pump.htm