In what now feels like another lifetime, I was a preschool teacher. Each week we would have a new theme that I built our lessons around. It was fun and it gave a fresh look to our classroom. Weekly themes can easily be incorporated into your after school programs as well. I use a lot of Magic Tree House and the Magic School Bus when I plan our weekly themes. Our Book Buddies group reads the Magic Tree House books (our goal is to complete one book a month) and we use the Magic School Bus as a kick off for the science aspects of some of our Project Learn lessons.
Week 1 Robin Life Cycles (featuring our returning pair Bertram and Bonnie and their nest)
Week 2 Plants & Photosynthesis
- Magic School Bus Gets Planted Season 3, Episode 10
Week 3 Easter & Eggs
Week 4 Medieval Times & Castles
- Magic Tree House #2 The Knight at Dawn
Week 5 Frogs & Friends
We have a two-year rotation on our themes and revamp the projects that go with them when we revisit them to keep the projects fresh and fun. Our facility works with grades 1-3 so it's unlikely that kids will have repeat activities while they're with us. We do have some consistent themes (like our Robin life cycle celebrating the mating pair that has returned to our Club to make their nest for the last five years) but we will find different activities to pair with those themes to keep kids excited and engaged.
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