Daycare Lesson Plans on “Goodnight Moon”

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Here’s are sweet and simple daycare lesson plans on “Goodnight Moon“ by Margaret Wise Brown, perfect for toddlers and preschoolers (ages 2–4). You can stretch it across weeks or use it for a themed day. It’s the perfect lesson plan for home daycare that combines literacy and fun!

Read & Explore “Goodnight Moon”

I like to start every unit with a book. So grab “Goodnight Moon” and read it aloud. We still use the little board book our 32 year old daughter had as a child. We read it to her every night. Pause at each “goodnight” so the children can echo it back. Focus on language and rhythm. Afterward, discuss the illustrations. Ask: “What do you see in the great green room?”

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is a timeless bedtime story that offers a gentle, rhythmic text paired with calming illustrations. It creates a sense of peace and security that is perfect for young children, especially in a daycare setting.

This lesson plan explores various aspects of the book, including literacy, rhyming, bedtime routines, colors, characters, and sensory exploration.

If you’d like a printable version of the lesson plan with 2 weeks of activities, a daily schedule, a supply list, and the printables you’ll need for the activities, check out our Daycare Lesson Plans on “Goodnight Moon” on Etsy.

Language & Literacy

• Rhyming match – Use pictures from the book (mouse/house, kittens/mittens). Let kids find the matching pairs.
• Focus on rhyme and rhythm in the book. Read the story again and emphasize the rhyming pairs.
• Make a class book called “Goodnight [Our Class Name],” where each child contributes a page with their favorite goodnight object and illustration.

Dramatic Play

• Re-read the story. Talk about bedtime routines. Ask what each child does before bed.
• Pretend play with a toy bedroom setup – take turns putting dolls or stuffed animals to bed.
• Play “Get Ready for Bed” charades where kids act out bedtime tasks.
• Hold a pajama day where children come dressed in pajamas and bring a favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Set up the room to feel cozy with dimmed lights, soft music, and comfy seating. Read the book, encouraging each child to say “goodnight” to their own toy or chosen object. You can also serve a warm bedtime snack like oatmeal or toast and talk about foods people enjoy before bed.

Art & Creativity

• “Goodnight Room” Collage – Provide cutouts or let them draw a bed, moon, stars, and objects from the book. Glue on blue paper to mimic the night sky.
• Explore colors in the book, especially the green room. Draw a picture of your own room.
• Create a green collage. Provide various shades and textures of green paper, fabric, buttons, or foam pieces, and let the children glue them onto a large sheet of paper. Talk about light green, dark green, soft green, and sparkly green.
• Make a moon phase model using Oreos with different shapes of the cream filling scraped off.
• Paint a night sky scene with black or dark blue paper and white/yellow paint. Add stars, the moon, and windows.

Sensory Learning

• Goodnight Moon sensory bin – Add mini objects from the book (socks, a toy house, a spoon, a bowl, etc.) to a bin with cotton balls (clouds), blue pom-poms, or stars.
• Talk about how the room gets quieter as the book goes on. Do a guided relaxation for kids – stretch, breathe deeply, lie down with soft music. Listen to a calming bedtime lullaby playlist during nap prep or after lunch.
• Fill a bin with black beans and star confetti and let the children dig for foam moons and stars.

Math and Science

• Make a class chart listing things we say goodnight to at home. Children can draw or place picture cards on the chart.
• Use a flashlight in a darkened room to talk about shadows and light.

Music & Movement

• Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or a Goodnight song (make up one with kids’ names).
• Bedtime Yoga – Stretch like the bunny, curl like a kitten, yawn and relax like it’s bedtime.
• Go on a “green hunt” in the room and gather green objects to make a group display.
• Make bunny ear headbands. Practice hopping like bunnies and whispering “hush.”
• Place a toy mouse or mouse cutout around the classroom and play a game where the children have to locate it using clues such as “under the table,” “next to the book,” or “on the shelf.” Reinforce words like in, on, under, beside, and behind.
• Create a mini obstacle course where kids place objects in different positions.

This plan weaves together early literacy, emotional development, sensory play, creative art, and pre-academic skills through the gentle and familiar rhythm of Goodnight Moon. It provides repetition and variety while supporting language development, listening, self-regulation, and imagination. By the end of the unit, children will not only know the story well but will also have made meaningful connections to their own bedtime routines and developed a sense of comfort and security through predictable storytelling and calm, reflective activities.

For more daycare lesson plans based on literature, check these out:

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• This Daycare Lesson Plans on Peter the Cat and His Groovy Buttons teaches about emotions and frustration in a fun and chill way.
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• There’s nothing sweeter than Daycare Lesson Plans on “Anne of Green Gables” to learn about friendship and farming.
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