The ultimate guide for a fall-themed preschool curriculum. Perfect for doing preschool activities at home.
As a stay at home mom, I love doing themed activity units with my kids!
I find it’s so much easier to plan and actually do the activities when we’re working with a theme.
Naturally, Fall is a favorite all-encompassing theme for September through November where we can do everything from counting with apples to a spooky sensory bin to reading the best books for Thanksgiving.
Before I started staying home with my kids over a decade ago, I was a classroom teacher!
I hold my Master’s Degree in Curriculum & Instruction so pulling together this Fall Theme Curriculum Guide has brought me so much joy, and I’m so happy to share it with you.
Make sure to tag me on IG when you do one of the activities!
The Thanksgiving printable above is included in our holiday preschool activity play pack.
What are some fun fall-themed activities for preschoolers?
- In this post we’re going to cover all the bases: pumpkins & apples through Halloween and Thanksgiving.
- You’ll find crafts, sensory play, lesson plans – everything you need for September through November.
- The ideas shared here can be used at home, or in the classroom!
Today I’m going to share with you my Ultimate Guide, including:
- Curriculum/preschool lesson plans & printables
- Activity supplies
- Fall themes for preschool
- Morning Baskets
- Fall seasonal & holiday books
My hope is that the pictures and ideas shared here can help inspire you to have a memorable season at home with your little ones (or if you’re a preschool teacher, in your classroom!)
Fall Theme Preschool Curriculum Guide
Fall Theme Preschool Activities Printable
For me, the best thing about using a curriculum that’s planned out, is that it’s one less thing on my plate.
I’ve used The Preschool Playbook with 2 of my kids and have seen the benefits of the hands-on, play-based lessons!
- The units are broken up into weekly themes (everything from Apples to Outer Space to Bugs to Thanksgiving)
- Each theme comes with lesson plans for the week
- The plans include activities for each day
- The activities range from learning to sensory play, crafts and simple cooking ideas (like assembling food)
- I can quickly choose a theme, preview the activities for the week, and not have to waste any time searching for resources or putting anything together.
- The Preschool Playbook is all done for you.
- All you have to do is pick the time of day you want to do the activities.
Your PDF printable download includes:
- The lesson plan book: this is for you! It includes the weekly plans, supply lists and book lists
- The writing journal: this has tracing pages and fine motor activities, plus writing prompts to do together
- The template book: this includes all the templates you need for the activities (so you don’t have to draw anything out yourself)
The Preschool Playbook
play-based, hands-on learning for 2.5-5 year olds. 42 weeks of themed lesson plans, printable templates, and more.
And if you’re wondering what are some good Fall themes for preschoolers, these are some of my favorite that are included in the Playbook:
- September: apples, camping & farm
- October: Fall, Halloween & sports
- November: Thanksgiving & pumpkins
This next favorite resource is available as a hard copy on Amazon!
Kindergarten Ready Through Play is jam-packed with realistic hands-on, learning through play activities.
There are several fall-themed activities you can incorporate into your weekly lesson plans as well as general early literacy activities and information for parents that will be a welcome addition to any curriculum.
Related: 3 Year Old Preschool Activities at Home
Favorite Books for the Fall Months
Here’s a roundup of our favorite Fall-themed books: from board books for toddlers to picture books for preschoolers and big kids.
Shop our favorite Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving books, on Amazon.
Fall Activity Supplies
Below are my favorite supplies for doing art projects, fun learning activities and sensory play!
- Sensory play table or clear bin
- Sensory bin fillers: uncooked rolled oats & dried black beans
- Clean pouch caps in red, green & yellow (see activity sample idea below)
- Googly eyes (for Halloween sensory play & math activities)
- Dot label stickers
- Fake fall leaves
- Styrofoam or plastic mini pumpkins
- Pumpkin-shaped pasta
- Play dough
- Scholastic big coloring book
- Shop on Amazon: Halloween Sensory Play Supplies
- Shop on Amazon: Fall Sensory Play Supplies
More Fall-Themed Activities in Action:
Fall-themed Morning Basket
A necessary addition to any preschool theme week: a morning basket!
You can easily adapt your morning basket routine to fit with whatever theme you’re working on, by adding books, manipulatives, and learning activities that go along with your theme.
Let’s take a look at some examples of Morning Baskets:
All supplies linked at each title below
Writing Journal pictured above, linked here.
The printable Halloween booklet and number flash cards are included, here, in our holiday printable play pack.
- Learn more about how to get started with morning baskets.
- Shop all of my morning baskets, here.
Mom to Mom Tip:
Search around your house for any toys, books, puzzles, manipulatives, etc. that fit with your theme. Keep them stored in a basket near your coffee maker (in my Ultimate Stay at Home Mom Course we call this our Command Center) so you can easily pull together a preschool activity or morning basket when you need one!)
Check out next: Our Spring Theme Preschool Curriculum Guide
What to Read Next:
- My Top Preschool Supply List
- 4 Year Old Pre-K at Home Schedule
- Screen-Free Morning Basket Routine
- How to Organize & Store Preschool Activity Supplies
- Ultimate Guide to Daily Busy Bins
Follow Marla on Instagram for more daily stay at home mom life
The Ultimate Stay at Home Mom Course
Learn exactly how to implement simple systems and routines to take your stay at home mom life from total chaos to calm, confident, and in control.
