August is a transitional time for many families. The summer is winding down and everyone is gearing up for a new year at school, but there is still summer play to be had before the season ends. The days are still long and the weather is warm enough for preschoolers to be outside and explore. Enjoy the last days of summer (and the first days of school) with the fun activities in this month’s Ways to Play Every Day: August Activity Calendar with your own preschoolers at home, in your childcare rooms, or in the classroom.

Ways to Play Every Day: August Activity Calendar for Preschoolers!

The calendar activities are prompts for daily learning, creativity, and exploration. This free August activity printable can be used by parents in their home or by preschool teachers in the classroom in many different ways.  Follow the calendar daily for pre-planned activities based on each week’s book list. You might also choose activities to complete at random or as a source of inspiration to accompany other activities or curriculum for August.

Below you’ll find a description of each August calendar activity in the calendar, as well as links to corresponding activities, printables, and book lists that you can use to supplement each one.

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1. Dance like different jungle animals.
2. Make sloth slime (it’s just really slow).
3. Draw a picture of an elephant with your eyes closed.
4. Make jungle themed rainsticks.

Preschool Books for this week’s activities:

Giraffes Can’t Dance

Over in the Jungle

Way Up High in a Tall, Green Tree

Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth

Walking Through the Jungle

I Dream of an Elephant

Rumble in the Jungle

5. Decorate a pair of white canvas shoes.
6. Have a shoe kicking contest.
7. Play a shoe sorting game.
8. Create art with your shoeprints.
9. Practice putting on/tying your shoes.
10. Measure items around the classroom/house with your shoe.
11. Design your dream pair of shoes using this printable 

Preschool Books for this week’s activities:

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Hello, Shoes!

New Shoes, Red Shoes

Shoes for Me!

Pete the Cat: Rocking in my school shoes

Shoe-la-la!

12. Visit a pet store and find your perfect pet.
13. Draw a picture of your favorite pet.
14. Make a pet rock.
15. Visit a vet clinic and find out how they care for animals.
16. Collect used blankets for a local pet shelter.
17. Play a game that matches pets to their homes.
18. Wash dirty plastic pets in soapy water like this.

Preschool Books for this week’s activities:

Wanted: The Perfect Pet

What Pet Should I Get?

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy

I Wanna Iguana

Not Norman

What Pet to Get

Harry the Dirty Dog

19. Read books about going back to school.
20. Trace your hand and save it to compare sizes on the last day of school.
21. Draw a picture about your first day of school.
22. Practice singing and identifying the ABCs and their sounds.
23. Arrange pencils by size or other similarities.
24. Go on a letter sounds hunt.
25. Make a letter monster pencil topper.

Preschool Books for this week’s activities:

If You Take a Mouse to School

The Kissing Hand

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes

How Will I Get to School This Year?

Dog Days of School

Monsters Love School

26. Sort crayons by color.
27. Draw a picture with your favorite color crayon.
28. Make your own recycled crayons in fun shapes.
29. Create crayon transfer art.
30. Practice counting with crayons.
31. Mix paint to create your own crayon color. Give it a name.

Preschool Books for this week’s activities:

The Day the Crayons Quit

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Red: A Crayon’s Story

A Day With No Crayons

The Crayons’ Book of Colors

The Day the Crayons Came Home

Let the Ways to Play Every Day: August Activity Calendar for Preschoolers inspire you and your preschoolers to explore, create, and learn together each and every day.

Download the FREE Ways to Play Every Day: August Activity Calendar here – Ways to Play Every Day August Printable Calendar for Preschoolers

The Preschool Toolbox is pleased to have Andie Jaye as a valued contributor. Andie is a former preschool teacher turned stay-at-home mom of 3 kiddos. Her blog, Crayon Freckles, focuses on creative learning and play ideas, as well as parenting topics. Andie strives to be honest in her approach and experiences in parenting to let other moms know that they are not alone in their struggle. In her free time, she writes children’s books in hopes of publishing someday. You can follow Andie on Pinterest or on Twitter.