Harvest Themed Preschool Unit
Fall is such a fun time to get kids really excited about learning. With the weather changing, the crisp days, and the rich variety of themes to focus on- there’s just nothing better. This year in addition to the fall unit themes we’d previously done, I created a harvest themed preschool unit study and my daughter absolutely loved it. Full of hands-on, Montessori-friendly, and low prep ideas, harvest themed preschool unit is perfect to include in your fall calendar. (And at the end- get a free, downloadable choice board.)
Harvest Themed Books
My First Little House Books: Country Fair
The My First Little House books are a great way to introduce not only classic literature to preschoolers, but also the idea of learning about history and how people used to live.
In this book, Almanzo (who later marries Laura), takes his prize pumpkin to the country fair in hopes of winning first prize at harvest time. The pictures are warm and full color, and my daughter loves poring over them. She points out how their clothes look, what seems different, and what seems the same in their daily lives.
It’s available on Amazon here.
Too Many Pumpkins
This book is just absolutely fantastic. It’s story about a woman who hates pumpkins and ends up with a the largest pumpkin patch you can imagine. A story about the power of building community and serving others, as well as a story that emphasizes the abundance of fall- this book is one we read again and again in our home.
It’s available on Amazon here.
Language Activity
Identifying Letter Sounds of Harvest Vegetables
I love using thematic preschool units to keep phonetic practice fresh. To work on phonetic awareness in this unit, grab some sandpaper letters and either actual harvest vegetables or images of harvest vegetables.
Have your child match the sandpaper letters to the beginning sound of each vegetable. Great ones to practice with are pumpkins, beets, and squash as those constantans are distinct and easy to identify.
And if you’d like a printable matching activity, you can download the one I made here.
To make it even more hands-on, use dried pumpkin seeds to place on the sandpaper letters or the printable from above to make the letter shapes!
Family Activity
Attend a Harvest Festival
If you can find a harvest festival nearby, go! Oftentimes they’ll have historic demonstrations that emphasize the historic importance of the harvest season.
And let’s be honest- any chance to buy a bag of kettle corn the size of a toddler is a great day.
Practical Life Activity
Plan a Meal with Harvest Vegetables
Meal planning is something I didn’t do until I was at least 28, so this is something I definitely want to be second nature to my kids. We love cooking seasonally as best we can, so include your preschooler in the planning of a harvest-themed meal. Challenge them to think of creative ways they can feature vegetables like corn, sweet potatoes, or acorn squashes.
Pull them into the kitchen with you and let them enjoy the pride that comes with helping get dinner on the table. (And if you’re looking for ways to make including preschoolers in the kitchen easier, check out my post here on why a Montessori kitchen tower is absolutely worth it.)
Science ActivitIes
Seed Saving
While you prepare your harvest-themed meal, set aside the seeds that are in the different vegetables if you’re using vegetables like squash and corn.
Dry out the seeds and talk about how you could plant them next year in a garden- as you do talk about the life cycles of crops.
Life Cycles of Pumpkins
If seed saving is more effort than you want (honestly- probably same here), download and print a set of pumpkin life cycle cards. Have your child put them in order, and as they do, talk about the how the seeds inside the pumpkin eventually turn into next year’s harvest.
If you’d like the set I created for my own preschooler, you can download those here.
(And if you want more pumpkin activities, check out my preschool pumpkin unit theme here.)
Geography Activitity
Where Would Crops Grow Best?
Sit down with your preschooler and ask them what they think crops need to grow.
After they start to give answers like “soil, sun, and water,” show them these four images of different terrains and ask them where they think crops would grow the best and why.
This is a great way to introduce physical geography and make it meaningful to preschoolers.
If you’d like to extend the lesson even more, have them place these regions on a large map of the United States (I found this one at Dollar Tree for $1.25!)
The cards I created are available for free here.
Art Activity
Harvest Sticker Scene
I found this harvest sticker scene set at Hobby Lobby and we’ve created several scenes with it every year. Both of my daughters love it.
Additionally, if you want to go fancier, you could put together a harvest themed felt story board. Amazon has an adorable one here.
Fine Motor Activity
Corn Cob Craft
Grab some green pipe cleaners and some pony beads, and let your kid make their own adorable corn cobs.
Not only is it cute, but they’re working on great fine motor skills.
Math Activities
Patterns on Corncobs
Matching patterns is a critical early math skill. Let your preschooler by matching patterns on corn cobs. I created this printable here if you like to download it.
Sunflower Counting
A great way to help preschoolers work on number recognition and counting skills- cut out sunflower petals and then write numbers on the back of them. Have preschoolers glue the sunflower petals onto a paper plate or piece of round construction paper in numerical order.
You can find a free template here.
Harvest Scene Number Puzzle
Another great way to help practice numerical order- print out a harvest scene number puzzle, cut it into strips, and have your child piece it back together.
I found one on Teachers Pay Teachers that was pretty cute here.
Sensorial Activity
Corn Kernel Shaker
I love to add in sensorial activities whenever I can, and this one was my favorite one we’ve done in a while. I had my preschooler pour corn kernels into an empty bottle using a funnel (also a great practical life skill). Then I sealed up the lid with some hot glue and let it dry.
Lastly, she tied different colored ribbons around the lid to create streamers.
She and her sister then had a blast playing with their homemade instruments.
You could make it even fancier by adding harvest themed stickers to it or letting them draw on the bottle their own harvest items with paint markers.
More Fall Activities and Book Ideas
Don’t forget to download the choice board here if you’d like one. I love to print them out and then let my daughter pick which activity she wants to do next. As we move through the unit, she crosses each item off.
If you would like to download all of these printables in one file for a discount price, that is available here.
Additionally, if you’re looking for more fall activities and book ideas, be sure to check out these posts:
