‘Tis the season to be learning- Fa la la la la, la la la la! I’m full of joy and here to share some of the most Perfect Preschool Themes for December that will fill your weeks with learning, joy and best of all the… holiday spirit!
Keep your littles engaged, learning, and experiencing all the greatness this terrific month has to offer!
These preschool themed activities are a helpful way to teach your littles about emotions, germs and hygiene, woodland animals, Christmas fun, Hanukkah celebrations and so much more! With these activities your littles will work on letter and number recognition, sorting, shapes, colors, discussions and a ton of other skills!
How Can December themed Activities Enhance Learning for Preschoolers?
Using these themed activities throughout December are a fantastic way to combine fun with education while enjoying learning all about their favorite themes to match up with the season.
These activities often include activities like coloring, matching, and simple puzzles that help young children develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and early literacy and numeracy skills.
By engaging with these activities, preschoolers can learn and have a blast doing it. Not only will you have fun participating but you can utilize items around your home, Christmas events and even the changing season.
What Types of Crafts Can Preschoolers Create Throughout December?
Crafting is an excellent hands-on activity that allows preschoolers to express their creativity while learning, growing, and even bonding with you.
Projects like creating handprint art, DIY germs, making sensory bins, coloring, and other awesome crafts will make an impact on their everyday growth.
These crafts also encourage imaginative play and help develop important skills like following instructions and problem-solving.
How Do Worksheets and Crafts Foster a Love for Learning?
Worksheets and crafts centered around different themes can instill a sense of time awareness and knowledge while mixing their days/weeks up.
By engaging in these activities, children can develop a deeper understanding of the importance of good hygiene, understanding emotional feelings/changes, learning about wildlife, and incorporating Christmas fun.
Additionally, creating art related to these themes can build a personal connection with following their instincts, senses, and current knowledge to grow and expand their minds, thoughts, and interest.
What Are Some Easy-to-Implement December Themed Activities at Home?
Printable worksheets, coloring pages, and cut-out shapes are easy to find online and can provide hours of educational fun.
Combine these with craft supplies like glue, scissors, and colored paper to create a these themes right in your own home.
Reading themed books and watching educational videos can also complement these activities by creating a well-rounded learning experience.
December Preschool Themes
Choose from any of the themes below that will complement your holiday season and a few others that can be used other times of year as well. Click the link to head to the entire theme page filled with mostly free activities and printables for that theme.
Germs & Hygiene Theme– The colder months are ahead which means those colds will be passing around like wild fire! Use this time to start setting or putting an emphasis on good hygiene. Washing their hands and brushing their teeth are important life skills that this lesson plan can help you teach!
Hanukkah Theme- Families around the world prepare to celebrate various festive traditions. For those who observe Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, it’s a time of joy, remembrance, and family bonding. One fun way to involve children in the festivities is by engaging them in Hanukkah crafts and will have all kinds of those listed with this Hanukkah theme!
Gingerbread Theme– Gingerbread is one of the most quintessential things that scream the Christmas season. Kids love making gingerbread cookies, hanging homemade gingerbread ornaments, and decorating gingerbread houses which makes this a must try theme for the month of December!
Penguin Theme – Penguins and winter go hand in hand since these little animals love all things cold, snow, and ice! This makes the penguin theme a perfect one for the holiday season. These crafts will make great enhancement activities to your littles day!
Christmas Theme – For those that celebrate Christmas, they will love learning all their literacy and math concepts using Christmas icons and modalities. This theme will be a great one for the week before/of Christmas. Also try these Santa Claus Crafts with Cotton Balls (Pssst. Don’t forget- you can have all of these for FREE when Join Our Membership!)
Woodland Animals – Kids love to learn about furry friends like bears, squirrels, rabbits, and hedgehogs. Kids can learn about why their favorite animals disappear in the winter months and hibernate.
Read stories about the forest and woodland animals, make forest-themed art, and count forest friend toys.
Weather Theme – Weather activities for preschoolers are hands-on learning experiences that introduce young children to the concepts of weather, seasons, and atmospheric phenomena. A new season comes with weather changes that your littles may have a questions about. These activities are designed to be interactive, engaging, and age-appropriate, allowing children to explore and understand different aspects of weather playfully.
Family Theme – This is an important time when families gather for the holidays. Teach your math and literacy concepts while also incorporating the elements of a family. Family-themed activities help children learn about the world around them, discover more about the people they love, and understand what makes their family unique.
Holiday Candy Theme – Decorate the classroom with oversized candy canes, gumdrops, & lollipops to look like a candy wonderland. Incorporate activities like counting candy canes, sorting gumdrop colors, & creating patterns with peppermint stickers. Kids can practice fine motor skills by decorating gingerbread cookies or making candy ornaments with beads and string. Storytime can include books like The Sweet Smell of Christmas, and for crafts, children can make paper candy garlands or design candy-filled Christmas stockings.
Evergreen Trees Theme – An evergreen tree theme is a wonderful way to learn about nature during the winter season. The classroom can be decorated with small pine trees, pinecones, & forest animals to create a cozy woodland setting. Activities might include sorting pinecones by size, counting “tree” decorations, and learning about how evergreen trees stay green all year long. Kids can make their own “evergreen trees” from green construction paper or create pine-scented playdough for sensory exploration.
Cookies Theme – The classroom can be filled with cookie-themed decorations like gingerbread men, sugar cookies, and colorful sprinkles. Kids can practice counting and sorting with cookie-shaped cutouts, play with cookie cutters in playdough, & decorate paper “cookies” with crayons and glitter. Storytime could include If You Give a Mouse a Cookie or The Gingerbread Man, adding excitement and festive fun. As a special treat, they might decorate real cookies to take home or enjoy together, making sweet holiday memories!
Reindeer Theme – Activities might include counting reindeer, making handprint antlers, or learning about reindeer habitats and how they live in the snowy North. Kids can create their own reindeer hats, sing songs like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and enjoy stories such as Olive, the Other Reindeer. This theme lets children explore winter wildlife while diving into the magic of holiday traditions!
Kindness Theme – A heartwarming way to teach preschoolers about caring and empathy during the holiday season. The classroom can feature a “Kindness Tree” where kids add paper leaves or ornaments for every kind act they do, helping to create a visual reminder of the joy that kindness brings. This theme brings warmth and positivity, encouraging children to spread kindness all month long!
Kwanzaa Theme – The classroom can be decorated with the colors of Kwanzaa—red, black, and green—along with symbols like the kinara, unity cup, and mkeka (mat). Through stories, songs, and art projects, children can learn about the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa, such as unity and creativity, in ways that encourage community and togetherness. Activities might include creating paper kinaras, crafting necklaces with beads in Kwanzaa colors, and learning simple Swahili words. This theme celebrates cultural awareness and helps preschoolers appreciate the importance of heritage, family, and community!
Pets Theme – Little kids love cats, dogs, fish, guinea pigs, and basically any and all animals! Perhaps it’s because pets are always willing to play. And they comfort you when you’re sad. Animals make wonderful friends! Children have a natural interest and curiosity which makes pets a great topic to include as a weekly theme.
Body & Exercise Theme– This is something we should all focus on throughout the year. 1 out of 5 preschool children are in what is considered the “obesity” range regarding their weight. Preschool fitness needs to be a priority in our classrooms and this is a great way to incorporate the simple teachings in your classroom before the new year.
Fire Safety and Prevention Theme- With Christmas decorations lighting up our homes, it’s important to know ways of keeping ourselves and our homes safe. This is a great time to check smoke detectors at home, check any faulty wires, have timers set and be sure all candles or fireplaces are completely put out. This lesson will fit in with all of this life saving activities.
Winter- Celebrate the holiday season by embracing all the winter magic that’s filled with snowflakes, frosty adventures, and holiday celebrations. This is the perfect theme to engage preschoolers in fun and educational craft activities that celebrate the beauty of this chilly season. This winter theme will enhance fine motor skills but also encourage creativity, imagination, and exploration.
Transportation Theme- Whether your preschooler is fascinated with cars, planes, trains, or anything that goes “vroom,” these transportation-themed activities will stimulate their growing minds. During the holiday season, there will be tons of parades and activities that will involve different transportation vehicles. For example, trolley rides, parades with fire trucks, and we tend to travel by airplanes or rental cars.
Community Helpers Theme – During the holiday season, you are sure to see some incredible community helpers! From firefighters, police officers, construction workers, mail carriers and of course other awesome helpers- they are a major part of the holiday season! Utilize this theme to teach kids about different professions and their unique benefits to the community. Every holiday event you attend, share how a community helper was part of it!
Emotions and Five Senses Theme– Emotions and Five Senses Theme lesson can never go out of use! There is a lot going on during the holidays and it’s a great theme to follow to help your littles get and stay in check with their senses. It will be a fun and open way to teach your littles about how their body and brain work together. They will develop a deeper connection with their surroundings, while also building skills motor and learning skills.
Moon/Moon Cycle Theme- The moon is always an intriguing thing to study. Learning the cycles, creating physical examples and building crafts will be another excellent engaging activity that can be discussed every day. The moon is out every night so don’t forget to have fun conversations around it. With the weather changing, see how many days out of the month you can see it, how bright it is or what differences your littles notice.
December is such a lovely month that you can enjoy no matter what holiday you celebrate. There is something so special about the end of the year. From celebrating holidays with loved ones, looking at beautiful lights, soaking up the cold weather, watching snow fall and making memories to end the year- you are sure to have something to look forward to!
However you choose to celebrate December, making memories should be at the top of your list. Don’t forget to get messy with your children during these fun activities. December offers some important and festive dates so why not ring them in with quality time?
Have a blast with these themes and fill the month with some terrific educational activities while celebrating what matters to you the most. Have a holly, jolly holiday season!
