November Preschool Themes

November is such a cozy and meaningful month in the preschool classroom. With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the changing of the seasons, it’s the perfect time to focus on gratitude, family, and the natural world.

Planning November preschool themes makes it easy to organize your preschool lesson plans with hands-on activities, sensory play, and creative art projects that tie into the season.

If you loved our October preschool themes printable, you’ll be happy to know we have one coming up for every month and now it’s time to plan for November.

You can download the full classroom themes PDF below to use for all your monthly preschool lesson plans throughout the year.

November Preschool Themes

These November preschool themes are great for bringing the season to life in your classroom. Each one helps preschoolers learn through play, fine motor activities, and stories while connecting with the themes of thankfulness and nature.

Click any of the linked words in themes below to see relevant ideas and activities we have done for that theme.

Turkeys

A turkey theme is always a hit with preschoolers! Create paper plate turkeys for art time, practice counting with turkey feathers for math, or use play dough to build fine motor skills while shaping turkey bodies.

You can also read Thanksgiving turkey books and sing songs about these funny birds.

Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving theme ties perfectly with lessons about gratitude and family. Set up a dramatic play Thanksgiving dinner table, explore foods in a sensory bin, and make thankful trees where children can share what they appreciate. This theme helps kids understand thankfulness in fun, age-appropriate ways.

Pilgrims

A Pilgrim theme can be woven into your November lesson plans by exploring the idea of journeys and community.

You can create simple crafts like Pilgrim hats, read child-friendly stories about the first Thanksgiving, and talk about working together and helping others.

Native Americans

This theme can teach preschoolers about respect for nature, sharing, and storytelling. Use crafts such as nature collages or music and dance activities to celebrate community and creativity.

Keep it simple and focused on kindness, gratitude, and learning from one another. You can use resources from our Indigenous people’s day worksheets.

Gratitude

A gratitude theme works beautifully all month long. Encourage children to share what makes them happy during circle time, make “thankful cards” for family members, and create a classroom gratitude wall. It’s a wonderful way to build emotional awareness and positive thinking.

Family

Family is a comforting and familiar preschool theme. Children can draw family portraits, make family puppets for dramatic play, or read books about families that come in all shapes and sizes.

This helps preschoolers appreciate their own families and understand others’.

Food

Food is one of the easiest and most enjoyable November preschool themes to explore. Use pretend food in the dramatic play kitchen, do simple cooking projects like pumpkin muffins, or sort different food items by color or category for an early math lesson.

Cooking

Cooking activities are fantastic for hands-on learning. Let kids measure, stir, and mix while talking about ingredients.

This helps develop fine motor skills and introduces basic math and science concepts through play.

Pies

Pies are a fun way to connect Thanksgiving and cooking themes. Try making pretend pies with play dough, counting pie slices for math practice, or making real mini pies as a class treat. This is a simple and delicious preschool activity idea.

Bears (Preparing for Winter)

Learning about bears is a cozy way to teach preschoolers about hibernation. Read books about bears, make bear cave crafts, or set up a sensory bin with leaves and toy bears to explore how animals get ready for colder weather.

Forest Animals

Forest animals make a wonderful November preschool theme that ties into the season. Learn about nocturnal animals, create animal masks, or explore animal tracks with play dough or clay for sensory play.

Squirrels (Storing Food)

Squirrels are perfect for teaching about preparation and nature. Try collecting acorns during outdoor play, do a counting activity with pretend nuts, or build fine motor skills by “storing food” in sensory bins.

Migration

Migration themes introduce preschoolers to how birds and animals move with the seasons.

Watch short videos, read books about migration, or create art showing flocks of birds flying south. It’s a great way to tie science and creativity together.

Helping Others

This theme fits beautifully with the spirit of Thanksgiving. Encourage acts of kindness within the classroom, like helping friends clean up or sharing toys.

You can also make cards for community helpers or local care homes to teach empathy and generosity.

Jungle Animals

For a fun twist, add a jungle animals theme to your November lesson plans. Learn about different animal habitats, compare jungle animals to forest animals, and use play dough or paper plate crafts to create lions, monkeys, and tigers.

Using November preschool themes brings structure, creativity, and joy into your lesson plans. Themes help children connect new information to meaningful experiences, making learning memorable and exciting. They also make lesson planning easier for preschool teachers by offering clear weekly ideas to build on.

For younger children, check out our ideas for November toddler activities.

Download the November Classroom Themes PDF

Our free preschool themes PDF includes November preschool themes along with ideas for every other month of the year from January to October preschool themes to December preschool themes and beyond.

This printable makes it simple for any preschool teacher to plan monthly themed lesson plans that are both fun and educational.

You can print the November preschool themes page shown above to keep in your planning binder. It’s the perfect quick reference for planning circle time, dramatic play, and fine motor activities each month.

NOTE: This file includes the whole year so if you only want November, select only that page while printing

Terms of use: This November preschool themes list is free for personal use and classroom use. Do not redistribute this file.

Whether you’re working on a Thanksgiving theme, exploring forest animals, or celebrating gratitude and family, these November preschool theme ideas are sure to inspire your classroom. You can mix in sensory bins, dramatic play setups, fine motor crafts, and storytime activities for a well-rounded preschool experience.

This November preschool themes printable is free to download and a great way to plan your preschool curriculum for the month.