100 Themes for Preschool Gymnastics (and Camp too!)

Theme weeks are a popular way to add variety to your preschool and rec gymnastics program. And to keep your camp programs fresh & fun!

The nature of our sport is that learning new skills require a lot of repetition.

As I often tell the kids – even Simone Biles has to practice basics every day! How many handstands do you think she’s done in her life? Many thousands, for sure.

But for most kids in our beginner gymnastics programs, doing the same thing over and over can become boring.

This is where theme weeks can come in — they add an unexpected element, like a prop or story, that makes those repetitive skills just different enough to keep kids engaged and learning.

I’ve spoken before about my love/hate for theme weeks, and shared 6 ideas to get you started. These days, I’m firmly pro-theme week – they captivate the imagination of the kids and add a little something special to your classes. They spark innovation for coaches and personally I love the creative challenge of lesson planning with a theme in mind!

To get you started, below is a list of theme ideas you may want to try.
Some are more involved that others –– and don’t forget that you can mix and match!!

NOTE: Hyperlinked ideas will bring you to an example or idea spark! If there is an asterisk (*) it will being you a full blog post or resource we created for that idea.

The Classics:

Outer Space / Alien Invasion
Superheroes*
Ahoy, Matey! / Pirates
Wild Wild West
Let’s Go on Safari (or this link)
Hawaiian Luau*
Teddy Bear Picnic*
Candyland*
Carnival / Under the Big Top
Zoo Break! / Lions, Tigers and Bears (oh my!)
Magic School
Under the Sea
Olympics
Barnyard / Down at the Farm
Lego Week
Ninja Training
Rainbow Week
Dinosaurs
Around the World
Fire Safety Week
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Community Helpers
Mad Science
In the Jungle
Butterflies & Bugs
Wild & Wacky
Happy Camper
Robots & Machines
Once Upon A Time / Fairy Tales
Medieval Times / Knights of the Round Table
Treasure Hunt
Beach Life
Monkey Business
Weathering the Weather
Going Green / Nature Week
A Night at the Movies
Shark Week

Books, Games, Movies & TV shows

Based of any Disney/Pixar film:
– Classic characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald Duck, etc)
– Frozen
– Encanto
– Moana*
– Tangled
– Minions*
– Toy Story
– The Incredibles
– The Lion King
– Snow White
– Alice in Wonderland
– Zootopia
– Etc…
Willy Wonka
Dr. Seuss
Super Mario Adventures / Video Games
Adventures with Paw Patrol
Gymnastics with Peppa Pig
Getting Curious with Story Bots
Pokemon
A Very Hungry Catepillar
Mother Goose
Veggie Tales
Minecraft
Star Wars
Peanuts/Snoopy
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sesame Street
Comic Book Heroes
My Little Pony
National Geographic / World Explorers
Curious George
The Little Engine That Could
Winnie the Pooh