Thematic units are my favorite way to teach young kids. They organize learning by creating connections, which is how our little ones learn best. Whether you’re homeschooling, co-oping, or in the classroom every day, I thought I’d give you a jump start in creating your lesson plans by putting together quality play-based activities that fit within a thematic structure and cover a wide array of developmental objectives.
Below, I’ve linked the units I’ve already compiled and will add new ones to the list as they become available. (So pin this and come back from time to time!) And if there’s a unit you’d like to see, leave a comment. I’m always excited to hear new ideas!
But first, there are a few things that might help you plan—
Before the Unit:
Know Where You’re Going– Use a Developmental Checklist as Your Guide
Mapping Out Your Preschool Study Themes
Backwards Planning: How to Start with the End in Mind
Planning a New School Year? 12 Tips to Give You a Head Start
Thematic Units (Alphabetized):
Construction & More to Build On
Fall& More Fall & Who loves fall? This gal!
Insects, Bugs, & Other Creepy Crawlies
What theme would you love to see here next?
Psst — Find more comprehensive thematic units from my friend, Allie, at No Time for Flashcards here.
hi–I have been following you for quite awhile, and was glad to see the developmental checklist–but when I open the pdf, I am just getting a blank screen–am I doing something wrong? thanks– Jeanne Larson
Hmm. It came up for me. Let me see if I can figure it out.
From the Thematic Units post, I clicked on the “…Use a Developmental Checklist as Your Guide” link. From that post, I clicked on the link “Broad Developmental Assessment”. That takes you to what looks like a post with only that title once again as a link. Clicking on that should open the PDF, which you can print directly from there.
I know I’ve found sometimes restarting my computer helps in opening files. Let me know how this goes for you and I’ll see what I can do on my end.
I LOVE this! Thank you so much! I am just now finalizing our schedules and what we are doing this fall and was thinking about tracking down some of these posts as a refresher- and here it all is!! Yeah!
Thank you so much for the wonderful theme ideas! I just started preschool at home with my 3 year old and I needed some inspiration as well as the reminders that I need to begin with the end in mind and know what my objectives are. Your site is going to be a tremendous resource for me! I do have one question, how long do you generally use each theme? I’ve seen people jump themes day to day and others stay on one theme for a month. Thanks again!
The duration of your theme really depends on your program, how many sessions you have in a week/month, and the interest of your kids. I worked in one preschool where the theme was for one week but each week flowed together. I’ve taught in another where the theme covered the entire month. I’m not sure there’s one right answer! You have to kind of feel it out and cater to your group’s needs as you go!
I’d love to know what you plan around Holidays. I want it to be a fun and educational opportunity.
I wrote this piece a few years back that might help: https://notjustcute.com/2011/10/18/do-holidays-have-a-place-in-the-classroom/
Essentially, if you’re in a setting that doesn’t allow the direct celebration of holidays, I find an aspect of the holiday and simply study that. At Halloween, we might study pumpkins or spiders. Thanksgiving — food. Christmas — winter or giving service or traveling. Valentine’s Day — I love to incorporate communication (especially mail) and friendship. There’s always something that is a cornerstone of what we enjoy celebrating, but that can be studied as an independent topic.
need some pre kg themes
Hi! Thanks for this list. I will be using some of these in my preschool with my child and two others this year!! One other idea I had for a unit was: “Our Country: The United States of America”
My K2 children are really interested in exploring more about balloons. Would love to hear about any ideas on the theme of balloons! 🙂
Thank you for the Thematic unit suggestions. I am a director for a large Head Start Program. Currently, we are setting our units of study for the next program.
comment: “Our Country: The United States of America”. Our program began using this unit of study a couple of years, ago. It has become the teaching staffs favorite.
If you are still updating and adding themes, I’d love to see one for continents/animals of continents (safari/African, north American, Asian, maybe sea animals, antarctic, etc.)