In this lesson plan (one of 45 weekly themed lesson plans I created for my daughter Lexi for ages 2 & 3), you'll find a complete, organized, easy to read and easy to implement homeschool toddler / preschool curriculum to teach with the theme: BROWN.
Suggested Materials (Find, Make, Buy or Substitute)
- Bulletin board and cutouts (see below)
- Books for the week
- Coloring pages for the week
- Brown toys - Lincoln Logs, Mr. Potato Head, blocks, etc.
- Moose craft - brown bag, glue stick, brown construction paper, googly eyes
- Alphabet sensory tubs (optional but great investment)
- Sensory Tub - natural brown items like pinecones, acorns, shells, etc and random brown things from around the house
- Transferring Activity - Walnuts, tongs, two containers
- Materials to make cookies or pudding with your little one.
- Math activity - muffin tins, cheerios or other cereal large enough to serve as "counters", muffin cups, marker
Suggested Cutouts
(Make these cutouts for your weekly themed “bulletin board” and other setups for the week. You’ll use these visual aids throughout the week. Find these on the web, print & laminate them and store them in a cutout "library" for future use when making bulletin boards for other themes. See activity list for more explanations.)
- Brown animals (bear, chicken, dog, etc)
- Brown bread
- Tree (trunk)
- Turkey (might as well make this one now, you'll reuse it for your Thanksgiving bulletin board)
- Gingerbread man (ditto, for Christmas boards)
- Nest
- Girl or boy with brown hair, etc.
- Etc.
Circle Time Sequence
- One song or fingerplay to quiet / focus the little one(s)
- What is today? (date, weather labels) (For age two this is rather quick as they don't really understand this yet but still nice for routine's sake)
- Today's message
- Review one letter (usually using the letter tubs, a sandpaper letter, flashcard or similar)
- Review one number (count to it)
- Songs - a few for fun
- Story time - using the week's theme selections
Daily Messages
- [Bears, Moose, Deer, etc] are brown.
Language & Story Time Suggestions
Book Basket (Search library or use these)
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Michael Rosen et al
- Once a Mouse, Marcia Brown
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See, Bill Martin
- The Fox and the Fawn, David Derasaugh
- If You Give a Moose a Muffin, Laura Numeroff
- Uncles & Antlers, Lisa Wheeler
- Deer Babies, Donald Jones
- Look Inside a Log Cabin, Mari Schuh
- Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, William Steig
Song Time
- Song: Going on a Bear Hunt
Language Bin
Sensorial
- Sensorial Bin 1: Spices smelling jars (include cinnamon, cardamom, apple pie spice, vanilla beans etc). DIY version here.
- Sensorial Bin 2: Regular Mr. Potato Head.
Theme Shelf
- Lincoln Logs and other similar brown / beige building blocks
Art
- Coloring Bin: Bear, deer, acorn, moose coloring pages and crayons (printable examples here)
- Craft Bin: Supplies for moose brown bag craft.
- Sensory Tub: Brown sensory tub such as this one. Include pine cones, acorns, etc. Supervise small parts.
Practical Life
- Practical Life Bin: Transferring activity with walnuts. Example here.
- Cooking: Pudding, chocolate chip cookies
Math
- Math Bin: If You Give a Moose a Muffin book muffin tin counting activity. Example here.
Gross Motor
- Going on a Bear Hunt - stand up and get really into it. See author Michael Rosen’s performance to follow here.
Social
- Library
- Museum
- Zoo
- Park
- Playdate
- Other: __________
Check out Lexi's other Age 2 unit studies!
UNIT 1 - Colors
UNIT 2 - Shapes
- Circles
- Squares
- Triangles - coming soon!
- Rectangles - coming soon!
- Ovals - coming soon!
- Diamonds - coming soon!
- Stars - coming soon!
- Crescents - coming soon!
- Hearts - coming soon!
UNIT 3 - Animals
- Dogs - coming soon!
- Cats - coming soon!
- Birds - coming soon!
- Fish - coming soon!
- Bunnies - coming soon!
- Cows - coming soon!
- Chickens - coming soon!
- Horses - coming soon!
- Pigs - coming soon!
UNIT 4 - All About Me
- Eyes - coming soon!
- Nose - coming soon!
- Ears - coming soon!
- Mouth - coming soon!
- Legs & Feet - coming soon!
- Fingers & Hands - coming soon!
- Meal Time - coming soon!
- My Family - coming soon!
- Bath Time (and Hand Washing) - coming soon!
UNIT 5 - Seasonal (intersperse throughout your calendar year)
- Penguins (January) - coming soon!
- Friends (February) - coming soon!
- Flowers (March) - coming soon!
- Easter Eggs (April) - coming soon!
- Beach (June, July or August) - coming soon!
- Harvest (September) - coming soon!
- Pumpkins (October) - coming soon!
- Turkeys (November) - coming soon!
- Santa / Christmas Theme (December) - coming soon!
