The story behind it
By TurkeyMom · October 2012
Ages2–5 yrs
Ideas13
From0 blogs
Leveleasy
MessMedium
Works for1:1 · Small group · Class
A roundup of 13 animal-themed crafts, sensory bins, small world setups and games for toddlers and preschoolers, made for World Animal Day. Each idea links to the full Fun Littles post.
⚠️ Safety first
- Supervise all sensory and small world play: small toy animals, seeds, googly eyes and play dough bits are choking hazards for toddlers.
- Plaster of Paris: an adult mixes it. Avoid breathing the dust, and never cast hands or other body parts in it, because it heats up as it sets.
- Soap-based sensory play is not taste-safe. Keep it away from mouths and eyes, and rinse hands afterward.
- The pantry 'zoo' uses food items. Check each ingredient for allergies before play and treat it as play material, not a snack.
- Clothespins can pinch small fingers.
13 ideas
Create Bugs with Propeller Seeds
We used propeller seeds to create butterflies, dragonflies and a few other bugs. Great for fine motor skills, creativity and talking about bugs.
by Fun Littles
Animal Resist Painting
Simple resist painting with animal outline cutouts, a hit with toddlers and preschoolers. Switch the cutouts to anything that interests your child.
by Fun Littles
South Pole Small World with Ivory Soap
Sensory play combined with a small world setup while learning about the Antarctic habitat.
by Fun Littles
Pantry Zoo
Create a zoo with things from your pantry: a quick and easy way to spend time with your kids in the kitchen.
by Fun Littles
Molded Plaster Sea Horses
Mix plaster of Paris, pour it into a mold, then paint the sea horse. Mixing and pouring was our favorite part.
by Fun Littles
Animal Face Masks
Easy homemade animal masks for extended pretend play. Masks made our learning extra fun.
by Fun Littles
Who Lost His Tail?
A kid-made matching game that puts a twist on a classic: match animal heads to their tails.
by Fun Littles
Observing Patterns in the Wild
Challenge the kids to closely observe and draw animal patterns like tiger, zebra, leopard and giraffe.
by Fun Littles
Manatee Poster with Cotton Balls
A different, 3D poster craft showing manatees, sand dunes and their sea grass diet.
by Fun Littles
Easy Clothespin Animals
My toddler's favorite non-toys are clothespins, so we built a butterfly, dog, giraffe and dragonfly with craft sticks.
by Fun Littles
Play Dough Animal Habitats
The famous play dough makes an appearance as habitats for toy animals on a tray.
by Fun Littles
Homemade Animal Puzzles
A homemade puzzle for the puzzle and animal (especially cheetah) lover in the house.
by Fun Littles
Animal-Pattern Pumpkins
To wrap up, with Halloween around the corner, we painted animal patterns on pumpkins.
by Fun Littles
Tips
- The resist painting is so versatile that you can easily switch the cutouts to anything that interests your child.from the author
- With the plaster sea horses, mixing the plaster and pouring it in the mold was the best part. That part alone is worth it for us.from the author
- Bug crafts with propeller seeds are great for fine motor skills and creativity, and they give us moms new topics to talk about.from the author
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