Our preschool plans for working parents and busy families have been super popular because anyone can do this. This preschool activity plan is simple, it uses things you probably have around your house or can get easily even during social distancing, and I will walk you through each activity. There is no doubt that one activity a day won’t replace preschool or your child’s day at daycare, but this isn’t meant to. My goal is to give you one idea a day that you can do, and hopefully, after a few days or weeks, you have learned so many ideas you can fit more in when you have time. If you have more time, do more, I have links to more ideas, but if you are struggling, do what you can. This isn’t a time to push yourself or your child, be gentle, and focus on connection.
For more simple ideas, check out the previous week’s plans by clicking the links below.
April 13th
April 20th
April 27th
How To Use Lunch Break Learning Weekly Preschool At Home Plan.
- Look over this week’s plan. Take a screenshot and save it to your phone, or if you have a printer, print it out.
- Read through the activity details. Take note of the “Make it harder/ make it easier” tips.
- Prep the activities either the night before or one big prep Sunday night. This won’t take long.
- Know you can do this. It’s going to be OK.
- Come back every Saturday for the next eight weeks to get your free plan.
Preschool At Home Activity Plan – May 4th – May 10th
PRINT HERE
Preschool Activity Plan – Activity Details
This list includes affiliate links.
Musical Letters
Get some plain paper and write letters on them. Use a mix of letters, but there is no need to use all twenty-six. Place them around a room with the furniture pushed aside, so there is room to move and groove when the music plays. Play the music and groove. Pause the music and CALL out a letter. Your child should stand on that letter. Repeat! If you only get to one activity from this preschool activity plan this week, please do this one!
Make it easier -> Use only a few letters and make them all different colors. When it’s time to call out the letter, call it out as ” RED H” or “BLUE T” whatever colors the letters are. This gives your child help to find the letters since they have the color as a hint.
Make it harder -> Make or write sight words instead of letters. Find sight words here.
Shape Hunt
Scavenger hunts are always fun, and after many weeks at home, let’s make sure kiddos are moving, even if they are stuck inside. Make some shapes with paper or print some off here. Make at least eight and hide them around your home. Now it’s time to go hunting! What shapes did you find?
Make it easier -> Use only two kinds of shapes and a smaller number.
Make it harder –> Use several different shapes, making some larger and smaller to help your child learn that the shape stays the same even if the size changes.
Sensory Play
Sensory play is calming, and playing together not only encourages connection, but it also encourages oral language development. Learning how to have a conversation is essential for preschoolers. While you are chatting, you are modeling how to listen to another person and be patient while they speak. This is also a great time to use new words to boost your child’s vocabulary. Use whatever you have on hand – play dough, cloud dough, slime, even a simple sensory bin with dry rice or kernel corn <– click here for the how-to!
Make it easier -> you can’t make this easier; just focus on playing together. Kids need to feel connected right now more than ever.
Make it harder -> you can’t make this harder, but you can make the sensory material together if you have the time. Click for recipes; playdough, cloud dough, slime.
Sorting by Color & Counting
Gather up a bunch of toys ( nothing multicolored, each toy should be clearly one color) – they can be big stuffed animals or little matchbox cars or Lego, use what you have. Place them in a big pile and tell your kiddo that you need their help to sort them by color. After every toy has been sorted by color, count, and see which color is most popular in your toy box.
Make it easier -> Use fewer toys.
Make it harder -> After sorting by color – sort by size.
Drawing Together
Last week our preschool activity plan focused a little extra on emotions, and this week I want to focus a bit on time together. I know many parents are incredibly busy right now, and time together is hard to find, even if you are working from home. Instead of quantity, let’s focus on quality. For art this week, let’s draw together. Get whatever tools you have and sit down and draw something. You can do each other’s portraits. You can draw tacos or ice cream sundaes, you can draw your dream house, or a monster! It doesn’t matter, just draw, chat, and enjoy a break from your work and screens together.
Make it easier –> Draw on post-it notes to make it less intimidating to fill up a whole page.
Make it harder –> Cut out a picture from a magazine or print something off the internet. Glue it on the paper and have your child complete the picture. Here, this post explains it.
Big Project Ideas for the Weekend
Working parents may have more time during the weekend. Here are some longer projects you might like to try.
Play with Lego – here are some great ideas if you need them.
Make a Mother’s Day craft
Paint with trucks and tractors
Craft something fun with my live videos.
Bed Time Reading Tips
Every week I include different ways to make your bedtime reading more focused on different skills, no matter what books you are using. This week after you are done reading a book, ask your child to tell you in their words what happened in the book. This skill is called retelling, and it is a necessary skill in reading comprehension.
Supplies Needed for the Weekly Preschool Plan
These supplies are what is needed for the Monday-Friday activities.
Please note that weekend craft ideas have their own supply lists in the linked post. This list includes affiliate links.
Paper
Pencil
Crayons or washable markers
Scissors
Shapes for shape hunting ( grab some printable ones here)
Playdough, cloud dough or slime
Toys for sorting
Phone for music
Optional Additional Preschool At Home Activities
Lunch Break Learning Preschool Plans are purposefully simple, made for busy parents who need simple daily activities to keep their children learning without overwhelming their day. These activities are for you to browse if you have more time.
Monster Paintings
Pond Life Activities
Pet Activities
Alphabet Bug Hunt
Mother’s Day Gifts Kids Can Make
