20 Nocturnal Animal-Themed Crafts and Activities for Preschoolers
When preschoolers first hear about nocturnal animals and their nighttime habits, their typical responses range from “Why do they do that?!” to “I want to stay awake all night, too!” With students’ curiosity piqued, they are primed for learning. Capitalize on this high-interest subject with these highly engaging nocturnal animal lessons for preschoolers. Below are more than 20 activities and crafts that are as educational as they are fun.
Arts & Crafts
Children love music, and teachers love that songs are the perfect vehicle for sharing information. This We Like the Night JunyTony video is a great introduction to nocturnal animals. The cartoon characters explain what nocturnal means in a way young children can easily understand. The catchy tune shares examples of different kinds of nocturnal animals. Kids will be singing along in no time!
This Nocturnal Animals song works best when accompanied with pictures or cut-outs of the animals in the song. When each animal is mentioned, children hold up the correct picture of it. Other, more physical options for student participation during the song include standing or jumping with the pictures; sticking the pictures to the whiteboard; and running to the correct designated animal spot in the classroom.
Bring the magic of nighttime to your daytime classroom with this Raccoon Puppet activity from Preschool With a Purpose. Download this free activity!
Even though bats are one of the more common nocturnal animals, children rarely know much about them. Because of bats’ typical association with Halloween, students usually think of them only as “scary birds!” Teach children otherwise by discussing how useful bats are to people and our planet, as they eat annoying bugs like mosquitoes and pollinate important plants. Follow up the discussion with one of these creative bat crafts: coffee filter bats, paper bag bats, or bottle cap bats.
Save some love and craft time for other nocturnal animals like the paper plate fox, handprint owl, and firefly jar. Teacher tip: swap out the glass jar for plastic for a safer option with little hands!
Reading & Literacy
Let familiar literary faces explain the concept of nocturnal animals. Dr. Seuss’s Out of Sight Till Tonight! All About Nocturnal Animals uses the Cat in the Hat to take readers on a rhyme-filled nighttime adventure about foxes, cats, and other nocturnal animals. While flying through the starry sky, children learn new information and vocabulary words like nocturnal and diurnal.
Emmy Kastner’s book, While You’re Asleep, tells the tale of mischief some nocturnal animals get into at night. A simultaneously funny and informative read, preschoolers quickly learn that not everyone sleeps when they do!
These free word mats and printables of nocturnal animals are great for reinforcing vocabulary, letter sounds, and proper letter identification, as well as the various nighttime creatures.
Games
There are many benefits of play-based learning. While it may look like children are just having fun, they are also learning. Dramatic play is one example of such learning fun. To reinforce what nocturnal animals do at night, children play the part of these nighttime creatures, acting out the different ways they hunt, help the earth, and stay safe from predators. Another option is providing plastic or stuffed versions of the animals to promote free play. Take playtime to the next level by using a dark blanket or cloth as the backdrop for the night sky.
Games are also great examples of play-based learning. Preschoolers love a good matching game! Use picture cards to match each nocturnal animal to its shadow or get a little more creative and make flashlight silhouettes and let the children guess who the shadows belong to. The latter lends itself nicely to a science lesson, too.
Math & Science
Doubling as a math and language lesson, the Five Little Owls rhyme helps develop a child’s literacy and language skills while practicing backwards counting. Children begin with five owls flying high until there are none in the sky!
There are two other variations of the song, which allow teachers to choose the right one for their class. One of the variations is used in this owl shapes video, providing great visual and audio of practice with shapes as well as backwards counting.
As far as explaining why we have day and night, Neel Nation does a fantastic job of it. Around the 2:40 mark in the video begins a simplified scientific description of the earth’s rotation, perfect for little scientists.
Ever curious, children will ask where all the nocturnal animals sleep. Teach them about the different habitats, and then make one complete with wiggle eyes and silver glitter paint.
Challenge preschoolers using a Guess Who auditory matching game with this nocturnal animal sounds video. To set the scene, turn down the lights and have the children close their eyes so they can really focus on the sounds.
Learning about nocturnal animals is such fun for preschoolers. What better way to cap off the fun than with a field trip to the zoo to see some of the animals they’ve been learning about!
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About the Author:
Stephanie Jankowski is an educator and author who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When she's not teaching or writing, she's spending time with her children, Brady, Ella, and Lyla, and marveling at just how short the years really are.