Summer Lesson Plans for Preschoolers

Summer is finally here! It’s a time for sunshine, giggles, and endless outdoor fun. A well-crafted summer lesson plan for preschoolers is the perfect way to celebrate this exciting season, transforming outdoor fun into awesome learning opportunities!

To help you make the most of these opportunities, we’ve put together some helpful tips, fun activity ideas, and a sample weekly plan for creating incredible summer lesson plans for your little ones. We’ll show you how to seamlessly blend learning and summer fun, ensuring that your preschoolers continue to learn and grow throughout the summer months.

To keep preschoolers engaged and learning throughout the summer, fun, hands-on, age-appropriate activities are key. This is where summer-themed lesson plans become invaluable. Exploring themes like nature, water play, and outdoor activities can spark natural curiosity while also making summer learning feel like summer play!

From splashing in water and discovering backyard bugs to tasting seasonal fruits, summer naturally sparks children’s curiosity and joy. With thoughtful lesson planning, we can transform these everyday summer moments into valuable learning experiences.

We are excited to help you with all your summer plans! We offer tips, activity ideas, and a sample weekly plan to guide you in creating meaningful summer lesson plans for your preschoolers.

We also have all of our amazing weekly themes (46!) bundled into one convenient pack, so you have fantastic themed lessons always at the ready! Be sure to check out our Learn at Home Lesson Plans Bundle to help make your weekly planning as easy as a summer breeze!

Benefits of Teaching a Summer Theme in Preschool

Looking for ways to keep those dog days of summer packed with learning? A summer preschool theme can help you ensure that those long sunny days are filled with learning…and FUN!

Here’s a closer look at the advantages of teaching a summer theme in preschool:

• Seasonal Exploration: Summer offers a unique opportunity for children to connect with nature and observe seasonal changes firsthand. They can observe blooming flowers (like sunflowers or daisies), buzzing bees collecting pollen, and the bright, sunny skies, learning about weather patterns, plant life cycles, and insect behavior.
• Encourages Outdoor Learning: Fresh air and outdoor experiences are good for kids. Summer-themed activities, like nature scavenger hunts or water play, encourage exploration and help develop sensory and hand-eye coordination skills. These play-based experiences also promote gross motor development and provide rich opportunities for social interaction.
• Builds Foundational Skills: Summer themes can naturally integrate core academic skills in super fun ways. Counting watermelon seeds during a snack, measuring rainfall after a summer shower, or discussing the different types of clouds in the sky all provide opportunities to develop math, science, and language skills.
• Promotes Creativity: Preschoolers love expressing themselves creatively. Activities like ice painting (using frozen paint cubes on paper), creating pretend campfires using sticks and fabric scraps or making sun prints with construction paper inspire artistic expression, imaginative play, and problem-solving skills.
• Supports Physical Development: Summer is the perfect time to engage in gross motor activities. These activities are essential for healthy physical development and promote overall well-being.

Here are some of our favorites with little to no prep:

• Obstacle courses using outdoor toys
• water games like running through sprinklers or playing with water balloons
• nature walks

Possible Topics to Include in Summer Lesson Plans

Creating engaging summer lesson plans starts with choosing fun activities with some summer flare. Check out our favorite summer-themed topics that you may want to include in your summer lesson plans:

Nature Exploration

Summer is a time of incredible nature activity. Explore the world of insects, from buzzing bees to crawling ants. Observe the vibrant colors of blooming flowers and the growth of trees. Discuss weather changes, from sunny days to summer showers, and how these changes affect the natural world.

Activities: Bug hunts with magnifying glasses, flower pressing, leaf rubbings, creating a nature collage, making a weather chart, and observing cloud formations.

Beach and Ocean

Even if you’re not near the coast, you can bring the beach to your classroom! Explore fascinating sea creatures, dig into sand-filled sensory fun, and engage in imaginative water play.

Activities: Making sandcastles (using play sand or kinetic sand), creating ocean-themed sensory bins, painting with seashells, reading ocean-themed books, and learning about different sea creatures.

Summer Foods

Summer brings a bounty of delicious fruits and treats. Discuss seasonal fruits like juicy watermelon, sweet berries, and refreshing summer snacks like ice cream and popsicles. You can even incorporate taste tests and simple recipes.

Activities: Making fruit salad, creating popsicle stick art, taste testing different berries, learning about where food comes from, making watermelon prints.

Outdoor Safety

With increased outdoor activity, it’s crucial to teach children about safety. Introduce sun safety practices, such as wearing hats and applying sunscreen, and emphasize water safety rules around pools, lakes, and oceans.

Activities: Role-playing applying sunscreen, creating sun safety posters, discussing water safety rules (never running near a pool, always swimming with a buddy, never getting near water without an adult supervising), practicing wearing hats and sunglasses.

Camping Adventures

Preschoolers love pretend play! Setting up a mini campsite with a tent and “campfire” is always a favorite! These activities also introduce them to the basics of outdoor adventures.

Activities: Building a tent indoors with blankets and chairs, creating a pretend campfire with construction paper and sticks, telling stories around the “campfire,” singing campfire songs, making s’mores (using graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate spread).

Summer Weather

Discussing sunny days, rain showers, and hot temperatures helps our children understand weather patterns. Simple experiments like observing evaporation can make learning about weather a fun science lesson.

Activities: Making a rain gauge, creating a cloud chart, conducting a simple evaporation experiment (leaving water in a dish outside and observing it over time), discussing appropriate clothing for different weather conditions.

Gardening

Children will enjoy planting seeds and watching them grow. Gardening teaches patience and responsibility while connecting kids with nature. Plus, it’s a sensory-rich activity that’s perfect for little hands.

Activities: Planting seeds, watering plants, observing plant growth, creating plant markers, tasting vegetables grown in the garden.

Summer-Themed Activity Ideas for Preschool

Looking for engaging and educational activities to fill your summer lesson plans? From sensory activities to creative art projects and outdoor adventures, you’ll find inspiration to keep your preschoolers entertained and learning all summer long.

• Ice Painting: Beat the summer heat with a cool and colorful art project. This simple and engaging activity is perfect for hot and humid days, offering a refreshing sensory experience while encouraging creativity. This activity transforms frozen water into a fun and unique art medium, providing a great way for preschoolers (and older kids!) to explore colors and textures
• Water Play Station: A water play station is a fantastic sensory activity that allows young kids to explore water through hands-on play. There are SEVERAL ideas for water sensory tables! One example is having a sensory bin filled with water, toy boats, and various scooping and pouring tools. Your children can experiment with floating, sinking, pouring, and splashing. Adding simple challenges, such as asking “Which objects float?” can make this even more fun.
• Nature Scavenger Hunt: A nature scavenger hunt is a fantastic way to encourage outdoor exploration and develop observation skills. You can create a list of common summer items for children to find, such as specific types of flowers, rocks, leaves, or insects. This activity can be done individually or as a group.
• Beach Sensory Bin: Bring the beach to your classroom (or home!) with a beach sensory bin. Fill a bin with sand, seashells, and toy sea creatures for engaging pretend play. This tactile activity allows your preschoolers to explore different textures and use their imaginations. Adding small containers encourages building and fine motor skill development as they create miniature sandcastles.
• DIY Popsicle Making: Let little ones unleash their inner chefs by creating their own refreshing fruit popsicles! This tasty activity introduces basic cooking skills and provides a fun way to learn about different fruits, flavors, and even simple measurements. Plus, it’s a perfect way to cool down on a hot summer day!
• Camping Dramatic Play: Camping dramatic play transforms your classroom (or outdoor space) into a campsite and is oh so much fun! Children can set up tents, build pretend campfires, tell stories, and play out various camping-themed scenarios. Top it all off with some S’mores for a special treat!
• Bug Observation: As part of an insect theme, your preschoolers can explore the fascinating life of insects and other small creatures. Using magnifying glasses and observation containers (like bug jars or clear plastic containers), your little ones can carefully examine bugs in their natural habitat. This activity can be done in a backyard, park, or even a small indoor bug habitat.
• Summer Storytime: Read books like Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee or The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle. Storytime helps our children build language and listening skills and can teach so many things in a fun way! 
• Outdoor Obstacle Course: An outdoor obstacle course, using readily available materials like hula hoops, cones, tunnels, and low balance beams (or even lines drawn on the ground), provides a fun way for preschoolers to develop their gross motor skills. They will love running, jumping, crawling, and balancing their way to fun and better motor development!

Sample Weekly Schedule for Summer Lesson Plans

Looking for ways to structure your week during the summer months? We encourage you to get outside, play with friends, and pursue activities that bring you joy. Children tend to thrive during the warmer summer months, making it an ideal time for both indoor and outdoor activities.

This sample weekly schedule, spanning from Monday to Friday, can provide a helpful framework for your summer routine.

Monday: Nature Walk and Summer Storybook

• Nature Walk: Begin the week by immersing children in the natural world. Take a nature walk around your outdoor space, a nearby park, or even just around the block. Discuss the sights, sounds, and smells of summer.
• Story Time: Reinforce the nature theme with a summer-themed storybook. “A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee” offers a humorous look at a camping adventure, while “Blueberries for Sal” explores a child’s experience picking berries in nature.

Tuesday: Water Play and Weather Discussion

• Water Play: Provide opportunities for sensory and active play with water. Setting up a water table with various toys (cups, scoops, boats), playing with sprinklers (with close adult supervision), or organizing a sponge toss game are all fun options. These activities help develop fine and gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and sensory exploration.
• Weather Discussion: Discuss the characteristics of summer weather. Compare sunny days (discussing the sun, warmth, and shadows) to rainy days (talking about rain, clouds, and puddles). Introduce basic weather concepts like temperature (hot and cold) and different types of clouds. You can even create a simple weather chart to track the week’s weather.

Wednesday: Ice Painting and Summer Fruits

• Homemade Ice Cream Scented Bubbles: Bubble play is fun anytime of year, but something about summer makes bubbles extra special! Use this easy 3-ingredient recipe to make bubbles that smell just like ice cream! Can you think of of a better scent for summer? We certainly can’t. Your preschoolers will enjoy all kinds of bubble activities with this special summer bubble recipe.
• Fruit Tasting & Math: Introduce children to the delicious flavors of summer fruits. Offer a variety of seasonal fruits like watermelon, berries, or peaches for a tasting activity. Discuss the different flavors, textures, and colors of each fruit. Incorporate math skills by counting seeds, pieces of fruit, or comparing the sizes of different fruits.

Thursday: Beach Sensory Bin and Ocean Storytelling

• Beach Sensory Bin: Create a sensory experience that transports your preschoolers to the beach. Fill a bin or sandbox with sand and add shells, sea creatures, small shovels, rakes, etc. to create the perfect beach playground. Your preschoolers will love pretending that they are actually at the lake or ocean.
• Ocean Story: Read a book about the ocean or sea creatures. “The Pout-Pout Fish” is a fun story about a grumpy fish, while “Commotion in the Ocean” introduces children to a variety of marine animals. Discuss the different creatures that live in the ocean and their unique characteristics.

Friday: Scavenger Hunt and DIY Popsicles

• Summer Scavenger Hunt: Organize a simple outdoor scavenger hunt. Hide items related to summer (a leaf, a rock, a flower, a pinecone, a small toy) in a designated outdoor area. Provide children with a list or pictures of the items to find. This activity encourages observation skills, problem-solving, and gross motor movement.
• DIY Popsicle Activity: Conclude the week with a refreshing and fun DIY popsicle activity. Provide children with a variety of fruit (berries, melon, bananas) and juice or yogurt. Let them choose their own combinations and help assemble the popsicles. This activity encourages creativity, fine motor skills, and healthy eating habits.

FAQs About Summer Lesson Plans for Preschoolers

Why is summer a good theme for preschoolers?

Summer is an ideal theme because it offers endless opportunities for exploration, sensory play, and connecting with nature. Most kids absolutely LOVE summertime, so you are just adding to this excitement when you have an entire theme based on this fabulous season.

What are some easy summer activities for preschoolers?

Simple yet engaging options include water play, nature walk, bubble-making, and ice painting. These activities keep our children entertained while supporting their developmental milestones.

How can I teach summer safety to preschoolers?

Turn safety lessons into fun games, like a sun safety activity that teaches the importance of sunscreen, hats, and hydration. Role-playing scenarios help reinforce these important habits.

How can I involve families in summer learning?

Share simple activities like a scavenger hunt checklist or recipes for making popsicles at home. These activities strengthen the bond between parents and children while extending learning beyond the classroom.

Can summer lessons help prepare kids for kindergarten?

Absolutely! Summer activities reinforce foundational skills in math, science, and language, while promoting social-emotional growth. These lessons ease the transition to kindergarten by making learning fun and familiar.

What if my students don’t have access to outdoor spaces?

Adapt activities like sensory bins, pretend play, and crafts to bring the outdoors inside. For example. Create a mini indoor garden or set up a camping scene in the living room. These alternatives ensure all children enjoy summer learning.

Summer-themed lesson plans are a delightful way to keep our preschoolers engaged, learning, and thriving during the sunny summer months. By integrating playful and educational activities, we can turn every moment into an opportunity for growth. From outdoor adventures to creative crafts and hands-on experiments, summer learning brings endless joy and benefits to our preschoolers. 

Ready to get started? Visit Stay at Home Educator for lots of fun ideas, along with the activity ideas shared here. Let’s make this a summer full of FUN and learning!

Sarah Punkoney, MAT

I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.

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