back to school lesson ideas, Preschool

First Month of Preschool Activities

Whether you are a veteran preschool teacher or it is your first year, the first month of school is a big task to plan for. From getting to know your students to helping them get to know one another, all while introducing them to the rhythm of school, there is a lot to cover!

With so much to plan for we wanted to take some of the work off your plate. Therefore, we created a PreK Back to School Bundle. This bundle is a complete resource of first month of preschool activities to cover all subject areas. Let’s dive in and see all that is included!

Preschool Back to School Activities

When thinking about back to school activities there are common ones that come up for all grade levels. Such as getting to know you activities and goal setting activities.

While these are great types of activities for elementary school students, there is a need to go beyond these types of activities in preschool. Why? Because, preschool is a young learner’s first school experience. Therefore, not only are you introducing them to their peers but to the idea of school and the different things they will learn.

So, when planning out your back to school activities for preschoolers we encourage you go beyond the standard getting to know you activities and incorporate the back to school theme into all subject areas.

This is exactly what we did when planning our preschool back to school activities bundle. We didn’t just focus on getting to know you activities, but on back to school activities in the core subject areas of math, literacy, and science. Moreover, we planned for areas of learning that are specific to the preschool classroom, such as circle time.

Since circle time is one activity that you will do every day you meet with your students, let’s start there.

First Week of Preschool Ideas

During the first week of preschool you will want to introduce your students to the routines and procedures of the classroom. One of the daily routines your students will encounter all year long is circle time. Therefore, circle time is the best place to start when thinking about how to kick off a new school year.

In our Back to School Preschool Circle Time resource we provide you with not only enough back to school preschool ideas for the first week of school, but for the entire first month of school! This means that you will help your students build their understanding what happens during circle time all month long. Then, by the end of the first month of school your preschoolers will be experts at circle time and ready to explore circle time activities through any theme.

What makes applying any theme to circle time easy throughout the year are the core activities to build upon. These are the activities that every circle time will include, but can be easily modified for a new theme.

Here is a quick look at these types of activities

Reread/review the text activities
Responding to text activities
Song lyrics with a familiar tune + corresponding activities
Pocket chart poem + corresponding activities
Game-style whole class activities
Corresponding independent worksheets
Emergent reader

More Circle Time Fun

In our back to school themed circle time resource, we created several activities in each of these areas of learning. This allows for you to use this resource beyond the first week of preschool and all the way through the first month of preschool.

In addition to these activities, we have also provided a detailed circle time lesson plan for every day! Plus, a teacher overview.

By the end of the first month of preschool, your students will be ready to participate in circle time every day for the rest of the year. To further support the circle time routines you build during this first month, we have used the same types of activities and routines for all of our other circle time resources. Therefore, you can choose any themed circle time resource and know exactly what to expect.

Whether it is exploring Halloween in October or Earth Day in April, the routines stay the same. This helps students maintain a sense of familiarity each morning that they come to school.

While circle time is where we suggest kicking off back to school in Prek, it is not the only way to start the year. Keep reading to see more first week of preschool ideas that will continue to build effective routines and procedures while introducing students to important academic ideas throughout the first month of school.

PreK Read Aloud for You’re Finally Here!

Another preschool routine that is important to introduce during the first week of school is reading time. This is because reading time is a core learning component of any preschool classroom.

As with circle time, it is easy to connect any theme to a read aloud because there are so many wonderful kids’ books to choose from! When it comes to back to school read alouds for PreK there are several great ones to choose from. However, we selected our favorite back to school book to include in this bundle.

You’re Finally Here! by Melanie Watt is a wonderful book to welcome kids to not only a new school year, but their first year ever in school!

Just like circle time, it is helpful for students to have a familiar routine to follow during reading time. Therefore, we use the same format for all of our read alouds. If you’ve never used one of our read alouds, here is a quick overview of what to expect.

Detailed lesson plans
Comprehension questions
Whole group response to text activities
Response to text worksheets
Writing pages
Vocabulary cards and worksheets
Quiz
Craftivity template

PreK Math Centers for Back to School

Whether you are new to teaching preschool or have been doing it for awhile, you may wonder the best way to teach preschool math. We have found that one of the best ways to introduce math to preschoolers is through hands on learning. This is why we love using math centers.

Math centers are great for several reasons. They allow students to focus on one math concept at a time, they offer variety, and they allow for hands on learning to engage fine motor skills. All great things to engage students in learning!

Because we love math centers so much, we created several to use with the back to school theme. This allows for you to introduce your kids to math centers throughout the entire first month of preschool.

Here are the learning activities that we created to help your students get familiar with important math concepts when they start school:

Count and Dab: school bus counting
Crayon Box: counting crayons
Order by Size: small and big
Get in Line: number order
Show the Number: number representation
Crayon Puzzles: number count and match
Use a Dot Not a Lot: number recognition, fine motor, gluing skills
Sharpening Shapes: matching 2D shapes

Back to School Literacy Centers: PreK

Just like math, we encourage preschool teachers to use centers to teach literacy. In a similar fashion, literacy centers provide students a chance to focus on one skill at a time. Moreover, they continue to allow for further development in fine motor skills.

As with all of the lesson plans in this bundle, each activity is focused on an area specific to back to school. You will notice this in the activities listed below, as they show a variety of activities that help preschoolers get familiar with the types of literacy activities they will explore during the year.

Spot and Dot: matching letters
Lacing Cards: fine motor
Syllable Smash: counting syllables with school supply words
School Supply Sorting: sort by color
Look and Write: school supply words
Emergent Reader: crayon colors- read and color booklet
On My Own Craft: make a pencil
Writing Own Name: chalkboard craft
Free Write: School Writing Center
ABC Match: uppercase letter recognition

Back to School PreK Exploration Stations

Developing fine motor skills is just as important in preschool as learning about letters and numbers. That’s why beyond math and literacy cneters we highly recommend incorporating exploration stations in your classroom.

Exploration stations are designed to engage students in hands on learning. Moreover, they are focused on inviting students to explore through their senses. This is why each station often includes an opportunity to engage with at least one of the five senses.

Take a peek at the different stations we created with the back to school preschool theme and see if you can identify the different senses your students might use at each station!

Explore: Explore and read the pages. Match the cards to the photographs.
Color: Color the pictures, or use the code to color the pictures.
Match: Match the “paint” to the colors on the paint tray.
Make: Use play dough to make the school tools on the cards.
Dot: Use dot stamps to paint outlines of the shapes.
Clip: Clip the crayon color that matches the picture.
Solve: Solve the school scene puzzle on the mat.
Create: Follow the instruction card to create a crayon box.
Write/Draw: Draw or write about school.

Preschool STEM Idea: Back to School

Depending on the schedule of your preschool, the lesson plans above may be more than enough to get you through the first week of preschool. However, we have one more back to school lesson to share with you.

The final piece of this preschool bundle for back to school is a STEM project. The perfect way to introduce your students to science and inquiry! In this STEM activity students will prepare for the school year by building a sturdy container to hold their crayons.

Even though you may not have enough time during the first week of school to complete this project, we highly recommend trying to use it at some point during the first month of preschool. As with all of the other learning experiences in this bundle, it not only introduces studetnst to a core academic concept but it helps establish a learning routine for the year.

Just like circle time, reading time, and centers, this STEM project follows a carefully designed process that is used in all of our other STEM activities. Therefore, if you teach it as part of your back to school theme yoru students will be ready to explore STEM for the rest of the year!