All about me preschool theme: the first week of the year

"All about me" is the first theme of the year in most preschool rooms because the room is still learning itself: whose name is whose, what each child can do, who comes at pickup. Peabody's all about me week is names, bodies, families and what I can do, with a me puppet, "This Little Piggy," a Kitchen snack, four books and the letter M. Plan it in the theme planner in a minute. Peabody is free through the end of 2026.

The planner lists all about me for August and September. Here's the week in full, then the paper that goes with a first week: name tags, cubby labels, the sign-in sheet and a note for the families.

The week at a glance

• Circle time question: "What is one thing you can do all by yourself?"
• Word wall: me, name, hands, grow.
• Letter: M is for me.
• Craft: a me puppet.
• Song: "This Little Piggy," from the nursery rhymes list.
• Snack: Banana Sushi.
• Outside: "Can you do this?" Take turns showing a move (hop, spin, touch your toes) and everyone copies.
• For the family note: ask your child what they can do by themselves now, and how their puppet looks.

The books, by level

All four are Peabody's own stories, free in the library with no sign-in.

Levels 0 to 3 are books a child can follow along with: a pattern to say, a word to guess. My Teeth is above level 3, so the planner marks it read-aloud. You read, they listen. The books by level post explains the levels in more detail.

Day by day

This is what the planner's wall sheet holds for the week.

Monday. Circle time asks the question. Read Can Ted Hop? Learn "This Little Piggy." Show the craft materials. Trace M and m. Outside, play "Can you do this?"

Tuesday. Calendar and weather at circle time. Read Get Up, Gus! Do the craft's first two steps. Sing the song again. Free play outside.

Wednesday. "What did we learn so far?" Read Can Ted Hop? again. Finish the puppet. Sing it with actions: this is the toe-wiggling rhyme, so everyone's shoes come off. Find M in the room. Outside, "Can you do this?" again.

Thursday. Read Did It. Show and tell with the puppets. Banana Sushi for snack.

Friday. "What was your favorite part?" Read My Teeth aloud. Sing it for the families. Color the picture page: M is for me. The puppet goes home.

The craft: a me puppet

Four materials: a paper lunch bag, crayons, yarn for hair, and a glue stick. No scissors for the children.

1. Draw your face on the bottom of the bag.
2. Glue on yarn hair.
3. Use the puppet to say your name at circle time.

Step three is the reason for the craft. A child who won't say their name to a room of new faces may let the puppet say it. Like every Peabody craft, it's six materials or fewer, nothing hot, and made with a grown-up.

For the ages in your room

Pick the room's ages in the planner and some parts get a line for that age.

• Infants and toddlers: circle time is two or three minutes, on laps. One book, read every day; point and name. They touch and hold the craft materials while you make it, and nothing is small enough to swallow.
• Twos: circle time is about five minutes; stand up for the song. A grown-up pours the paint and holds the glue. The picture page only for the letter: color it and say the word.
• Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes of circle time, and let a child hold the book. Trace M and m once, then find M in the room and in the book.
• Mixed ages: everyone sings; the babies hear it. The twos do the craft with help, and the fours help the twos.

The first-week paper

A first week is mostly names. Paste your list of first names once and use it everywhere.

• Name tags and cubby labels. Name tags print 6 a page and cubby labels 10 a page, with the theme's drawing or plain. The name tags post and the cubby labels post walk through both.
• The sign-in sheet. Daily or weekly, 8 to 20 rows. The pasted names are kept in your browser and never put in a link. The sheet carries one line saying your state sets what a sign-in record must hold, with a link to your state's licensing page.
• The newsletter. The first one of the year can pull in this week's theme and the song's words, with a "Reminders" block for anything families need to send in. It flags a child's name, an address or a phone number as "check before you print," but never blocks you.

Try this before the first day

1. Open the planner, pick the first Monday, and pick All about me.
2. Pick your room's ages.
3. Paste your first names into the labels page and print the cubby labels.
4. Print the name tags too, and the sign-in sheet from the same list.
5. Print the wall sheet for the room and the family note for the door. The family note has the words to "This Little Piggy," so families can play it at home.
6. Gather paper lunch bags and yarn for Tuesday.

After the first week, rooms often move into apples, or stay close to home with families, my body or feelings. The September month page lists them all.

Three things providers ask

What if a child starts mid-year?

Run the puppet craft for them in their first week, whatever the theme is. It's four materials and gives them a way to say their name.

Is the snack safe for the youngest?

Open the Banana Sushi page before you make it. Each Kitchen recipe lists its allergens and swaps, and has lines for little ones.

How long should all about me last?

One week is the common choice. Many rooms follow it with families or feelings, which keeps the talk about the children for a second week with a new song and craft.