In the enchanting world of early childhood education, few themes capture the imagination of young minds quite like baby animals. The magic of discovering the furry, feathery, and finned wonders of the animal kingdom can be a powerful tool for preschool learning.
To capture the attention of your preschoolers in a fun and engaging way, we’ve compiled a list of 11 of the best animals preschool activities ideas.
Baby Animals Preschool Activities
1. Animal Adventures Sensory Bins
Create a multi-sensory experience with Animal Adventures Sensory Bins. Gather a variety of materials that represent different baby animals and their habitats.
Consider using soft fur for mammals, smooth stones for reptiles, and feathers for birds. Place these materials in separate bins and invite preschoolers to explore and identify the textures.
This activity not only engages the senses but also encourages descriptive language as children articulate the feel of each material.
As they dive their little hands into the sensory bins, they’re not just exploring textures but also fostering an early appreciation for the diversity of baby animals and their environments.
2. Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt
Take the learning outdoors with a Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt focused on baby animals. Create a simple checklist featuring pictures or names of baby animals commonly found in the local area.
As preschoolers embark on their nature adventure, encourage them to observe and identify signs of baby animals in their natural habitats.
This activity not only promotes physical activity but also sharpens observational skills. As the children excitedly check off items on their scavenger hunt list, they develop a connection to the world around them and a curiosity about the lives of baby animals in their own backyard.
3. Creative Storytelling with Puppets
Bring the magic of storytelling to life with Creative Storytelling using animal puppets. Set the stage with a backdrop of nature and let the children’s imaginations soar as they create stories featuring baby animals. Encourage them to use different voices for each puppet, enhancing language development and creativity.
This activity serves as a gateway to imaginative play and narrative skills. As preschoolers immerse themselves in the world of baby animals through storytelling, they not only strengthen their language abilities but also develop an early understanding of the unique characteristics and behaviors of different animal species.
4. Artistic Explorations: Baby Animal Collages
Unleash the artistic talents of preschoolers with Baby Animal Collages. Provide a variety of materials such as magazines, colored paper, glue, and child-safe scissors. Encourage children to cut out pictures of baby animals and create collages that depict different habitats and scenes.
This activity not only hones fine motor skills but also allows for creative expression. As preschoolers arrange and glue their chosen baby animal images, they engage in a hands-on exploration of biodiversity and develop an early understanding of the interconnectedness of living beings in the animal kingdom.
5. Arctic Sensory Tray
We LOVE this idea from Stacey. Setup this Arctic inspired tray using different bases for each one themed around snow and the Arctic. Your little one will love unfreezing the penguins from the ice cubes and playing with the polar bears.
This is a fab sensory activity that is great fun to set up for your little one too!
6. Ocean Animal Rescue
This playtime activity is another that is super easy to setup with items you’ll already have lying around at home. Grab a bucket or empty box and fill with water and then simply place in any sea animal figures that your little one has, and give them a set of plastic tongs.
This animal rescue is perfect for developing hand eye co-ordination and problem solving!
7. Matching Game Meets Sensory Play
This matching game will ignite your little one’s attention and refine their animal language skills! Print out images of different animals and affix to a piece of card so the game can be used again, and again.
Then you need a box full of the matching animals which can either be in figure form or a print out of their material. Get your little one to pick an animal card and match to the correct figure or material.
8. Wild Animals Trays
An extension to the Arctic sensory tray, why not setup a few wild animals trays for extended sensory play?
Create the following;
- Antarctic tray with a cloud dough base.
- The ocean with a blue food colouring or bath drops added to the water.
- Desert using a sand base.
- The forest with a soil and grass base.
Once the bases have been setup, let your little one add their animals to their correct homes.
9. Match Each Animal
This is another great sensory tray activity for your preschoolers. Fill a tray or shallow dish with some popcorn kernels, place a paperclip on each laminated animal and hide them under the kernels.
Then let your little one use a magnet to try and locate each animal.
10. Farm Animals Stuck In Mud…
Opportunities for fun ideas with sensory trays are endless! Take inspiration from this farm animals stuck in mud tray.
Mix cornflour, water and cocoa powder and add to your tray, then add in your farm animals, waiting for rescue. It’s messy, but fun play!
11. Edible Sensory Play
When it comes to sensory play, it can be expected that little ones may try to put things in their mouth during guided play, so make it edible instead!
This fun farmyard tray is easy to setup and it doesn’t have to be complicated or over engineered. Explore using different textures such as yoghurt, breadcrumbs, crushed cereal or pasta. Your little one will love it!
These activities are some super fun, easy and even tasty ways to teach preschoolers about baby animals in their respective habits. Which idea is your favourite? Any other ideas you think we should include? Share with our community in the comments below!
