Plan a Preschool Picnic Theme With This Fun Lesson Plan
Page content

The Preschool Picnic Themed Lesson:

Circle time:

1.) Has anyone been on a picnic?

2.) What do we do at a picnic?

3.) Is a picnic the same as a cookout?

Story time:

1.) Let’s go on a picnic By Cate Foley

2.) Let’s go on a Picnic(Disney) By Janet Halfman and Robbin Cuddy

3.) We’re going on a Picnic By Pat Hutchins

4.) The Picnic By David Williams and Laura Overseat

5.) Miss. Spider; The Sunny Patch Friend’s Picnic By David Kirk

These books are great summer stories and as well as summer reading literacy/enrichment. Plus they help the kids learn about picnic foods and the fun of being outside.

Language and Vocabulary building: Play a bingo game that has a food theme or a picnic theme to it. This helps in building their vocabulary and learning the names of new foods. Picking up bingo chips helps with fine motor coordination. this is a great vocabulary building game in learning the proper names of the picnic foods on the cards.

Math: “Hey, Let’s Load up the picnic basket” count out picnic items to place in a basket:

  • How many grapes are we putting in the bag?
  • How many apples do we need?
  • How many glasses do we need?
  • How many napkins?
  • What about a watermelon? etc…

These math games/ activities help in building counting skills but they are also helping in learning food preparation ,setting the table,and meal planning. Plus again building their vocabulary.

Science area: Which food is better for you and healthier? An apple or a candy bar? (again what is better to eat on a picnic?) This helps in teaching healthy eating habits and learning about the food pyramid. Giving choices and letting them decide which is healthier and help them out by explaining why this food item is healthier than the other. With childhood obesity on the rise as teachers we need to encourage healthy eating and showing our students how to make the right choices.

Arts and crafts:

  • Color food pictures
  • Color a Big Basket
  • Fill basket with our picnic food pictures

When completed display on the wall in the classroom. Again this activity is working on learning about the food pyramid and meal planning. Coloring, cutting, gluing is part of fine motor skills building.

Snack time: take the kids outside on a picnic during their snack time out on the playground.

Music and movement: Examples of songs include:

  • On Top of Spaghetti
  • Five Little Hot Dogs
  • The Ants go Marching
  • Five Red Apples

This activity aids in physical exercise and works on coordination as well as gross motor skills.

Library area:

In the library area stock the shelves with picnic and food stories to add onto your picnic themed lesson. You can also hang food posters and a poster of the food pyramid. This is a good way to introduce the food pyramid and healthy foods to the children, while they are also having fun learning about planning and going on a little picnic.