Woodland Animals Theme for Preschool

This Woodland Animals Preschool Theme is all about animals that live...well...in the woods!  

There are many preschool animal themes for forest animals, rain forest, the zoo and pets.  

Here is one for those Woodland Creatures!

You'll find more themes to help you with your planning on my preschool themes page.

Let the Theme planning begin!

Woodland Animals Theme Art

Getting Ready!  Let's Make a Tent!

Materials Needed: a large, white, flat sheet; fabric paint OR spray bottles with colored water in them!; clothesline type rope and a way to hang it up!

In small groups, have the children decorate this sheet with fabric paint.  You can also take it outside and let them spray it with colored water (just put a little paint or food coloring into some water bottles with water).

When dry, hang this either over your Circle Area or in your Dramatic Play area!

3D Night Scenes

Materials needed:  black construction paper, thin twigs, googly eyes, glitter glue

The children paint their paper with glitter glue.

The then glue pairs of wiggly eyes all over their paper.

The then glue twigs on their papers.

It makes a night scene where all you can see are eyes looking through the trees!

Owl Art

This looks fun from Art and Soul Preschool Blogspot

Materials:  egg cartons, egg carton covers (as shown in picture) or, we have used just sturdy tag board for the body; feathers, glue, paint

The children glue the owl face onto the tag board.

They then glue on feathers.

The children then paint the owl and face.

Beaver Hand Prints

Materials:  brown finger paint, black markers, googly eyes, glue, finger paint paper.

Have the children make a brown hand print onto paper.

When dry, They draw lines on their thumb print.  This is the tail.

They add eyes and draw feet and hands on the rest of their hand for the beaver.

There is a picture of this that I found on Pinterest on my Pinterest board.

Fox Faces

In advance, make several triangle stencils.  A large one for a fox face.  And small ones for fox ears.

Materials children need:  stencils, markers, scissors, paper, glue, wiggly eyes (optional)

The children trace one large triangle on paper and cut out.  They use the scraps to trace out 2 small triangles.

The children glue the ears on the head to make a fox.

Encourage the children to draw other facial items on their fox such as eyes, nose, mouth, whiskers.

Provide non-fiction books/pictures of fox for them to see.

Optional:  Provide wiggly eyes.  Preschoolers just LOVE them and would use them everyday!

VARIATION:  I've seen some these made where the children glue ripped paper or tissue paper onto the faces for a cute effect!

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Woodland Animals Theme Block Center Ideas

Add animal beanie babies, stuffed animals, small plastic animals or animal puppets to the block area for the children to create habitats for these woodland animals!

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Woodland Animals Theme Circle Time

Circle Time is such a great time for children to learn the social skills of being together as a large group AND to learn more about your theme!

Real or Pretend?

Make two signs:  One that says REAL and one that says PRETEND

Find pictures or use stuffed animals or puppets.

Give each child a picture or stuffed animal.

Place the cards REAL and PRETEND in the middle of circle, perhaps near 2 bins or laundry baskets.

Take turns talking about each one.  After discussing each one, ask, "Is this REAL or PRETEND?" and have child place in appropriate basket.

Suggestions: 

•  Real--any woodland animal.
•  Pretend--Big Bad Wolf; Troll (from 3 Billy Goats Gruff); Beast (from Beauty and the Beast); unicorn

Bunny Hop Game

You will need:  a laminated bunny face, laminated bunny whiskers, flannel board

In advance, cut out a picture of a bunny's face.

Cut out some rectangular papers and print action words (add pictures if you have them!) for the children to act out.

Laminate them all.  Place Velcro on the backs of all the pieces.

Hang bunny face on a flannel board.  Place whiskers in a basket.

Teach the children this song (sung to Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)

This is the way the bunny hops, 

The bunny hops, the bunny hops.

This is the way the bunny hops early in the morning.

Now sing it again and instruct the children to hop the way a bunny would hop.  

Now, freeze!

Have one child come to the basket and choose a whisker.  They "read" it (by looking at the picture of what a child is doing), and place it on the flannel board near the bunny's face.

Now sing the song again replacing the word hops with the action word on the whisker!

Suggested action words:  Jump, tip toe, spin, fly, crawl

Woodland Animals Theme Cooking Ideas

Cooking with children helps develop their math skills and helps them to learn how to follow directions. It also allows for some great conversation! Ask many questions while cooking with your children to encourage conversation! Be sure to ask specific themed questions while making these fun snacks!

Deer Toast Snack

This is a very cute snack idea that I found on Pinterest!  It is from creativekidsnacks.com

Needed:  bread, small pretzel knots, plastic knives, paper plates

1.  Toast the bread.

2.  Have children cut the bread in half.

3.  Have the children cut one half into 5, thin rectangles (as best they can!).  

4.  Place the other half on the paper plate.

5.  Use 4 of the rectangles for legs.

6.  Break the other rectangle into pieces.  Use a small piece for the head and another for the tail.

7.  Use the pretzel knots as antlers 

Yummy Groundhog

Needed:  bananas (1/2 banana for each child), frosting, raisins, chow mein noodles, plastic spoon, fruit snacks 

The children place some frosting on their spoon.

They place the banana half, cut side on the plate.

Dip raisins in the frosting and stick on for eyes.

Dip gummy snacks in frosting and place on sides for ears.

Dip another gummy in frosting and stick on front as nose.

Stick chow mien noodles (3 on each side) in banana near nose for whiskers.

VARIATION:  To make this into a beaver, in addition to the above, provide mini marshmallows (2), dip in frosting and stick on under nose as teeth!

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Woodland Animals Theme Ideas to Transform Your Dramatic Play Area

Wildlife Refuge Center

Pull it all together here!  Hang your tent that you made at the art center here.  

Add sleeping bags; a canteen set; stuffed animals to go with the theme; don't forget some plastic bugs and snakes!; binoculars

Another great edition to this would be a Viewmaster with animal slides. 

Other slides for the viewmaster can be found...we had a ton in the classroom all year for the children to enjoy!

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Woodland Animals Theme Ideas for your Easel--

More Than Just Painting (Although that is always THE favorite in our classroom!)

Negative Space Animal Art

In advance, cut out animal shapes.

Tape them onto paper on the easel.

The children paint at the easel, painting over the animal.

When dry, remove the animal shape to reveal the negative print!

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Woodland Animals Theme Large Group Games to help 
build their muscles while they have fun together

Animal Scavenger Hunt

Create a clipboard or papers with pictures of each animal and creature.  Laminate the papers and provide dry erase markers for them to "check off" the animals as they find them!

Suggestions:  Use stuffed animals or plastic animals sorters of:  racoons, owls, squirrels, fox, bears, beavers, deer, snakes, spiders, etc.

What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?

Choose one child to be Mr. or Ms. Wolf.  This child stands on one side of the room while the others stand on the opposite end of the room.

The children all ask in unison:  What Time Is It, Mr/Ms Wolf?

The "wolf" states a time such as "It is four o'clock." 

The children count out loud that many of steps as they take them toward the wolf.

Whenever the wolf wants to, he or she can answer the question with "It's LUNCH TIME!" and the wolf chases and tags someone else to be the wolf.

(Also, see the Wolves VS Dogs Circle Time activity!).

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Woodland Animals Theme Ideas for Your Library

Book Suggestions for the Library

(I LOVE Amazon, and some of the links below will take you to the Amazon website.  If you do choose to purchase yours through Amazon, they do send me a few cents--which supports my coffee habit! )

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give...) by Laura Numeroff

The Mitten by Jan Brett

While You Were Sleeping by John Butler

The Wildlife ABC: A Nature Alphabet Book by Jan Thornhill

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Woodland Animals Theme Activities to help your Preschoolers Develop Their Math Skills and the Small Muscles in Their Hands!

Match the Mom and Baby Animals (Thanks, Deresa, for this idea!)

Find pictures of mother and baby woodland animals. Children can match baby animals to mother animals and/or match them to their homes. Another idea is to count/guess how many babies each mother has.

Woodland Animals Theme Music and Movement Activities and Ideas to get your Preschoolers Movin' and Groovin'!

Animal Action song by Greg and Steve

I LOVE this CD!  There are two Animal Action tracks on it that include all kinds of animals for the children to act out and sing along with!  This is also a favorite transition CD! Learn more about the songs on it here!

Going on a Bear Hunt!

Play any version of this song and go on a bear hunt during this woodland animals theme!  My favorite is Dr. Jean's version because you go through a jello river!!  

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Woodland Animals Theme Activities for Your Sand and Water Table!

River Habitat

Add rocks, leaves, sticks, twigs, toy frogs and animals to your water table today.  Talk about the woodland animals that live in or need the river.

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Woodland Animals Theme Science Activities--for your Preschool Scientists in Training!

Nesting Time

In your science center, place real birds nests (you can find them abandoned in the winter).  Provide feathers, pine cones and leaves for the children to explore with magnifying glasses.

EXTENSION:  Provide empty wreaths and let the children use twigs, feathers and leaves to make a nest with the wreaths.

Here's a song about birds and nests.  

It is sung to the tune of Farmer in the Dell

The birds are building nests,

The birds are building nests.

With twigs and grass and mud and string

They use everything!

And when the nests are done,

And when the nests are done,

The mother lays eggs then sits on them to keep them warm

And safe from any harm.

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Writing Activity Ideas for Your Woodland Animals Theme!

Moose (or Elk) Antlers

Develop your children's writing skills by having them practice tracing!

On a large (11 X 18) piece of brown construction paper, fold the bottom (of a long side) up about 3 inches.

Now flip it over so the fold is not facing up.

Have the children trace their hands on the paper.

Have them, or help them, cut out along the fold and around the hands.  

Tape in place for a head band.

EXTENSION:  Make some muffins for snack and read If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff during snack!

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Other pages you might like:

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