August brings our last few days of summer and the beginning preparations for back to school. Here you’ll find a wide variety of engaging August preschool activities to help little learners review some basic skills as they get ready for back to school.
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The free printable August kids’ activity calendar is full of fun things to do with kids at home or in the classroom. Use it yourself, or send a copy to parents so they have a little inspiration for hands-on fun and learning. Note that this activity calendar includes Shapes as the first week. This theme was listed as the last week on the five-week July calendar and is intended to be used for the week that ends July and begins August.
Read over the brief descriptions of the August preschool activities below. Then grab your own free printable August activity calendar, and you’ll have a full month of activity ideas at your fingertips. The free printable includes links to each post so you can click through online for more information, and you can also print it out to use as a quick reference.
We’re also always creating new activity ideas, and I know you want to stay up to date on those was well. In addition to an introduction to the activities originally included in the free printable calendar, I also add new activities we create related to each theme so you’ll have more options to choose from. Those are listed below each week’s original activity suggestions but are not reflected in the free printable calendar.
For some themes we have full theme planning guides and printable lesson plans. If those are available for a particular theme, there are also links to those resources included with the related weekly theme.
August Preschool Activity Themes
For our August preschool activities we’re exploring the following topics:
Week 1: Shapes
Week 2: Simple Science Experiments
Week 3: All About Me
Week 4: Names
Week 5: Space
Note: The free printable does not include dates. Simply pick and choose which theme you want to do for each week in August, and change the order as necessary.
Week 1: Shapes
LOW-PREP IDEAS…
- GO ON A SHAPE HUNT: Scavenger hunts are always fun for kids! Pick a shape to focus on. Then have them search for different objects around you that are that shape (or have a surface that shape). This is great to do during car rides, too!
- MAKE SHAPES: There are so many ways for kids to explore making shapes. Try making shape snacks by giving kids assorted snack foods (pretzels, carrot sticks, etc) and encouraging them to make different 2-D shapes. As they do take time to discuss the attributes of each shape (the number of sides, the number of vertices–fancy word for corners, the similarities and differences between the length of the sides, etc)
- PLAY ATTRIBUTE I SPY: Gather a set of objects or toys that are differnet shapes and play I Spy. Give clues like…
-I spy an object that has three sides.
-I spy an object with four verticies.
-I spy an object with sides that are all the same length.
Shape Activities from the Free Printable August Activity Calendar
Shape of Me Book Activity – Introducing shapes to little learners? The Shape of Me and Other Stuff is a great book to start the discussion! If you aren’t familiar with the book, it is a simple text that encourages kids to think about the shape of things. The illustrations are in silhouette so kids can concentrate on the shape of things in a different way. We used this story as a sprinboard for an outdoor adventure and a shape matching game.
Scooping Shapes Water Play – This scooping shapes bubble water play is an example of how you can easily integrate specific skills into playtime.
Monster Shape Art – These are SO much fun! Kids create the most adorable Shape Monsters with this collage activity, and it’s a fun way to reinforce shape recognition. When we’re finished we use them for a few extension activities to layer in even more learning.
Stuffed Shape Craft – These stuffed shape crafts from Buggy and Buddy are fun to make, and you can use them for learning activities, too!
Play Dough Shape Mats – Using play dough to form shapes gives kids a lot of options! The can use dough cutters, use rollers to cut out shapes, create play dough snakes to form shapes, or mold shapes by hand. Here we add in an extra layer of fun and pretend play and invite kids to create play dough “pet food” in different shapes. Or if you prefer a non-theme based option, try these shape mats.
Week 2: Simple Science Experiments
LOW-PREP IDEAS…
- MAKE AN “I WONDER” WALL: Grab a poster board or large sheet of paper and have kids brainstorm things they wonder about or questions they have. Use this list from time to time to do research or experiments to answer some of the questions.
- MIX UP SOME POTIONS: Gather a variety of liquids and other consumable items (idea list here). Set them out with different size containers and objects to use for mixing. Then let kids get to work mixing up their own science potions.
- DESIGN YOUR OWN SCIENCE EXPERIMENT: Brainstorm a problem you could test and design a way to do a science experiment to find the solution. (Need some inspiration? Try a classic egg drop experiment and have kids see if they can design a way for you to drop an egg from an agreed upon height and without letting it break.)
Science Experiments from the Free Printable August Activity Calendar
Can You Make an Egg Float?-In this science experiment kids will use both a hard-boiled egg and a raw egg and see if they can make them float.
Can You Make a Liquid Rainbow?-Experiment with dissolving candies to create a liquid rainbow.
How Tall Can You Make a Bubble Tower?-See how tall you can make your bubble tower in this quick prep kitchen science experiment.
What Lollipop Flavors Can You Mix?-Now that you are experts at dissolving, experiment with mixing different lollipop flavors. Get creative and name them, too!
Can You Blow a Slime Bubble? -Make your favorite slime recipe. Then try these fun slime play activities.
Additional Resources
Free Preschool Science Skills and Activity List
15 Science Experiments You Can Eat
Week 3: All About Me
LOW-PREP IDEAS…
- CREATE AN ALL ABOUT ME COLLAGE: Use a piece of plain paper or cardstock. Have kids gather photos, cut out magazine pictures, and/or draw pictures to show some of their favorite things.
- CREATE A FAMILY PORTRAIT: Have kids draw or paint the members in their family. Make the setting a special place that the family enjoys going to.
- WRITE (or DISCUSS): Take some time to talk about the things that make each child unique…special features they have, things they can do, character traits they have, etc. If they can, have kids write or draw about some of these things (or have an adult record the info they dictate).
All About Me Activities from the Free Printable August Activity Calendar
Play Dough Self Portrait– Creating self-portraits gives kids the opportunity to both learn more about themselves and notice the unique characteristics that make all of us different. Set up a play dough invitation that allows kids to create their own self-portraits using play dough and loose parts. This sensory learning activity incorporates science to spark creativity, encourage fine motor practice, and involve the senses!
Monthly Self Portraits-Self-portrait drawing journals give kids a chance to take a closer look at the features that make them unique, and August is a great time to start a monthly self-portrait journal. Throughout the school year kids make amazing progress in their drawing abilities and attention to detail, and capturing that with monthly self portraits is a fun way to show that growth and create a keepsake that they can treasure for years to come.
My Body Science Activity-Spend some time learning about the parts of the body. This activity incorporates literacy, science, and hands-on learning.
Family Sensory Bin-For our all about me theme we also spend some time getting to know about families. Tie in some added literacy with this family sensory bin. Along the way kids will practice word building, sensory skills and fine motor development.
My Family Craft– These cardboard tube families make for fun pretend play in a block, housekeeping, or dramatic play center. They also really encourage kids to engage in imaginative play using family members of their very own! Hands-on imaginative play facilitates building vocabulary, strengthening social skills, and developing decision making through role playing.
All About Theme Preschool Lesson Plans
Get a full week of all about me lesson plans and activity ideas.
All About Me theme lesson plans also available for home preschool.
Week 4: Names
LOW-PREP IDEAS…
- NAME HUNT: Go on a name hunt in the classroom or at home. Find all the places the child’s name appears.
- SHAVING CREAM NAMES: Spray shaving cream (not gel) on a flat surface. Sensory write names in it.
- SCRAP PAPER NAME ART: Make a name art collage with torn bits of scrap paper. (Old wrapping paper and scrapbook paper bits work great for this!)
Name Activities from the Free Printable August Activity Calendar
Quick Name Activities Part 1 and Part 2– When first introducing the alphabet to little learners I like to start by focusing on their names. It makes it personal and more meaningful for them. One way we do this is by using Name Bags…easy to prep name activities I store in bags and use during transition times.
Bubble Wrap Names-Put those little fingers to work as kids sequence the letters in their names for some fun hands-on name practice. With just two simple materials, you can have some name popping fun too with this bubble wrap name activity.
Name Hop-The beauty of this simple gross motor name activity is that it can be done inside or outside and on the fly!
Ping Pong Name Push-Turn a shoe box into a name game for toddlers and preschoolers to play over and over again.
Name Scramble-Take learning outdoors (although you can technically do this one indoors too!) with this fun name activity. You will need a set of ABC letters and a slide. If you don’t have a slide, and/or you’re looking for an indoor activity, you can easily substitute a piece of cardboard.
Week 5: Space
LOW-PREP IDEAS…
- NIGHT SKY OBSERVATION: Head outdoors once the sun sets and spend some time staring up at the sky. Draw some of the stars and the moon if you can see it. You can even take along a book of constellations to see if you can spot any.
- PAINT THE NIGHT SKY: Use black paint to paint a canvas of your choice. Once it dries layer in silver glitter glue. Add planet and stars stickers if you have them.
- VISIT A LOCAL PLANETARIUM: Check the schedule for your local planetarium and go see a show!
Space Theme Activities from the Free Printable August Activity Calendar
Space Play Dough-As you read and learn about space set out an outer space play dough invitation for kids to play with as they are learning about the night sky and the planets.
Moon & Stars Craft– This arts and crafts project makes a wonderful collaborative activity. Kids can work together on different elements and then put together the final mobile to hang on display.
DIY Rocket Puzzle Math-Easily make your own puzzle! I used foam sheets and adhesive business card magnets to make ours. Kids can build a rocket or create their own shapes.
Night Sky Felt Math– It’s amazing how much learning and play can come from a couple of pieces of felt! Make a simple night sky felt set to use for story telling, singing songs, and math activities.
Night Sky Letter Craft-While we don’t follow a Letter of the Week approach we do create a sensory or process art letter craft during each of our themes. Ultimately we have an entire ABC book of special letter art projects. At the end of the year I enclose each of the art projects with photos from activities related to that letter or theme and compile them into a massive ABC memory book. It is BY FAR one of the most cherished keepsakes for kids and parents alike. For our space or night sky activities we make a N is for Night Sky painting by painting with silver glitter glue on black paper.
Additional Resources
Space Theme Preschool Lesson Plans
Get a full week of space theme lesson plans and activity ideas.
Space theme lesson plans also available for home preschool.
Get the Free Printable August Activity Calendar
Note: Updated version is slightly different from the one pictured here. It includes five weeks for August and does not have dates listed so that it can be used again and again from year to year.
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