Zoo Learning Activities for Kids

Summer seems like the perfect time to think about (or visit!) the zoo, but it’s great to add in a zoo-themed unit or a fun zoo day or week any time of year. Here are some fun printables, activities and other ideas for kids to do related to the zoo.

First off, if you are actually planning a zoo visit, I found several zoo scavenger hunt printables you might want to check out:

You could even find pictures of the zoo animals to print out and do a scavenger hunt at home if you’re not heading to the zoo right away. Or check out these other zoo themed activities and printables you can use at home.

Homeschool Preschool has printable writing worksheets with zoo animals like dolphins and monkeys. ABCs of Literacy has lots of great zoo themed activities, including a beginning sounds bingo game, syllable sort and color by letter, to name a few.

You’ll also find lots of great stuff at Parenting Chaos, such as printable zoo STEM challenge cards, two-piece animal puzzles and habitat clip cards (there is a charge for their activities or they have a membership that gets you access to tons of resources).

At Homeschool Share you can find cute count and clip cards with a zoo theme, as well as a roll and cover dice game.

Confidence Meets Parenting has some fun zoo jokes for kids (my favorite: what kind of snake would you find on a car? A windshield viper!) Coffee and Carpool has a super cute set of A to Z animal alphabet pages that’s also a story about how the animals are kind to each other (like elephant makes sure everyone gets invited).

If you have small beads that are shaped like animals (if not you can get them here) you can play this animal counting game for preschoolers from The Educators’ Spin on It.

Remembrance Day (marked as Veterans Day in the United States) is Nov. 11, and it marks the end of hostilities in World War I. Poppies are a traditional symbol of the day because it is said they were the first flower to grow again on the battlefields, which inspired a famous poem. Let’s check out some poppy crafts you can make with your kids as part of a World War I unit or for Remembrance Day.

This pretty poppy craft from Krokotak just requires the printable, some crayons, scissors and glue. The printable includes the center of the flower and kids can draw the outside as well as adding stem.

Glued to My Crafts has a printable for a torn paper poppy, or you could color or paint this one as well.

Use torn or cut pieces of paper to make these poppy suncatchers from Red Ted Art.

Happy Hooligans has a bunch of great poppy crafts but I particularly like the painted rocks and easy paper plate poppy.

Crafty Morning has a cute poppy craft made with fingerprints, which is quick and easy to do with kids of any age.

Older kids and adults can make these folded paper poppies from Chica and Jo, but they do involve hot glue and floral wire, which can be sharp, so it’s not for young kids. An easier paper poppy that only calls for regular craft glue can be found at Sugar Spice and Glitter. This one also has a printable template to make it easier.

These felt poppies from One Little Project also use a glue gun and a sewing needle, but they’re so pretty I couldn’t resist sharing them for older kids. Add a pipe cleaner stem or turn them into pins to wear for remembrance events. Check out their coffee filter poppy craft for a great option for younger kids.

Have you read?

Leave a Reply