Preschool Popcorn Theme

A Preschool Popcorn Theme! You've gotta love it! You can eat it, count it, color it, learn about science with it! An all around Preschool Theme! Great for a one day theme or a week long or longer theme!

This theme page is filled with preschool activities and ideas for all areas of your classroom. If you have more activities you'd like to add, please use the "Contact Me" link to the left!

Let the Preschool Popcorn 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.

POPCORN 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

Preschool Popcorn Theme Art

Popped Animals!

Materials Needed: construction paper, glue popped and unpopped kernels, googly eyes

The children dip popped and unpopped pieces into glue and place on their paper to create their own animal!

Different Seed Collages

Materials Needed: popcorn kernels, pumpkin seeds and other types of seeds; sturdy paper and glue.

Encourage the children to make their own design by gluing the different types of seeds on the paper. And YES, kernels are seeds and they DO grow into corn! See the Science activities below to see how!

---

Return to Top

---

Block Area

Preschool Popcorn Theme Block Center Ideas

Add corn on the cob (still in the husks) and farm trucks and animals for your children to discover the life cycle, if you will, of popcorn!

---

Return to Top

---

Circle Time Activities

Preschool Popcorn 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!

There are some great themed books for this theme (see the Library Section below). Make up flannel board pieces to go with some of the stories. The children can place the pieces on your flannel board as you tell the story.

Fingerplays and Songs

I'm a Little Kernel (sung to I'm A Little Teapot)

I'm a little kernel in a pot

Turn on the heat and watch me hop.

When I get all warmed up then I'll pop.

Yummy-yum I taste good when hot!

The Popcorn Song (Sung to Down by the Station)

In the popcorn popper

kernels go ker-plunk.

I can smell it cooking-

Almost done!

See the popcorn popping

Fluffy and white.

Pop-Pop! Yum-Yum!

Tastes just right!

Popcorn In A Pot (Sung to I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a little popcorn in a pot

Heat me up and watch me pop.

when I get all fat and white then I'm done

Popping corn is lots of fun!

I Am Popcorn (Sung to Frere Jacques)

I am popcorn. I am popcorn.

See me pop. See me pop.

Pop pop pop pop popcorn

Pop pop pop pop popcorn

See me pop. See me pop.

Popcorn

Pop, Pop, Pop (clap at each pop)

Pour the corn into the pot (pretend to pour)

Pop, Pop, Pop! (clap at each pop)

Take it and shake it till it's hot (pretend to shake a pot)

Pop, Pop, Pop! (clap at each pop)

Lift the lid What have we got? (pretend to lift the lid off a pot)

POPCORN!!!!

---

Return to Top

---

Cooking Recipes

Snack Recipe Ideas to Cook Up for Your Preschool Popcorn 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!

Popcorn Balls

There are so many recipes for this! Use your favorite or look one up online. Be sure to let the children help in preparing these!

Cinnamon Apple Popcorn

Ingredients needed: 3 quarts popped corn; 1/4 cup butter, 1 cup dried apples, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 tablespoons sugar.

Pour melted butter over popcorn. Add sugar and cinnamon to popcorn and mix.

Microwave on high for one to two minutes. Stir in apple chunks.

---

Return to Top

---

Dramatic Play Ideas

Preschool Popcorn Theme Ideas to Transform Your Dramatic Play Area

Cooking Time

Provide some popped popcorn to cook or just let them cook with the items you have in this area and simply name everything with a popcorn name (popcorn milk, cereal, etc.!).

---

Return to Top

---

Easel Ideas

Preschool Popcorn Theme Ideas for your Easel--More Than Just Painting

(Although that is always THE favorite in our classroom!)

Paint with popped corn at the easel during this theme. They can hold a piece and dip into a thin tray of paint or you can glue it to the end of a stick or brush!

---

Return to Top

---

Gross Motor Games

Preschool Popcorn Theme Large Group Games

to help build preschoolers' muscles while they have fun together!

Popper Parachute

Using a parachute, tell the children they are going to pretend it is a hot air popcorn popper! Talk through the process of popping kernels. (It would help if you have made popcorn with them in the class prior to this game).

We are pouring the kernels in (everyone squat down to the floor holding the chute).

The air is moving and getting warmer (stand up slowly)

The kernels are moving around a little (make small waves up and down with the parachute).

The kernels are slowly popping (up, down, up down, slowly)

Now faster.........and faster......WHOA! There's the popcorn!

EXTENSION: Add some crunched up paper or soft balls to be the kernels.

EXTENSION: Do this outside with REAL popcorn on it. Leave the popcorn outside for the birds when done!

---

Return to Top

---

Library and Literacy

Preschool Popcorn 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! )

The Huckabuck Family: and How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and Quit and Came Back by Carl Sandburg

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Joffe Numeroff

The Popcorn Book by Tomie Depaola

The Popcorn Dragon by Jane Thayer

The Popcorn Shop by Alice Low

---

Return to Top

---

---

Math And Manipulatives Activities

Preschool Popcorn Theme Activities to help your Preschoolers develop those small muscles in their hands!

Popped Bingo!

Materials: Use any bingo game you have: numbers, letters, shapes, animals, etc. However, use popped corn instead of the paper or plastic markers!

Number Recognition

In advance, write the numbers 1-10 (or the numbers you are working on with your students) on individual colored index cards.

Glue the correct number of popped corn on each card.

Provide an additional set of numbered cards WITHOUT the corn on it.

Provide a bowl of popped corn and let the children count out the correct numbers onto their cards (and, of course, eat some popcorn, too!)

Patterns

In advance, make up and glue patterns on strips of paper. (kernel, popped, kernel popped or kernel, kernel popped, kernel, kernel, popped).

Encourage the children to either duplicate the pattern you made or extend the pattern with what would go next.

---

Return to Top

---

Music and Movement

Preschool Popcorn Theme Music and Movement Activities and Ideas to get your Preschoolers Movin' and Groovin'!

Thanks Katie O. for this idea!
Dancing with the Dancing Popcorn!

Combine science and music! Do the Dancing Popcorn Experiment (see the Science section on this page). Play some Instrumental Music while the children observe. After observing for a few minutes, have the children copy the movements of the popcorn as they rise and fall. The children can move their bodies up and down as well!

---

Return to Top

---

Sand and Water Table

Preschool Popcorn Theme Activities for the Senses!

Kernels And Seeds

Add popcorn, kernels (and colored ones of both) along with other beans and seeds. Add cups, spoons, etc. to measure and "cook" with.

---

Return to Top

---

Science Activities

Preschool Popcorn Theme Science Activities--for your Preschool Scientists in Training!

Estimating and Predicting

Tape a line where the children will stand. Give them each a sticky dot. Tell them to place the dot on the floor where they think they will be able to throw a piece of popcorn to. Then have them throw a piece! Were they correct?

Have them re-predict and throw again!

EXTENSION: Give them rulers and tape measures to "measure" how far their corn went!

---

Return to Top

---

Writing Activities

Writing Activity Ideas for Your Preschool Popcorn Theme!

My Piece of Popcorn!

Ask each child to draw a picture of an adventure that thier piece of popcorn could go on. Give them a piece of popcorn to hold while drawing and thinking. Write down their story and place it next to their picture to display.

VARIATION: Make a class book out of their stories!

---

Return to Top

---

Do you have some Preschool Popcorn Theme Activities you'd like to see on this page? Please use the "Contact Me" link to the left to send them to me and I'll add them with your name! Thanks!

---

Go to MAIN THEMES page from this Preschool Popcorn Theme Page

---

Go to Preschool Plan-It's Home Page