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Pajamas Theme for Preschool
Pajamas in Preschool! Most programs have a day dedicated to this theme in the winter. Usually the parents, children and we teachers wish we could dress this way for school every day! Well, how about a Themed WEEK?! Here are activities for your interest centers for a fun week!
Let the Pajamas Preschool Theme planning begin!
You can either scroll down through this page to see all of the preschool activities for your theme or click the link below to go to specific preschool activity types you are looking for.
You'll find more themes to help you with your planning on my preschool themes page.
PAJAMAS Art Activities Block Area Circle Time Activities Cooking Recipes Dramatic Play Ideas Easel Ideas Gross Motor Games Library and Literacy Math And Manipulatives Activities Music and Movement Sand and Water Table Science Activities Writing Activities
Art Activities Pajamas Theme Art
Goodnight Collage
Materials needed: magazines, black construction paper, scissors, yellow paper and moon stencils, scissors, glue
After reading the book Goodnight Moon, the children cut out items from magazines that remind them of the story or of items in their own rooms.
They trace and cut out a moon shape from the yellow paper.
They make a collage of their own Goodnight Moon book!
EXTENSION: Be sure the children print their own name on the paper somewhere. Let the children tell their own version of the story by using their own paper!
Slipper Painting
Yup, painting......with slippers! Not the children's or yours! Find an old pair (or ask parents to donate old pairs) and use them to paint with!
It is best to find pairs with different textures on the bottoms!
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Block Area Pajamas Theme Block Center Ideas
Polar Express
Many times pajama day is held during the cold weather. Add small trains and cotton balls (for snow) to your block area for your own Preschool Polar Express!
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Circle Time Activities Pajamas Theme Circle Time Ideas
Circle Time is such a great time for children to learn the social skills of being together as a large group AND to learn more about your theme!
Bedtime Bag
Bring a pillowcase and a bin or box with bedtime items in it such as: pillow, toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, story book, night light, etc.
Be sure the children can not see the items in the bin or box.
Place one item in the pillowcase (without the children seeing it).
Have each child reach in and feel an item and see if they can guess which bedtime item is in the bag.
What's Missing?
Using the items above, place them all out in front of the children.
Have the children close their eyes. Take one item away and hide behind your back or under the pillowcase.
Have the children guess which item is missing.
The children get very good at this game so be ready to make it more challenging by removing 2 or 3 items at a time!
At the end of this game, I usually remove ALL the items and they work together to recall all the items.
Bedtime Stories
Bring flashlights, pillows and blankets to circle for your story time.
The kids love this! Read the story using the flashlight to shine on the pages!
Good Night Show and Tell
Assign one day as a Good Night Show and Tell day. Each child brings in something that reminds them of bedtime, night time, or the book Good Night Moon.
The each take a turn showing their friends what they brought in and telling why it reminds them of night time.
EXTENSION: Take pictures of each child with their item.
Print the pictures and put together your own Good Night Preschool book...the kids will LOVE reading this in the library and having it read to them by you at circle time!
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Cooking Recipes Snack Recipe Ideas to Cook Up for Your Theme!
Cooking with children helps develop their math skills and helps them to learn how to follow directions. It also allows for some great conversation! Ask many questions while cooking with your children to encourage conversation! Be sure to ask specific themed questions while making these fun snacks!
Pancakes
YUM! Bring in fruit for the children to help you cut up.
Have the children help you to measure and mix the batter (if you are cooking them in school).
Make pancakes and have the children place the toppings on that they want!
If you don't have a stove in school, make them in advance and heat them up in the microwave at school.
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Dramatic Play Ideas Pajamas Theme Ideas to Transform Your Dramatic Play Area
Good Night Moon
Provide items from the book throughout your dramatic play area for the children to act out the book!
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Easel Ideas Pajamas Theme Ideas for your Easel--
More Than Just Painting (Although that is always THE favorite in our classroom!)
Bedtime or Nighttime Scene
Provide black paper and chalk for great night time scenes.
VARIATION: Provide warm water with diluted salt for the children to dip the chalk into.
The result is quite sparkly when the chalk dries!
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Gross Motor Games Pajamas Theme Large Group Games
that help build their muscles while they have fun together
Wake up, Pets!
Materials needed: Parachute or large blanket and stuffed animals
Place one (or more) animals on the parachute.
Tell a story about the animals.
"The animals are very, very tired. Let's gently rock them to sleep" Show the children how to move the parachute or blanket gently up and down without tossing the animals.
"The animals have been sleeping for a long time, I think they are dreaming!" Show the children how to move the parachute up and down to gently move the animals up and down.
"Well, it is time to get up to get ready for school. WAKE UP ANIMALS!" Now shake up and down to wake the animals up.
In advance, you may want to assign TWO children to get the animals when they fly out of the parachute.
Then assign 2 different children each time you play.
This prevents all the children from running after the animals and bumping into each other.
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Library and Literacy Pajamas Theme Ideas for Your Library and Literacy Activities for your Preschool Classroom
Book Suggestions for the Library
(I LOVE Amazon, and some of the links below will take you to the Amazon website. If you do choose to purchase yours through Amazon, they do send me a few cents--which supports my coffee habit! )
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the BedAny version
Ten in the Bedby any author
Are You My Mother?by P. D. Eastman
Down by the Bayby Raffi (remember the line? "Have you ever seen a llama wearing pajamas? Down by the bay!)
Goodnight Moonby Margaret Wise Brown
If You Give a Pig a Pancakeby Laura Numeroff
Llama Llama Red Pajamaby Anna Dewdney
Pajama Dayby Lynn Plourde
Pajama Time!by Sandra Boynton
Pancakes, Pancakes!by Eric Carle
Polar Expressby Chris Van Allsburg
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Math And Manipulatives Activities Pajamas Theme Activities to help your Preschoolers develop those small muscles in their hands!
Playdough Quilt
Provide a wide variety of colors of playdough.
Have the children manipulate, tear and press small pieces of playdough to make a colorful quilt!
Show them pages from the Llama, Llama Red Pajama book for a quilt idea!
This is GREAT exercise for those hand muscles! We should have many activities to help these muscles as they are necessary to successful printing/writing!
Pajama Bingo
In advance, draw and cut out different colors of pajamas.
Leave them blank for the children to use as a color bingo game.
Add letters or numbers for a letter or number bingo game.
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Music and Movement Pajamas Theme Music and Movement Activities and Ideas to get your Preschoolers Movin' and Groovin'!
10 In The Bed
There were 10 in the bed and the little one said, "Roll Over! Roll Over!".
So they all rolled over and one fell out.
There were 9 in the bed and the little one said, "Roll Over! Roll Over!".
So they all rolled over and one fell out.
Continue with 8,7,6,5,4,3,2 and then
There was 1 in the bed and the little one said, "GOOD NIGHT!".
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, tie your shoes.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, that will do!
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, go upstairs.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say your prayers.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn out the light.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say goodnight!
Down By the Bay
Down by the bay, Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home, I dare not go
For if I do, My mother will say
"Have you ever see a moose Kissing a goose?"
Down by the bay
Down by the bay Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home I dare not go
For if I do My mother will say
"Have you ever see a whale With a polka dot tail?"
Down by the bay
Down by the bay Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home I dare not go
For if I do My mother will say
"Have you ever see a fly Wearing a tie?"
Down by the bay
Down by the bay Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home I dare not go
For if I do My mother will say
"Have you ever see a bear Combing his hair?"
Down by the bay
Down by the bay Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home I dare not go
For if I do My mother will say
"Have you ever see some llamas wearing pajamas?"
Down by the bay
Down by the bay Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home I dare not go
For if I do My mother will say
"Have you ever have a time When you couldn't make a rhyme?"
Down by the bay
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Sand and Water Table Pajamas Theme Activities for the Senses!
Moon Sand
This is the coolest stuff ever!
You will need:
4 cups play sand; 2 cup corn starch (corn flour outside the US); 1 cup water 2 tbsp colored powder paint; huge amount of glitter (optional but quite cool!!!!)
Mix the sand and corn starch together.
Slowly add water until the consistency is like a pastry mix (it will be crumbly)
If it doesn’t hold together when you form it into a ball, add a little more water until it feels right. (It will be crumbly and feel damp but not wet).
Add the powdered paint (mix with your hands).....
The entire process of making any type of dough is great for fine and gross motor development...so let the children help make it!!!
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Science Activities Pajamas Theme Science Activities--for your Preschool Scientists in Training!
Lite Brite!
If you have access to one of these, it is a fantastic activity!!! You'll need a dark area of a room and supervision for it!
Shhh....They're Hibernating
Provide a chart with pictures of animals and provide small counters/manipulatives of those animals.
Provide only animals that hibernate in winter.
The children match the animals on the chart.
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Writing Activities Writing Activity Ideas for Your Preschool Family Activities Theme!
Put Yourself to Bed!
Well, your name anyway!
In advance, make a large collection of small craft sticks with letters on the top of them. Make multiples of each letter.
Draw a large bed on paper.
The children collect the sticks with the letters of their name on them.
They spell their name out with the sticks on the bed and, their name is in bed asleep!
Be sure to provide name cards (with the child's picture on it) so that have it to compare the letters to.
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Try this Teddy Bears Theme for more activities to go along with this Pajamas Theme!
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Hey there! Welcome to Preschool Plan It! I’m Cheryl, a preschool teacher of over 20 years.
I KNOW, I know, you spend hours of time developing your preschool themes, activities and preschool lesson plans each week. You are commited to planning preschool themes and activities that are engaging hands-on, interactive, fun AND meet the goal of supporting each child’s level of growth and development.
I am commited to providing you, the preschool teacher, with everything you need to develop preschool lesson plans and preschool activities for your classroom all in one place!
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- Preschool Teachers
Any version 
by any author 
by P. D. Eastman
by Raffi (remember the line? "Have you ever seen a llama wearing pajamas? Down by the bay!)
by Margaret Wise Brown
by Laura Numeroff
by Anna Dewdney
by Lynn Plourde
by Sandra Boynton
by Eric Carle
by Chris Van Allsburg
