If you’re spending your days with little ones ages 2-5, these Back to School toddler and Preschool activities are a perfect way to keep their little hands and brains engaged with Math and Literacy practice! Below you’ll find tons of activities that combine fine motor skills practice with tons of common early Preschool Math and Literacy skills!
CLICK HERE for more Back to School themed learning resources!
This set of Back to School themed Toddler and Preschool activities is sure to give your little learners TONS of fun practice! Children will have 15 center-style activities to choose from – 5 Math, 5 Literacy and 5 Fine Motor centers. In addition, I’ve included book recommendations for 5 Back to School picture books and links to their read aloud videos on YouTube!
To use these printables, you can follow the PRE-MADE lesson plans for a week full of fun! Each of the 5 pre-planned days your students will have 1 read aloud, 1 Math activity, 1 Literacy activity, and 1 Fine Motor activity to work on. This is a great pace for little learners! But if you’d like to spread the activities out or rearrange them according your own child’s needs, simply print our provided Build-Your-Own Plans page and make your own plans!
Math Activities
This set of printables has 5 fun Back to School activities for practicing early Math skills! Children will practice number formation, number identification, counting, colors, and shapes. Many of our set includes the use of small manipulatives for added fine motor skills practice!
Crayons Counting Cards
Grab your favorite manipulatives and practice counting with these crayon counting cards! Kiddos practice one-to-one correspondence by counting and covering each crayon. If your little ones are ready, follow the arrows on the numbers to practice writing them. If not, use your manipulatives to build the numbers instead!
Play Dough 10 Frame
10 Frame activities are such a fun addition to our sensory bins! Simply toss the number cards into your sensory bin and use play dough balls to build the amounts on the 10 Frame!
Numbers 0-10 Find and Cover
If your little ones are still practicing number identification, “find and cover” mats are a blast! Simple choose a number card from your sensory bin. Then, find and cover the matching number on the mat!
Color Sorting Cards
These colorful glue bottle cards are a perfect addition to your sensory bins! I didn’t change a thing about our school-themed bin – I simply helped LG find and sort the colored objects that she dug out!
Pencil Shapes
These pencil shape cards are a great way to differentiate for multiple skill levels! Your littlest learners will love tracing the shapes using manipulatives, PlayDoh or dry erase markers. And your older students (or older siblings) can practice their handwriting and spelling by tracing the shape names!
Literacy Activities
In addition to the Math centers, this set includes 5 early Literacy activities! Children will practice skills like letter identification, letter formation, beginning sounds, and handwriting practice with Back to School vocabulary words!
School Themed Alphabet Cards
This activity is perfect for littles who are getting started with their alphabet! While your kiddos use the manipulatives to build the letters, talk about the letter names, upper and lowercase versions, and sounds! And if they’re ready, try using a dry erase marker to practice tracing the letters!
Alphabet Board Game
The best way to sneak in learning time is with games! This alphabet board game is a perfect way to combine letter/sound recognition with a fun game! Simply roll the dice, move to the matching letter, and continue until you reach the end!
Upper & Lowercase Roll & Cover
Roll and cover centers are a fun way to turn academic practice into a game! The goal with this game is to roll the provided die, identify the uppercase letter, and find the lowercase match on the play mat. Continue rolling and covering until the entire board is covered!
Back to School Beginning Sounds
If you’re kiddos are ready to practice beginning sounds, this activity is perfect for them! It combines literacy with fine motor skills, having children connect their matches using links. Or if they’re more engaged by games, these cards make a great game of Memory!
Back to School Vocabulary Cards
We love tracing cards for handwriting practice! And a nice bonus with these is the added vocabulary practice and review of beginning sounds! You can even punch a hole in the top corner and use a book ring to make your own little Back to School vocabulary book!
Fine Motor Activities
Don’t forget the fine motor fun!! When working with little learners, strengthening fine motor skills is a must! These 5 activities will have your children working hard and having TONS of fun!
School Supply Play Dough Cards
Fine motor skills are so important to practice with our little ones! They don’t naturally have the same finger strength and coordination that we have as adults. So using materials like PlayDoh is a great way to strengthen their little muscles! These school-themed cards are such a fun activity!
Play Dough Shape Building
Your play dough-loving kiddos will have a blast with these play dough shape building cards! Grab your favorite play dough colors and build as many shapes as you can!
School Theme Pre-Writing Strips
These pre-writing strips are SO stinking handy. Fill them with little manipulatives like mini erasers, mold play dough to fit, or use a dry erase marker to trace! *I’ve found that LG is most successful during her tracing practice when she uses “bubble” lines like these instead of just tracing “dashes”!
School Theme Cutting Strips
Give your cutting practice a seasonal flare with these school-themed cutting strips! Need some extra tracing practice instead? Print an extra copy, laminate them for durability, and practice tracing the lines with a dry erase marker!
Play Dough Color Matching
I love activities that combine academics with fine motor skills practice! Using sensory bin matching mats is a great way to do this! Toss the play dough cards in your sensory bin. Then, grab one at a time and match to their correct color on the mat!
And… I Planned FOR YOU!
This set of activities (and all of the other 30+ sets in our FULL Preschool Curriculum) include a full week of print and go visual lesson plans! Want to build your own? Use the included BYO plans page! These thematic centers were designed with growing learners in mind, so this page allows you to choose which activities your child is ready for right now!
Ready to learn with your toddlers or Preschoolers ALL YEAR LONG?! You can save TONS when you grab this set of centers in our “All the Themes” bundle! The bundle includes over 30 different themes, complete with a week of lesson plans for each! You’ll find themes for holidays, seasons, and all sorts of “anytime” themes like Dinosaurs and Space!
Let’s hang out!
I’d love to chat and get to know you better! You can find us below in some of our favorite places to hang out. Can’t wait to chat with you about your Preschooler’s learning journey!
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