These November preschool themes are a great way to keep your preschoolers engaged and learning during one of the most fun months of the year! It is just one preschool theme from our ultimate list of preschool themes.
Every year when I think of November, I think of delicious pie, family time together, Thanksgiving, and the best parts of fall. When it comes to lesson plans for November, I still incorporate some of these too! We have some fall themes for lesson plan ideas if you want to focus more on just the fall concepts. And don’t miss the fall songs and fall lesson plans!
For a huge list of themes to use the whole year, I’ve made a free printable preschool themes list to help with all your planning! Just enter your information in the box below and we’ll send it right over.
November Preschool Themes
Before we know it, the holidays will be quickly approaching. This is why I use this November preschool theme “cheat sheet” so that I’m not having to start from scratch each year.
These November themes are ones that I’ve used in my classrooms for years, as well as some other favorite themes for November that other teachers have told me that they love too.
Whether you are following the student’s lead with a Fantasy and Fairy Tales theme right after Halloween or preparing for Thanksgiving, these November themes will give you a great jumping-off point for planning your November classroom lessons.
All About Me Theme
Oh, how preschoolers love to talk about themselves! All About Me allows students to talk about themselves, their interests, and learn what they share in common with others. Make it easy with done-for-you all about me lesson plans! We also have a whole list of all about me activities and all about me books that are perfect for circle time. This catchy book, I Like Myself, is a great read for encouraging differences and self-love.
This is an easy time to incorporate name recognition activities, such as tactile name writing practice or this simple craft.
Grab the free All About Me poster below to guide your preschoolers as they share how truly unique they are!
Check out the All About Me Theme lesson plans in our preschool store or toddler store for lots more ideas!
Dinosaurs Theme
We’ve got you fully covered for a DinoNovember! Dinosaurs are a beloved preschool theme that kids naturally adore learning about. Here’s a great list of dinosaur lesson plans. Check out these amazing dinosaur songs, and don’t miss the dinosaur books! You can also snag our dinosaur 10-frame counting mats, perfect for a prehistoric math center. Grab them for free below!
Or, have it all done for you! Grab an entire dinosaur-themed lesson plan in our preschool store or toddler store.
Fall Theme
Fall is a great November theme for anyone in the Northern Hemisphere! Whenever the season changes, I use that as my perfect opportunity to make it my preschool theme for that lesson plan. We have tons of fall ideas for you, including a whole separate list of fall preschool themes! Don’t miss fall books and fall songs for your circle time. Fall science activities, pumpkin art, and apple crafts can be found in abundance! Capture the beauty of fall in a sensory bottle, and incorporate the season into your math practice with fall ten frame counting mats.
Get an entire fall lesson plan in our preschool store or toddler store.
Fantasy and Fairy Tales Theme
This theme is one of my favorites that I did either as a Halloween alternative or after Halloween. After kids go trick or treating, they want to talk about it and keep doing it, so I just went with it. Cue the dramatic play! We bring in all of their costumes they want to share and keep going with their interests. They do “trick or treating” throughout the day with rocks or mulch (they’ll use anything…am I right!?!). Then I set up dramatic play to something fun. See this fairy tale lesson plan from Preschool Teacher 101 to make your theme even more magical!
Farm Theme
A farm theme is one of the most beloved November preschool themes! Farms are great for sensory activities and learning about animals through farm books and farm songs. You can even use the animals as a gateway to math with our farm animal ten-frames and these farm counting mats!
Grab an entire farm-themed lesson plan for toddlers or preschoolers in our preschool store or toddler store.
Friendship Theme
This theme is one that I love doing in February, but it’s also a great theme heading into Thanksgiving. Help children navigate through the important foundations of friendship and learn to be a better friend themselves. Social and emotional skills are so important to teach in preschool, and this is a perfect way to weave it in. Sending friendship letters is a great tie-in to this theme, as well as a wonderful way to practice writing and name recognition. We also love to read kindness books. Snag an entire friendship theme lesson plan to get even more great ideas.
Fruits and Vegetables Theme
Want a preschool theme that’s more than just apples? Talk about all the fruits and vegetables! What makes them different, how to grow them, how they taste, and why they are good for us. This time of year, you could even focus on root vegetables and different kinds of squash. Have taste tests and go on a field trip at a real farm or pumpkin patch. This theme is great for November, particularly as some of us in North America head into the season of cooking and baking. For more ideas, here is a vegetable theme lesson plan from our friends at Preschool Teacher 101.
Gingerbread Theme
Each year in November I love to read some of our favorite gingerbread books, The Gingerbread Baby and The Gingerbread Man, and we turn this entire study into a theme. This is a great time to make some gingerbread slime for some sensory learning or to create a gingerbread ornament. Or if you need an entire gingerbread lesson plan, check out this one from Preschool Teacher 101. They even have an entire winter theme bundle.
Guy Fawkes Day
Whether you live in the UK, or just like bringing a bit of history into your classroom, Guy Fawkes Day is a great way to add some pop to November! Celebrated on November 5, Guy Fawkes Day commemorates the foiling of Guy Fawkes’ plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London. Celebrations include fireworks and an evening bonfire. For more ideas, visit The Educators’ Spin On It. Happy Bonfire Night!
Harvest Theme
I love a Harvest festival! It’s a great way to celebrate the season without focusing on either Halloween or Thanksgiving. Harvest is a reminder of all we have to be thankful for, a time to be with friends, and a way to appreciate the abundance of the autumn season. Preschoolers particularly can start learning about the importance of the harvest, both today and historically, and can enjoy activities with apples, pumpkins, squash, and corn. Tie this theme into your discussion of Thanksgiving, or use it as a stand-alone November preschool theme.
Leaves Theme
Leaves make a great preschool theme for many times of the year. During the fall months, colored leaves are absolutely magical. During the spring months, leaves can teach about life cycles and new growth. Check out the many leaf science experiments your class can do! Preschool Teacher 101 has a leaves lesson plan.
Mindfulness Theme
Mindfulness is perfect to add to your November preschool themes – it’s is a great way to help little ones learn strategies to calm, manage energy levels, and relax when they find themselves wound up. This is the perfect theme for introducing yoga, and the easiest way is with our FREE animal yoga pack!
You can also check out yoga books, and kid yoga videos. Incorporate brain breaks to help relax or rejuvenate. Mindfuless can even be used outdoors!
If you’ve already got the FREE animal yoga pack and still want more, you can grab these yoga cards in our store!
Nocturnal Animals Theme
Bats, owls, hedgehogs, cats, and other animals are nocturnal. This is a fun November preschool theme that allows you to explore and learn more about these fascinating creatures. Read Stellaluna and use this time to enjoy some fun art. Preschool Teacher 101 has a fun bats lesson plan that’s perfect for this theme.
Numbers Theme
Get children counting and learning the foundational number sense skills with a preschool number theme. There are so many ways to make this fun, like with themed ten-frame mats. This can also be a great time to teach children their phone number! Our friends at Preschool Teacher 101 have some great math centers that are perfect to use all year.
Pumpkins Theme
Fall and Halloween is such a fun season to plan activities around, and pumpkins are by far one of the most exciting and versatile! They make a great shape to incorporate different activities, as well as actually exploring the pumpkin itself. Enjoy some pumpkin books, pumpkin crafts, and pumpkin art projects to get you started! We’ve got a whole list of pumpkin activities for you to try. Or get this entire pumpkin lesson plan from Preschool Teacher 101.
Spider Theme
Spiders can be spooky, with their many eyes and legs, but they can also be so cute (see the pet spider craft!) Learn more about these interesting arachnids with these great spider facts. Add some spiders in the sensory table for some fun and eerie exploration.
Crawl over to Preschool Teacher 101 and snag the fun spider lesson plans.
Thanksgiving Theme
Thanksgiving is a holiday full of history, and one of the most popular November preschool themes! This is a great time to touch on historical facts, or help teach children about thankfulness and sharing. There are lots of awesome books about gratitude and thankfulness to use during this theme, and lots of fun thanksgiving crafts and activities. See the Thanksgiving lesson plans from our friends at Preschool Teacher 101.
Snow Theme
If you live in the right part of the world, you might be lucky enough to get an entire season of snow. It is beautiful and so fun to play in, as well as a great learning tool for science and sensory exploration! We especially love singing winter songs. Even without snow, you can make these winter STEAM snowflakes. No matter where you live there are these fun and inviting snowflake lesson plans from Preschool Teacher 101, or snowman lesson plans also from Preschool Teacher 101!
STEM Theme
Add a bit more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with an entire STEM theme! We love weeks with STEM activities. Get lots of great ideas in this STEM Challenges Bundle from Preschool Teacher 101.
Veteran’s Day Theme
One of the most important parts of preschool themes is using events and relevant topics. If you have students who have families who are in the military or who are veterans, you may want to tie this in. Even though Veteran’s Day isn’t a theme I would do for an entire week, it is something I would touch on if you have families with veterans in them to honor them. They could decorate a thank you note or make a class flag or read a book about it.
Winter Theme
Winter is full of excitement with snow, artic animals, fun holidays and winter sports. We love winter crafts, and we’ve got a whole list of winter learning activities for you to try! Add the season into your math center with winter ten frame counting cards. Supplement your theme with these wonderful winter songs and winter books for children, and take the kids outside for some winter nature observation. Or see the winter lesson plans in our preschool store and toddler store.
While the month can sometimes seem cold and gray, a well-planned November preschool theme, with engaging activities for your preschoolers, can make the day seem much brighter!
For even more themes and ideas, visit The Ultimate List of Preschool Themes. Or see the full list of monthly and seasonal themes below!
Themes by the Month
- December Preschool Themes
- January Preschool Themes
- February Preschool Themes
- March Preschool Themes
- April Preschool Themes
- May Preschool Themes
- June Preschool Themes
- July Preschool Themes
- August Preschool Themes
- September Preschool Themes
- October Preschool Themes
Themes by Season
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- Space Ten-Frame Counting Mats - August 6, 2021
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