Themes are not a new concept when it comes to early education. They are super useful and focus learning into manageable pieces for kids. When we use theme-based lesson plans, children get to learn about a new topic in many different ways!
Here are a few of our favourite methods to incorporate themes into our daily classroom schedule!
Songs
Using music and lyrics help engage children while teaching them about a new theme. If the theme for the week is all about animals, choose songs related to animals. Using body movements also brings in the sensory experience making it memorable and enjoyable!
Art Projects
Create your art projects around the theme of the week. This is not only fun and creative, but also helps children visually think about the theme. For our transportation themed week, we normally make cool vehicles like cars or boats. When the art is also 3D, children get to play with them afterwards adding to the fun of it!
Vocabulary Words
For Circle Time, teaching children about the associated theme words will help to increase their vocabulary while discussing the new theme. We have found that using flash cards with pictures helps with this. Children learn language by observing others communicate, so make sure to use the words of the week amply when talking about the themes.
Stories
Finally, a great way to talk about the theme is through storytelling! Finding books and stories related to the theme will help children to understand the themes better. Ask them questions throughout the stories and reinforce the themes by using those themed vocabulary words.
Learning through themes is a great way to teach students about the world around them!
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