Who doesn’t love learning about animals in the wild? Kids of all ages (and adults, too!) have endless curiosity about the motley of creatures that sprint, slither, and stomp through the animal kingdom.

Here are 7 playful, hands-on activities to help your kids learn more about the cool wildlife on our planet!

1) Be Our Guest

Make an animal hotel out of materials around your house! Give your child the name of imaginary hotel for a specific animal. Some possibilities include:

• The Monkey Motel
• The Racoon Resort
• The Hippo Hotel
• The Iguana Inn
• The Bumblebee Bed & Breakfast

Help your child research their animal and consider:

• What kind of beds would they need at their hotel?
• What food would they serve?
• How can they make their guests comfortable?

Then, go on a scavenger hunt around your house for art materials! Create the hotel structure using a shoebox, cardboard boxes, or even fallen twigs from your backyard. Encourage your child to get creative with their ideas and materials.

As you create together, ask your child what they think might happen at their hotel. Who runs the hotel? Can they name their guests? See what imaginative stories emerge!

2) Get Crafty

Toilet paper rolls, paper plates, egg cartons, and paper bags are budget-friendly materials to create artistic, kid-friendly versions of different animals.

Here are some ideas for materials (and a few free printables) to get your kids in the creative spirit!

• Grab a brown paper bag to make our Bunny Headbands.
• Use a small clay pot to build our Pop-Up Groundhog.
• Find some gray construction paper to make our Whale Paper Mitt Puppet.
• Repurpose an egg carton to craft a caterpillar’s body or a turtle’s shell.
• Pick up a paper plate to make a paper plate snail or lion.

As you craft together, share fun facts about the animal with your child. (For example, did you know that elephants can’t jump?)

Looking for ready-made art shapes to create animal-themed crafts?
Check out Evan-Moor’s Animals: Amazing Earth Adventures and Activities, Ages 6–7.

3) Shape a Story

Get your kids excited to write about animals with charming shape activities!

4) Share a Story

For children, animals are the perfect main characters to kickstart their own creative tale.

Invite your child to tell or write you a story about:

• A polar bear that gets lost
• An orca who swims to Mexico
• A penguin that makes a friend

Encourage them to use as many real-world details as they can in their story.

5) Off to the Races

Assign your child an animal. They must now run and walk exactly like this animal! If your child is unfamiliar with the animal, look up videos online so they can mimic the animal’s gait.

Then, choose your own animal form and challenge your child to a race! Some fun race pairs include:

• Tortoise vs. Hare
• Elephant vs. Cheetah
• Duck vs. Monkey
• Rabbit vs. Dolphin
• Polar Bear vs. Frog

6) What’s Longest?

Give your kids a list of animals and ask them to rank which animals they think are the longest.

Next, grab a measuring tape, head to a large field, and measure out the length of these long-limbed animals for a fun outdoor activity.

• Komodo dragon (world’s longest lizard): 10 feet (3 meters) long
• Reticulated python (world’s longest snake): 33 feet (10 meters) long (the longest ever recorded)
• Whale shark (world’s longest fish): 59 feet (18 meters) long
• Blue whale (world’s longest whale): 98 feet (30 meters) long

7) Wildlife Wander

Go for a ‘wildlife wander’ on a nearby nature trail. Challenge your child to find as many examples of wildlife as possible.

Encourage your child to listen for birds, spot an insect, or narrow in on a squirrel. Keep a journal to track which animals make multiple appearances on your wildlife wanders.

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Explore our other animal-themed blog posts!

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