Back-to-School preschool

• Back-to-School Treasure Hunt
        We love doing “treasure hunts” at our house. So for this back to preschool activity, I set up a treasure hunt, with sticky note clues and lots of back-to-school related books and items that she found along the way.

1. Sticky notes (are the easiest) or paper with clues – as simple as “look under your pillow” and/or draw a picture of a bed with a pillow.
2. Stick the clue to a book or back-to-school item and have them collect them along the way
   
• Tip: the first item my preschooler found was her backpack, so she could then fill it up with all the books and items as she went along.
3. After the hunt, get a snack and sit down to read all the books they found! (see the next few ideas for more activities to go along with some of the books)

• Practice writing their name
1. Read David Goes to School by David Shannon
   
• All throughout the book it uses the writing paper. Point out to your preschooler how the book uses the writing paper with the words. Have your preschool look for letters in their name on the pages.
• Practice using writing paper, write their name (draw solid or dotted letters for them to trace if they need help with their names).
  
  
  
2. Explore different ways to write their name
   We used:
• Pencil/Crayons/Markers/Colored Pencils
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Lettered Beads
• Stamp Letters
• ABC Stickers, Magnents, Stencils
• etc…

• Crayons in Rice sensory bin

1. With the crayons they used to write their name (or from their treasure hunt), bury them in a rice/bean/wheat bin for sensory fun.
• use Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink, Black, and Brown for a coloring project below.
2. As they dig up each crayon, have your preschooler use it to color the correct items and words on this page.

• Read If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff

1. Collect a few items from around the house that are talked about in the book.
   Ideas are:
• Lunchbox
• Notebook and pencils
• Backpack
• Science Experiment (pictured below is THIS one)
• Soap/paper towels
• Building blocks/legos
• Clay/playdoh
• Notebook paper
• Soccer ball/Basketball/Skateboard
• Snack
2. Read the book again, and as you read, have your preschooler find the item you are reading about in the book. Put in order of sequence.
3. Play “What’s Missing”
• Lay all the items you are using for this book out on the floor or table.
• Have your preschooler close their eyes and remove an object (hide it so they dont know what you took)
• Have them open their eyes and figure out what’s missing.
• Then give them a turn to pick and item and you guess what’s missing.

• Read Albert Starts School by Eleanor May

1. Talk about the days of the week, show them on a calendar
• The Dollar store sometimes has days of the week items, or something like these, or make your own, or just write it out!
2. With your preschooler, decide (or tell them) what specific things are planned for each day of the week, just like in the book with Albert and school.
• ie: Mondays is Library day, Tuesdays is Art, etc.
• Leave the schedule up where they will look every day so your preschooler can plan and anticipate what is happening each day of the week.