Daycare Lesson Plans on “Llama Llama Red Pajama”

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Daycare Lesson Plans on “Llama Llama Red Pajama” are fun, meaningful, and simple to put together. Check out these fun ideas for home daycare lesson plans that kids (and you) will love!

I love starting each unit we focus on with a book. Using this book as a theme opens the door to activities across literacy, math, science, art, sensory play, and more.

Books by Anna Dewdney are favorites in early childhood classrooms because they combine simple rhymes, sweet characters, and relatable situations. “Llama Llama Red Pajama” in particular connects deeply with children who know the feeling of missing their parents at bedtime. It’s a story about love, reassurance, and learning patience.

If you want a printable 2 week lesson plan on “Llama Llama Red Pajama” with 8 days of activities including a supply list, a daily schedule, and the Oklahoma ELGs for the QRIS quality rating program, check out our listing for Daycare Lesson Plans on “Llama Llama Red Pajama” on Teachers Pay Teachers here. It’s available on Etsy as well.

Literacy

The rhyming text and emotional theme make this book rich for literacy learning.

• Read Aloud: Share “Llama Llama Red Pajama” during circle time. Pause to let children predict what happens next when Llama feels lonely.
• Rhyme Hunt: Point out rhyming pairs like “mama/pajama.” Invite children to clap when they hear rhymes. Create a class list of rhyming words.
• Retelling with Props: Provide a llama puppet, a blanket, and a phone for children to retell the story. Props help them sequence events and recall details.
• Feelings Chart: Make a chart of Llama’s feelings at different points in the story (lonely, sad, worried, happy). Discuss how feelings change. You can also draw different feelings on paper plates and ask kids to show how they look when they feel that emotion.
• Author Study: Share other Llama Llama books—Llama Llama Mad at Mama, Llama Llama Misses Mama. Compare themes and characters.

Math

Bedtime routines, pajamas, and Llama’s emotions can easily connect to math concepts.

• Pajama Patterns: Provide cutouts of pajamas in different colors or designs. Encourage children to make patterns (stripe, polka dot, stripe).
• Counting Llamas: Print llama clipart with numbers 1–10. Have children place the correct number of “pillows” (cotton balls) with each llama.
• Sorting Game: Provide a basket of doll pajamas in different sizes or colors. Children can sort by size (small, medium, large) or color.
• Clock Play: Introduce the idea of time by showing a clock. Explain bedtime happens at a certain time, and let children match numbers or move clock hands.

Science

Science is about exploring everyday life, and bedtime offers many natural connections.

• Night vs. Day: Talk about the differences between daytime and nighttime. Make a chart of activities done in the day (play, eat lunch) vs. at night (pajamas, brushing teeth).
• Light and Dark Exploration: Use flashlights in a darkened room to show how light changes the way we see. Let kids shine lights on objects to explore shadows.
• Sleep Study: Discuss why people and animals need sleep. Share simple facts like “sleep helps our bodies grow.”
• Flashlight Play: Turn out all the lights in a dark room and make shadows on the wall with flashlights.
• Llama Facts: Share age-appropriate facts about real llamas—where they live, what they eat, how they care for their babies. Compare real llamas with storybook Llama.

Art

Llama and bedtime are full of fun art possibilities.

• Pajama Design: Provide paper pajama outlines and let children design their own with crayons, markers, or collage materials.
• Llama Portraits: Invite children to make their own llamas using paper shapes—an oval head, triangle ears, and googly eyes.
• Red Pajama Craft: Give each child red fabric scraps to glue onto a paper llama, making a fuzzy red pajama outfit.
• Feelings Faces: Encourage children to draw Llama’s face showing different emotions—sad, worried, happy, sleepy.

Sensory Play

Bedtime themes lend themselves to cozy and soothing sensory fun.

• Pajama Party Bin: Fill a sensory bin with doll pajamas, blankets, and stuffed animals. Let children dress and tuck them in.
• Cotton Ball Pillows: Provide cotton balls, tweezers, and cups for children to transfer, pretending they are fluffy pillows.
• Soothing Dough: Make lavender-scented playdough. Encourage children to roll out “blankets” or “pillows” for small llama figures.
• Water Play: Add toy llamas, small cloths, and cups to water bins. Children can “wash” the pajamas before bedtime.

Dramatic Play

Pretend play builds social-emotional skills and ties into the theme perfectly.

• Bedtime Center: Turn the dramatic play area into a bedroom. Add pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and pajamas. Children can role-play bedtime routines.
• Llama Care: Place a stuffed llama or two in the area with blankets. Kids can pretend to tuck them in, read stories, or soothe them.
• Phone Call Play: Add a toy phone so children can pretend to call “Mama Llama,” just like in the book.

Music and Movement

Movement activities help children release energy while music reinforces the rhyming flow of the story.

• Bedtime Dance: Play soft lullabies. Let children sway, rock, and “go to sleep” on the floor, then wake up when the music changes.
• Pajama Freeze: Children dance in pajamas. When the music stops, they freeze in silly “bedtime poses.”
• Llama Chant: Teach a simple chant: “Llama Llama red pajama, calling for his dear sweet mama!” Add clapping or stomping rhythms.
• Stretch and Yawn: Lead children in a bedtime yoga routine with stretches, yawns, and curling into “bed.”

Social Studies and Emotions

This story is especially strong for exploring feelings and family relationships.

• Feelings Talk: Discuss times children feel lonely or miss their parents. Offer strategies like hugging a stuffed animal or asking for help.
• Family Connection: Create a family photo wall where children can see pictures of their loved ones during the day, just like Llama wants his mama.
• Community Helpers: Talk about who helps us feel safe—parents, teachers, siblings. Role-play comforting one another when sad.
• Bedtime Routines: Invite children to share what they do at bedtime—bath, brush teeth, pajamas, story, hugs. Compare routines.

Cooking Activities

Cooking can tie into the bedtime theme in fun, simple ways.

• Bedtime Snack: Make graham cracker “beds” topped with fruit or yogurt. Place a small teddy graham or animal cracker on top to “sleep.”
• Pajama Pancakes: Make small pancakes and let children decorate with fruit faces. Pretend the pancakes are wearing pajamas.
• Warm Milk Pretend: Offer children warm milk or cocoa (or warm vanilla milk for a daycare-friendly option). Discuss how warm drinks can be comforting at bedtime.

Outdoor Play

Bring Llama fun outside for movement and large-scale activities.

• Llama Tag: One child is the “llama,” and others chase gently. When caught, the next child becomes the llama.
• Pajama Parade: Let kids wear pajamas to daycare and parade around the yard.
• Night Sky Hunt: If weather allows, go outside in the late afternoon to look at the sky. Pretend to spot stars, the moon, or clouds like bedtime time.
• Blanket Play: Bring blankets outside for children to sit on, roll in, or use for pretend play.

Family Engagement

Families can help extend the story at home.

• Pajama Day: Invite children to come in pajamas for a special class event. Families can participate in a pajama breakfast or storytime.
• Take-Home Activity: Send home a llama outline with instructions to decorate pajamas as a family. Display them in the classroom.
• Bedtime Routine Chart: Provide a blank chart for parents to fill in with children at home—bath, brush, story, bed. Children can bring it back to share.
• Family Reading: Encourage families to read Llama Llama Red Pajama together and talk about feelings before bed.

Tips for Success

1. Use Comfort Items. Allow children to bring small stuffed animals or blankets during pajama-themed activities.
2. Focus on Feelings. Acknowledge and validate children’s emotions as you read. Use the story as a safe way to talk about missing parents.
3. Make It Cozy. Create a warm, comfortable environment with soft lighting, pillows, and calm music.
4. Revisit Often. Children love repetition. Read the book multiple times across the unit, pointing out new details each time.

Llama Llama Red Pajama is more than a bedtime story—it’s a window into feelings, family, and love. Through rhymes, pajamas, and playful activities, children explore literacy, math, science, art, and social skills in a comforting way.

By designing a unit around this story, you help children practice routines, express emotions, and build empathy, all while having fun in pajamas. Whether they’re retelling the story, designing their own pajamas, or snuggling a stuffed llama, kids will find joy and comfort in this sweet, relatable theme.

Crooksie and Churro Learn to Count

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Beautiful illustrations engage kids as you explore different places in the garden. And there’s even an easter egg in the book, so they can practice their I Spy skills. See if you can figure out what it is! Grab your copy today and come on a garden adventure with us.

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