Setting up a camping theme offers the opportunity to learn about the outdoors. Place children's camping chairs in the reading nook of the classroom and small pop-up tents in other areas of the room. Include a tepee to teach about how American Indians lived. Bring in foliage from local plants or small stuffed animals that are representative of the wildlife in your area. Plan art activities with pine cones and leaves. When the kids clean up in the classroom, discuss why it is important to pick up trash in nature.
Place pictures of all kinds of families around the room. Include families that may be considered non-traditional, such as children who live with their grandparents or families that only have one parent living at home. The children can participate by bringing in their favorite family photo to share with the the class. Discuss what family means to the preschoolers. Talk about how families lived in the past by looking at black-and-white photos, and watch videos about how families in other countries live. Plan painting and coloring activities about families.
Display posters and photos illustrating parts of the body -- faces, arms, feet, etc. -- as well as word wall words related to the senses -- sight, smell, etc. -- around your classroom. Bring in a model skeleton the preschoolers can touch. Get the preschoolers moving around with songs, such as "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," that can help them understand more about how their body works. Read age-appropriate books, such as "Me and My Amazing Body" and "The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body," about our bodies. Give the children crayons and have them draw self-portraits; let them look in a mirror to see what their eyes, nose and mouth look like.
Turn your classroom into a garden to teach the children about plants. Consider including cacti and different types of potted plants. An especially attention-grabbing plant could be a Venus flytrap. Feed the flytraps in front of the preschoolers to fully immerse them in the experience. Drape fake vines around the doors and chalkboards. Plan lessons about the different types of bugs or small creatures that live on and around plants. Plant-related activities can include counting different types of seeds or finding other things that start with the letter “P.” Be careful to note if any of your students may suffer from plant-related allergies and plan accordingly.