Sunny days and back-to-school time, August is a great month to incorporate a variety of fun activity ideas into your preschool classroom. Turn math, literacy, fine motor skills, and art into a fun summer activity for your little learners! This list of 31 awesome activities for August is a great way to bring some exciting preschool activities to your students!
1. Color Collage Sorting
Back to school is a great time to practice basic skills like colors and shapes. This color collage is great practice for colors. Using colored paper, let students find other items of the same color and glue them to the page.
Learn more: Happiness is Homemade
2. Friendship Bracelets
Fill the first few days with books about friendship to add to the positive culture and climate in your classroom. Let students work together to create matching friendship bracelets or create one for now and one to give to a friend later. These would also be ideal for a childcare program and assigning students together to be buddies!
Learn more: Activities for Kids
3. Handprint Butterfly
These precious butterfly crafts are adorable and easy! You need a craft stick and construction paper to make the wings. You can add pipe cleaners for antennae and decorate however you would like!
Learn more: My Bored Toddler
4. Summer Sun Sponge Painting
Celebrate the days of summer with this adorable sponge stamp sun picture craft. Crafts for kids, like this one, are great for back to school. During the first few days of school, crafts set the tone for the year and give students something to look forward to in centers, circle time, and art time.
Learn more: My Board Toddler
5. Seashell Painting
Seashell painting is a fun craft that lets little ones explore the ocean. Summer is a perfect time to learn about the ocean or beach. Tie in ocean animals and places to travel to see the beach!
Learn more: Fun a Day
6. School Bus Photo Frame Craft
Have students flash their biggest smile for this back-to-school craft! These craft stick school bus picture frames are great for building community as they start their school year and make new friends. This would be a great part of a back-to-school theme.
Learn more: Hip 2 Save
7. Paper Plate Duck Craft
The paper plate duck craft is super cute! It pairs well with the children's book 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle. You can learn more about other pond animals or transition to ocean animals. This craft would also fit in well with an alphabet theme at the beginning of school.
Learn more: Glued to My Crafts
8. Paper Picnic Blanket Weaving
This super easy picnic blanket weaving craft will pair wonderfully with camping books and a faux fire in your camping-themed lesson planning. Students can use construction paper to weave their own blankets.
Learn more: Preschool Plan It
9. Sunshine Snack
This adorable sunshine snack is a great first day of school craft! It promotes healthy choices and food, creativity, and positivity! This would be good for a culinary program at school or a culinary club for preschoolers. Use the fruits and pretzels to build a funny smile and a yummy snack!
Learn more: Preschool Plan It
10. Camping Binoculars
Camping books paired with this adorable binocular craft will be a big hit! Take a paper towel tube and cut it in half to create the set of binoculars. You could also use construction paper as well. Let students personalize their binoculars with stickers and artwork.
Learn more: Preschool Plan It
11. Sunflower Art
Plant seeds are always interesting for students to learn more about. This bright and beautiful craft is great for starting back to school and helping students add some cheer and color to your classroom bulletin board, all while learning about how plant seeds grow and change.
Learn more: Natural Beach Living
12. Glue Practice Dots
This glue practice dots page is great for teaching little ones to use glue and only use a small amount. This is helpful at the beginning of the school year. It is also a good time to teach the proper way to use scissors.
Learn more: Just Teachy
13. Color Hunt Around the Room
A back-to-school color theme is important for preschoolers to have the chance to learn about colors and color recognition. Use this color hunt to add movement and teamwork to your centers.
Learn more: Mrs. Jones' Creation Station
14. Rainbow Train Color and Counting Game
The rainbow train counting and color game is good for small groups or partner work. This would also be good for centers. Students can practice rolling, counting, and color recognition.
Learn more: Stay at Home Educator
15. Color Puzzles
Color printable poster centers could be a big hit for your kiddos! These are easy to print and laminate and allow for students to practice color recognition. Days with books about colors leading up to this center activity would be a great way to introduce this lesson theme.
Learn more: A Dab of Glue Will Do
16. Crayon Name Puzzles
When preschoolers learn how to spell their own names, you can expect to see the biggest smile! These crayon name puzzles will quickly become favorite activities for seatwork or center time. Students will enjoy success and the confidence that comes with that.
Learn more: Early Learning Ideas
17. Coloring Sheets
These coloring sheets are easy and perfect for morning work! This printable template features each color and item that is that color so students can practice color recognition and fine motor skills by coloring. This is a great preschool activity to add to your back-to-school theme.
Learn more: Playdough to Plato
18. All About Me Caterpillar
Preschool activities that allow students to tell about themselves and their families are ideal for your back-to-school theme. This all about me activity for kids is a great way for students to share about themselves while building friendships and learning about their peers. Activity ideas like this are also great for social and emotional learning.
Learn more: Happy Tot Shelf
19. Missing Number Practice
Find the missing number with this easy-to-print worksheet. Students can practice coloring the numbers as well. They can also practice using glue when they attach the missing numbers.
Learn more: The Moffat Girls
20. Roll and Color Beginning Sounds
Circle time is a great time to practice early literacy skills like beginning sounds. This activity is a great follow-up at center time or independent working time. Preschool is ideal to spend plenty of time working on strengthening early literacy skills.
Learn more: The Moffat Girls
21. Rainbow Bear Matching
Preschool is the time to build foundations. Color recognition is important and plenty of time should be spent learning colors and shapes and animals. Morning seat work is the perfect time to let preschoolers practice color recognition with this rainbow bear color matching game.
Learn more: Life Over C's
22. Shark Snack
The best thing about this shark snack is that it is a no-bake. These are the best kinds of snacks for little ones because they can make them and eat them right away. These would be a great way to kick off an ocean theme!
Learn more: Mommy's Fabulous Finds
23. Haircut Scissor Practice
Preschool is the perfect time to learn cutting skills by allowing scissor practice. These adorable printables with a funny smile and kind eyes allow preschoolers to practice cutting skills with various lines. You could make a huge printable poster to share with the whole group and demonstrate how this works.
Learn more: Learning with Missy Marlo
24. Color Pattern Towers
Building and patterns always work well together. These pattern towers are fun and good for practicing colors as well. Building patterns and matching colors is also a good way for students to practice hand-eye coordination and motor skills.
Learn more: Planning Playtime
25. Friendship Chain
Activities for kids that build community at the beginning of the year are important for setting the classroom culture in a positive way. Creating a friendship chain is a great way to start the year! Add this adorable craft to your list for the first day of school crafts. This would be ideal to include in your circle time on the first day!
Learn more: Activities for Kids
26. Steam Camping Tents
Crafts for kids are tons of fun, but STEAM activities are even better! This camping tent STEAM activity allows students the chance to build something and put thought into how and why. Put the items in paper bags and let children brainstorm how to build something that will stand!
Learn more: Preschool STEAM
27. Letter Game
Add this literacy game to your activity calendars for the month of August! This is perfect to incorporate into your literacy program at school. Store the items in paper bags and allow this center to be portable and include movement as students swat the letters.
Learn more: ABC's of Literacy
28. Alphabet Books
These alphabet books include sight words and are great practice for young readers. Give families time to practice these at home as well. These are great to add to any child care program, literacy program, or center in your preschool classroom.
Learn more: ABC's of Literacy
29. Color Coding Fence Activity
Your back-to-school theme could include this color-coded fence activity, which will allow little learners to practice colors and number recognition. Colored craft sticks and laminated templates will provide tons of fun for preschoolers.
Learn more: Fairy Poppins
30. Color Matching Busy Book
This is a school color-matching busy book. Get the kids excited about back to school by including a fun kids activity like this one in their daily centers or stations.
Learn more: Planning Playtime
31. Test Tube Patterns
This test tube pattern skills activity resembles an ice cream cone. This is a great way for students to practice fine motor skills, color recognition skills, and pattern building. Add this to center time, circle time, or family time.
Learn more: Mrs. D's Corner
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