You can use these forest animal word cards for so many literacy and sensory activities! Once you’ve grabbed a set for yourself, pop over and check out the rest of our free preschool printables.
We used the forest animal cards with play dough, but you can pair them with a variety of materials. I’ll share some ideas below in case you need more inspiration.
You can get your own copy of the printable forest animals at the bottom of this post.
Table of Contents
Forest Animal Word Cards
Almost every child I know loves play dough! In addition to being great for strengthening hand muscles, it’s just fun to play with. It was the perfect “base” for a simple forest animal small world activity.
Related: Dinosaur Play Dough Mats
Again, you don’t have to use the forest animal cards the same way we did. It’s just an idea to get you started.
How to Prep the Printable Word Cards
Start off by gathering the supplies you need. We used:
- Printer
- Scissors
- Laminator
- Laminating pouches
- Green play dough
- Tiny pinecones
If you’re doing something a little different than we did, you might want to grab additional materials:
- Magnetic letters
- Your favorite sensory materials
- Dry erase markers
After you have the supplies you’d like, it’s time to prep the cards. They’re super easy to get ready! You just need to print the forest animals, cut them apart, and laminate the animals.
Related: Unicorn Play Dough
Then it’s time to let the kids get their hands on the word cards!
How to Use the Forest Animal Pictures
We set up a super simple small world play with the forest animals. Here are my suggestions if you plan to do the same:
- For this open-ended activity, let the kids lead the way!
- Place all of the items out on a tray or a table, then see what they do.
- I think this is perfect after reading a forest animal book, or after learning a bit about animals that live in your local forests.
Related: Winter Small World Play
Your students will interact with the materials in a variety of ways. Some children will use the forest animal word cards to tell silly stories. Others will use the play dough to create a forest floor for the animals to play on. We used the mini pine cones as the trees in the forest, so you might see that too.
If you’d like to try something different, here are some ideas:
- Pair the word cards with magnetic letters. Have the kids use the letters to make each of the animal words.
- Create a forest-themed sensory bin. Add the animal cards to the bin.
- Add dry erase boards near the small world play. The kids can practice writing letters and words, using the animal cards as cues.
- Have children match up small animal toys to the appropriate printable animal.
How would your students use the forest animal word cards? Don’t forget to get your set at the bottom of the post.
More Forest Animal Activities for Preschoolers
Even more forest animal ideas to try with the kids:
- Forest Animals Preschool Circle Time Song
- Learn About Forest Animals’ Environment
- Forest Animal Treasure Hunt
- Roll a Story: Forest Animals
- Forest Animals Beginning Sounds Activity
- Printable Forest Animal Matching Activity
- Forest Animals Sensory Bin
- Moveable Forest Animals Scene
- Forest Animal Books for Kids
Preschool Forest Lesson Plans
Let Preschool Teacher 101 save you a ton of time with done-for-you, fully-developed preschool resources. That way you can focus on teaching your students at work . . . and NOT working during your personal time!
Our forest theme lesson plans have weekly plans, detailed daily plans, whole group lessons, small group activities, center ideas, book suggestions, and coordinating printables. Click the image below to get your own:
Here are a few more resources your preschoolers will enjoy:
Free Printable Forest Animal Cards
This free printable is available to members of Fun-A-Day’s free email community. If you’re a member, fill out the form below and the download links will be sent to your inbox. If you’re not a member, you can join us by entering your information in the form. Then you’ll receive the forest animals printable as a welcome gift!
You can also access the form in a new tab if that’s easier for you.
Pine cones, forest animals, and playdough – sounds like the perfect afterschool combination for play and learning.
It’s super simple, but we’ve had fun with it!
We will be using your animals as game pieces. They are super cute.
Thanks, Natasha! Let me know what the kids think. 🙂
I love the whimsical forest animal printables! So cute. Our kids would love to make a small world with those as their inspiration. Thank you!
Thanks, Theresa! We’re big fans of small world play around here. 🙂
I love the idea of using play dough to help the animals stand up to play.
The kids were entertained with that, too! They ended up using play dough to secure all kinds of manipulatives too.
Such an easy and fun work! I love how you laminated the animals. That will really make them last!
Yes, laminating means we can clean the play dough off the animals and reuse them!