Theme Help

[Big Hearts]

Hi everyone I have kids old enough to start monthly themes now but I have no idea how to go about it or what themes to do? How do you pick themes? Do you do the same every year? I could use some ideas. Thanks

[BlueRose]

Have you tried asking the kids what they would like. Even have them help pick out different colouring pages, arts and crafts from the net on the theme. Each month or week have a different kid pick a theme. They will learn better if they are interested in the theme.

[Inspired by Reggio]

I no longer due themes ~ I follow a more emergent child led curriculum of 'back to basics' .... within that I also do a very laid back version of the Jolly Phonics program within that emergent curriculum scope so each month we cover 2 letter sounds ... so this month we are on sounds H and R and I will add things to the program in way of props in playroom, in sensory bins, during circle time, meals or snacks planning etc to help reinforce those letter sounds with the children and than if the children show interest in learning more about something I have added to spark their interest than we will explore that more ... so over the years we have done little projects on Apple seeds, Bats, Snakes, Rainbows, Trains, Horses, work with Flashlights and exploring light and dark concepts and so forth ... so every year is 'different' depending on the crew and sometimes we spend a long time on one 'topic' cause that is where their interest lies but all their areas of developmental domains are covered within that ... so they are still learning letters, numbers, social skills, physical development mastery and so forth.

I worked with themes for eons at the start of my career though if that is what you feel most comfortable with I can share what were common monthly themes back in the day ...

September ~ All about Me and my Family (family, body parts, health and nutrition concepts)
October ~ Thankful for Halloween (Thanksgiving / Fall / Halloween)
November ~ Crazy Concepts (shapes / letters / numbers / opposites)
December ~ Holidays around the World (baking and learning about different holiday traditions)
January ~ Winter & its Animals (exploring snow / hibernation concepts)
February ~ Emotions / Valentines
March ~ Down on the Farm for Easter (flipped with April theme depending on when Easter falls)
April ~ Circus / Zoo Fun or Dinosaurs / Volcanoes
May ~ Creeping into Spring (bugs, insects, planting and spring concepts)
June ~ Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales
July ~ Summer Sports Fun / Camping / Olympics
August ~ Community Helpers / Safety / Nutrition

[playfelt]

Starting with the seasons is the easiest way to ease into themes. Start with winter and use winter things to teach the concepts you want them to learn such as cutting out pairs of mittens and having them match them by colour. You can also put letters, shapes or stickers on mittens to have them match. Find pictures of snowmen and colour them. Have them find some that are alike, or all of the snowmen with stick arms, or wearing touques. Then read seasonal stories or find poems on the internet about mittens, snowmen, etc.

By starting with the seasons you are expanding on what is already familiar to them. This is especially important for toddlers just starting out with curriculum based games. Once you and the kids get comfortable with what you like to do - read, sing, dance, feltboard, colour, craft then you can introduce other themes. The internet is a great resource of ideas once you have chosen your topic.

[Momof4]

I absolutely love my themes. It gives me a chance to plant little bits of knowledge about lots of different things like safety, the seasons, forests & animals, jungles & animals, polar animals, butterflies, insects, dinosaurs, detectives, oceans, the list is endless. They are all listed on my calendar, my website, in my newsletters to parents and I sit down at the beginning of every year and map out my entire year of themes.

I get library books to match the theme, google to find crafts, songs & games, and for my safety theme we go visit the firehall. I have finger puppets that are all kinds of animals and insects and dinosaurs so I can change them weekly. To tell you the truth, it keeps me interested in my job just a little bit more to add teacher to my daily routines..