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Home / Early Learning / Seek-and-Find Game for a Winter Animals Preschool Theme

Seek-and-Find Game for a Winter Animals Preschool Theme

Shared by Mary Catherine 5 Comments

Welcome back to the first #PLAYfulpreschool theme for 2015! We’re focusing on a winter animals preschool theme this week. In that vein, I came up with some sensory and literacy fun with a seek-and-find game.

Are you following Fun-A-Day’s Winter Animals Pinterest board?

Sensory play and literacy for a winter animals preschool theme

Related: Winter Activities for Preschoolers

Learning objectives
I had a few different goals for this activity:

  • Introduce the concept of arctic animals in a hands-on way
  • Let the kiddos have a time to explore the concept while playing and talking with me
  • Integrate observing and recording like “arctic scientists”
winter animals preschool theme game

Related: Penguin Sensory Bin

I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Materials we used
Kosher salt
Safari Ltd. Arctic animals
Glass gems
Paper and pencils
Real pictures of Arctic animals (they matched the toy animals we used)

Set Up
I placed the salt inside one of our wooden trays to start with. This turned into a pretty popular activity, so I ended up getting more salt! I didn’t have enough deep wooden trays, so the salt got put inside disposable baking pans. I set the gems, along with some white rocks, into a few wooden bowls. Then everything was put out on our science table, along with some pictures and animals.

How we played
I let the kiddos explore the salt and the animals before we got into the game. This was a great way for me to sit with them and chat about the Arctic and what animals live there. I was able to pepper in the real names of the animals, as well as bring up information about the weather and landscape. It’s amazing how much ground can be covered by just playing and talking with kids!

Seek-and-find game for a winter animals preschool theme

Related: Winter Small World Play

After exploring the animals and the salt, I asked the kids if they wanted to a play a game. Of course, the answer was yes. I explained that we were going to be “Arctic scientists” – we were going to look for animals and record the ones we found. I had the kiddos close their eyes, then I buried some of the animals in the salt.

The children started digging into their “snow” when I said they could open their eyes. They identified the animals they found, then I encouraged them to write down their animals’ names. I pointed out that scientists observe and then record their findings. I helped the children say the words slowly and encouraged them to write the letters they heard.

Literacy as part of a winter animals preschool theme

After a few rounds of seek-and-find, the students went back to sensory and pretend play. They used the salt to make it “snow”, initiated their own games of seek-and-find, created stories about expeditions (a word I’d used at the beginning of the day – one of the boys latched onto it and used it throughout his pretend play), etc. One of my girls even used the gems to make different letters – she’d seen me make an ‘M’ the day before and was so excited to show me she could do it, too!

Sensory fun during a winter animals preschool theme

Further exploring a winter animals preschool theme
This activity was just the start of our theme. We’ll be exploring winter animals more over the next couple of weeks. We’ll read books about the Arctic, integrate science and math into our learning, and post more Arctic animal pictures and words up in the classroom. I’m excited to see where this takes us!

What activities would you add to a winter animals preschool theme? If so, I’d love for you to share them in the comments below!

Table of Contents

  • More ideas for a winter animals preschool theme
  • Done-for-You Preschool Resources

More ideas for a winter animals preschool theme

More from my #PLAYfulpreschool buds –

Polar Animal Literacy Activities
Walrus Dive for Letters from Capri + 3
Polar Bear Paw Walk Preschool Alphabet Game by Growing Book by Book

Polar Animal Science and Sensory Activities
How do Animals Stay Warm by Rainy Day Mum
Penguin Sorting Sensory Bin by Powerful Mothering
Arctic World by Learning 2 Walk

Polar Animal Movement Activities
Polar Animals Gross Motor Games by Still Playing School
Move and Learn Alphabet Activity: Penguin Plunge by Mom Inspired Life

Polar Animal Math Games and Activities
Polar Bear Math Game by The Educators’ Spin On It
Counting to 5 with Penguins by Life Over C’s
Polar Animals Mega Blocks Puzzle by Tiny Tots Adventures
Polar Bear Activities and Books for Preschool by The Preschool Toolbox Blog

Winter animals preschool theme game that combines sensory, science, and literacy

Done-for-You Preschool Resources

Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week, all while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life, can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!

Preschool Teacher 101 is excited to share with you some amazing lesson plans, activity packs, and much more! We offer a wide variety of themes that are frequently used in preschool classrooms, as well as some less common (but super interesting) themes. Click on the images below to learn more about some of our winter-themed products!

Cover for this is the way (winter) song pack for preschool and kindergarten.
This Is The Way Winter Song Pack
Winter Lesson Plans
Preschool Snowman Theme Plans
Snowman Lesson Plans

Join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 today for exclusive access to our amazing products. And we even have three different membership options to suit your needs!

Filed Under: Early Learning Tagged With: #playfulpreschool, #TeachECE, Winter

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Comments

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  1. Natasha says

    January 7, 2015 at 9:21 am

    Oh, my goodness! This looks fun. I didn’t think about using salt for a sensory bin.

    Reply
  2. Theresa says

    January 7, 2015 at 9:27 am

    That looks like so much fun. I love that you had them be ‘arctic scientists.’ Your classroom integration of the theme is fantastic!

    Reply
  3. Danielle says

    January 7, 2015 at 10:14 am

    I love the way you integrated science, sensory and literacy in this activity. The game would be a hit with my son!

    Reply
  4. Amanda says

    January 7, 2015 at 2:01 pm

    What a cute animal collection – what brand are they?

    Reply
  5. Devany says

    January 9, 2015 at 7:40 am

    What wintry fun! I love the way you always think to add creative learning and your kids LOVE it!

    Reply
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My name is Mary Catherine, and I love to share meaningful {and fun} learning activities for kiddos! Feel free to browse and stay awhile!

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