Welcome to our preschool & toddler curriculum. Check out the video below to see how this curriculum works and get an overview of what is included in each theme. This curriculum is set up to start a new theme each week, but feel free to make each theme longer or shorter to fit the needs of your children! If there are more than 4 weeks in any given month, you can supplement one of the Bonus themes for the extra week. We hope you enjoy this curriculum and have fun learning with your little ones!
52 Weekly Themes
Each month there are four themes listed. If a month has more than four weeks, you can supplement in one of the bonus themes for that fifth week. Click here to see the full list of themes.
How to use the weekly themes
I had originally designed this curriculum for my own daycare and I followed a daily routine to help keep the day organized and make sure I could fit everything in (I didn’t always have time for every activity every day, but I try my best to do what I can). I don’t expect your day to look like mine, so feel free to use as many or as few of the activities listed on each weekly calendar. Feel free to mix and match which activity you do on which day and if an activity I have listed will not work for your kids, you can switch it out with another activity from my themed Pinterest board.
With my children being at different ability levels, I was always thinking about how I could best modify activities to work with each age group. Also, I liked to keep my materials budget low, so I would also be looking for ways to modify activities so they worked with materials I already had on hand. I encourage you to do the same whenever possible.
Activity Types
Each week there will be a weekly calendar that links to the different activities for each day. The weekly calendar activities will include: outside activities, STEAM activities, floor activities, and circle time activities. I will also provide a list of recommended books, a music and movement video playlists, a Pinterest themed board with alternate activities and a materials list for it all!
Floor Activity: These activities are intended to invite children to play and learn. You may have to demonstrate how to do the activity the first time, but after that you can stand back and watch their learning take shape. These activities are repeated on multiple days to allow the children more time with the activity on another day.
Outside Play: These activities are intended to get children outside and explore their world. Lots of gross motor and even some messy activities will be included in this category! Some of the activities can be modified to work inside if weather is not allowing your little explorer to be outside.
Circle Time: These activities are a little more structured and require you to help lead the discussion. Find a comfortable area where you can sit down with your children and do the activity.
STEAM: STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. The art activities are intended to be completed by your children with little to no help from you, once the activity is set up. (I have seven children doing art at one time, so I make sure to plan activities they can complete on their own.) The Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics activities will vary between child exploration and adult guided experiments.
Recommended Books: These books have been selected to compliment the activities outlined in the weekly calendar. You do not need to use all of the books listed each week. I suggest selecting 1-3 of the books to read throughout the week to help tie the theme together with the week’s activities. If you do not own any of the recommended books and do not wish to purchase them, look around your home library and see if you have any other books that could fit the theme. Also, check out your local library to see if the books are available to borrow for the week.
Music and Movement: I have prepared themed playlists with songs and videos to compliment the theme for the week. These songs can be used as part of circle time or any other time you wish to play them for your children.
Pinterest Themed Board: If any of the above activities do not work for you for any reason, you can find a link to a Pinterest themed board that has alternate activities that you could swap out for that day.
Preschool Workbook Recommendations
This curriculum does not include lots worksheet-style pages because they are designed for children to learn through play. If your preschooler is eager to begin simple workbook pages (either because they are wanting to do school work like their older siblings or they are beginning to express interest in writing), below are some of our recommendations for preschool workbooks that you can use alongside this curriculum. Remember, children at this age should mostly learn by doing and if you do decide to add in workbooks, try to keep it to no more than 10 min a day.