January Preschool Themes You're Going to Love!

Our January preschool themes are a great way to keep your preschoolers focused and engaged following one of the busiest times of the year! January is a time of fresh starts and new beginnings and choosing a just right theme for this month’s learning is oh so essential. Plus, January preschool themes are a great way to refresh and re-establish the routines and daily schedule.

This is just one of our amazing preschool themes from our ultimate list of preschool themes.

January Preschool Themes

January can also come with its challenges. The days are short and cold in many parts of the world. It can be difficult to get back on track from the excitement of the holidays and all the extra things to do.

We’ve got some extra special January preschool activities this month that are perfect for the cold and chilly season! Your students will love:

100 Days of School Theme
Gingerbread Theme
Hibernation Theme
Penguin Theme
Polar Animals Theme
Snow Theme
Winter Theme

Don’t miss our winter lesson plans and our list of winter songs! We also have a ton more seasonal themes in our winter themes list.

January also has a few holidays and celebrations that are meaningful themes for preschool.

Chinese New Year Theme
New Year’s Theme
Martin Luther King Jr. Theme

Additionally, we are including some themes that are perfect any time through the year! Don’t miss:

Animal Theme
Birds Theme
Dinosaur Theme
Pets Theme
Outer Space Theme

Let’s begin this New Year with hopeful anticipation and help children love learning, whatever capacity we’re teaching in. Having your January lessons and themes planned will not only save you time but will also bring structure and more peace to your classroom.

I’ve also made a free printable preschool theme list to help with all your planning!

100 Days of School Theme

Get those creative juices flowing by celebrating the 100th day of the school year, which typically falls in January. Outfits, decorations, themed snacks…the possibilities are endless! Bonus points that it’s a fun way to get kids counting and working on number sense skills!

Counting practice can be a fun part of your 100th day celebration but is also important all year long!

Help your preschoolers practice counting this winter with my Winter-Themed 10 Frame Counting Mats!

Animal Theme

The world is your oyster here (possibly literally!) So much to choose from: mimic animal movements, learn about habitats, talk about different sizes, listen to rare animal sounds, make an animal craft, put your favorite animal figurines in the sensory table and more!

Animal songs are so much fun, too! Be sure to check out our favorite animal songs for preschoolers.

Of course, animal books are a fan favorite amongst preschoolers and grown-ups alike! I hope you’ll love my book Wild Animal Babies: An Alphabet Book, which is perfect for an animal theme as you learn about new and unusual animals and their babies!

Author holding book called Wild Animal Babies

We also have some fun animal facts to share that kids are just roaring to know! Check out these fascinating animal facts:

Grab our animal lesson plan in our preschool store or toddler store for more fun ideas.

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Birds Theme

This theme lends itself to a perfect study for the birds in your area and chances are that you might be able to see some of their nests if you do it at the right time of year. Or call them right to your yard with a classic pinecone bird feeder. National Bird Day falls on January 5, so this theme is perfect for learning about different bird species.

The amazing teachers at Preschool Teacher 101 even have a bird lesson plan in their store.

Dinosaur Theme

A dinosaur theme is one of the most beloved preschool themes of all time. Kids are naturally mesmerized and intrigued by these prehistoric giants and there are so many fun and engaging ways to enjoy this theme. Have a dino dig in the sandbox or snow for some more dinotastic fun!

Your preschoolers will have a roaring good time with a variety of dinosaur activities! Be sure to check out some of our favorites:

Grab our dino-tastic dinosaur ten frames and counting activity and make counting come to life!

Grab an entire preschool or toddler dinosaur-themed lesson plan in our preschool store or toddler store.

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Cover image for Toddler Dinosaurs Lesson Plans

Gingerbread Theme

Gingerbread is a theme that works for so many months! I love to read some of our favorite gingerbread books, The Gingerbread Baby and The Gingerbread Man, and we turn this entire study into a theme.

Gingerbread letter formation mats from our store or TPT

This is also a great time to make some gingerbread slime!

If you need an entire gingerbread lesson plan, we recommend this one from Preschool Teacher 101.

Hibernation Theme

Take your animal studies further by teaching children about which animals hibernate! If you’re learning about bears, make sure to read our bear facts that are perfect to talk about during circle time.

Our friends at Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds have an awesome list of hibernation activities. As many animals are snoozing in January, this is a great month to take hibernation studies a step further and learn about where the animals are sleeping, or their homes and habitats.

Looking for more planning ideas? We have a habitats lesson plan available in our store.

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Penguin Theme

Penguins are a favorite winter theme. You can learn about where they live, what they eat, how they behave, and all things winter. In our list of Winter Songs for Kids, you’ll find 3 fun penguin songs, including one by our beloved Jack Hartmann!

Additionally, there’s a whole penguin lesson plan over at Preschool Teacher 101.

Pets Theme

Kids love their pets, plain and simple! A Pets Preschool Theme allows preschoolers to share about their pets and their lives. It’s the perfect way to get your little learners excited whether they have a cat, dog, guinea pig, bird, lizard, or even a pet “stuffed animal”.

Your preschoolers will love to read, sing, and participate in dramatic play all about pets:

These pet counting clip cards are so much fun to use to tie in math and number sense into your pet theme.

Our friends at Preschool Teacher 101 have a pets lesson plan for planning the perfect pet theme.

Polar Animals Theme

Polar animals are fun, especially when you start talking about how they can survive and stay warm, even when living on snow and ice. There are lots of fun activities and science experiments to try with a polar animal theme that your preschoolers are sure to love!

Supplement your polar animals theme with some awesome polar, snow and ice themed activities:

Or check out this Arctic theme lesson plan from Preschool Teacher 101, which includes lots of information and activities with polar animals.

Snow Theme

If you live in the right part of the world, you might be lucky enough to get an entire season of snow. It is beautiful and so fun to play in, as well as a great learning tool for science. Even if you don’t live in a snowy climate, there is still plenty of snow-filled learning that can happen!

Celebrate all things winter and snow with these fun, hands-on activities:

Check out our Snowman Letter Formation Mats from our store and TPT
Snowman sensory play
Snowman popcorn craft
Winter STEAM snowflakes
Winter songs
Snow dough small world play

No matter where you live, you will love these fun winter and snow lesson plans from Planning Playtime!

Space Theme

There are so many ways outer space can be a ‘blast’. Stars, moons, and planets are just some of the miraculous things you can teach kids about space.

From space songs, stories and sensory play to space-themed math and constellation activities, we’ve got great activities for your preschool space theme. You might even say they are out of this world!

Blast into number sense with this engaging outer space ten frame set!

If you’re in need of an entire space lesson plan, we’ve got you covered in our preschool store.

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Winter Theme

Winter is full of excitement with snow, arctic animals, fun holidays, and winter sports. Supplement your winter theme with wonderful stories, songs and learning activities. You could even bundle up and take some of the learning outside into nature!

These winter-themed resources are chock full of ideas that your little ones will love:

Check out our winter lesson plans in our preschool store and toddler store and make planning this theme a breeze!

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cover image for Winter Lesson Plans for Toddlers

January Holidays for Preschool Themes

There are also several holidays in January, which you can incorporate into your January preschool themes. These are days to highlight or days you can teach about using an educational picture book.

Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year, one of the world’s most celebrated festivals, happens each year between January 21st and February 20th. This is a special time for families to gather together and honor deities and ancestors, as well as lots of other fun cultural customs. Need some more ideas? Try these Chinese New Year songs and rhymes.

New Year’s Theme

Talk about old and new, incorporate calendar and time concepts, make New Year’s slime or have a Noon Year’s Eve party. The possibilities are endless! We, of course, always include copious amounts of glitter in our New Year’s celebrations because there should always be sparkle when we ring in the new year.

Check out these activities for your New Year’s theme:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a great way to remind preschoolers to treat everyone with kindness, and equality. You can explain to your kids what equality means and why it’s so important. This is also a perfect time to emphasize how important it is to stand up for the equal treatment and rights of everyone. Here are some great kindness books to go along with it.

Monthly Preschool Themes

These January preschool activities are a great way to get you started on your planning.

For even more ideas, activities, and themes, check out our monthly preschool theme ideas below.

Check out our Ultimate List of Preschool Themes for any month of the year!

collage of six different activities to go along with january preschool themes

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This was made by the combined efforts of the Preschool Inspirations team!

January Preschool Themes You’re Going to Love!