When you ask a toddler or preschooler what sorts of topics they would like to learn about, the answer is commonly some sort of animal. Can you blame them? There are so many to learn about!
Animals are an amazing topic to focus on because they are a large part of their natural world.
Whether your children interact with their pets, observes wild animals while on walks, or simply sees animals in books or movies, they are likely to be thinking about this topic often.
Setting up activities based around this subject provides children the opportunity to discuss their preexisting knowledge of animals while also taking in some new information about how they live.
Muddy Pigs Art – Paint paper pig cut-outs with brown paint and shaving cream to make mud.
Comparing Animal Tracks – Stamp plastic animals with paint onto paper and compare the tracks that are left behind. (Teach Preschool)
Shredded Paper Sheep – Glue shredded paper down onto a paper plate to make a textured sheep craft. (Housing A Forest)
Cardboard Tube Penguin – Turn toilet paper tubes into cute penguins using black and white paint. (Creative Family Fun)
Lion Portraits – Print off a photo of the child for them to glue strips of yellow paper around their face as a lion’s mane. (Having Fun at Home)
Forest Animal Puppets – Paint or color these printable puppets to host a forest puppet show.
Wash the Animals – Work fine motor skills while scrubbing animals in the water table.
Bird Nest Sensory Bin – Fill a bin with seeds and nature materials to build a nest for the birds. (Fantastic Fun and Learning)
Sensory Habitats – Put together sensory bins themed around different animal habitats, such as the desert or arctic. (The Pinay Homeschooler)
Animal Rescue – Pull the animals away from the tape using the fingers. (Busy Toddler)
Zoo Animal Movement – Download the free printable cards and do the animal actions. (Elemeno-P Kids)
Farm Animals in the Barn – Download the free printable and invite your children to add their farm animals to the barn.
Brown Bear Story Time Props – Create animal stick puppets to use while reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Free Printable)
Songs About Pets – Get the kids singing and moving! (Pre-Kinders)
Farm Animal Counting – Download the free printable puzzle to work on numbers 1-5.
Zoo Animals Counting – Create your own zoo using sticks, number each building, and add that many animals. (The Educators Spin On It)
Veterinarian Office – Pretend to take care of sick animals.
Animal Safari – Download the printable packet to make your own animal safari tour!
Jungle Play Dough – Add natural materials for some fun jungle play. (Picklebums)
Animal Tracks Snacks – Invite your children to help create these fun snacks. (Loreen Leedy)
Matching Animal Parents – Preschoolers will match the animal cards together, putting together the adult animal and their baby animal. (123 Homeschool 4 Me)
Bingo Cards – Print out these cards to play a game of bingo featuring various animals. (Kori at Home)
Matching Toys to Pictures – Gather animal toys with real life photos of those animals to be matched together. (I Can Teach My Child)
Sorting Animals – Help preschoolers sort out animals into groups of animals who walk, animals who swim, and those who do both. (Fun Learning for Kids)
Giraffe Skin – Do you know what color giraffe skin is? Try this giraffe science experiment! (Preschool Powol Packets)
