20+ Animal Themed Unit Ideas for Kids
“Let’s be squirrels today!” my son says taking a spoonful of cereal.
“No. I want to be an orca.” his sister responds. She’s pouring more milk into her cup.
“What if we be different animals in the ocean.” he negotiates. He eats some cereal while she considers this.
Conversations like this are common in our house. Pretending to be something, especially an animal, became part of their day around when they turned 3.
My twins have been obsessed with different animals over the years – deer, sharks, squirrels, orcas, to name a few – but their interest in animals rarely wanes. And pretending to be animals flits in and out of our days like reading books and running errands.
Whether your kiddos are pretending to be animals, reading all the books they can about animals, or obsessed with the puppy laying under your table right now – children love animals.
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Below are the Animal Themed Units that I have done with my twins along with children’s book lists, story times, and other ideas for animals we have covered less in depth. I hope they give you inspiration, a starting point, or ideas for your own animal unit.
Animal Themed Units & Ideas
I have organized the units below in Alphabetical Order to hopefully make it easier for you to find the animal you’re looking for or an animal closest to the one your child loves.
Bears
Birds
- Birds Unit for Early Elementary School
- Nesting Birds Mini-Unit
- Local Birds Nature Hike
- Tweet Tweet – Bird Story Time for Preschool
- Ultimate Children’s Book List for All Things Up in a Tree
Bugs & Insects
Butterfly
Dogs
Farm Animals
- Farm Field Trip & Unit Ideas
- 10+ Farm Books to Make Your Kids Quack, Cluck and Moo
- Down on the Farm Story Time
- Chick and Egg Story Time with Movement Activity
- Peter Rabbit Story Time
- Click Clack Moo Preschool Story Time
- Cluck Cluck Chickens Storytime
Forest Animals
Ocean Animals
- Preschool Ocean Animals Unit
- 5 Marine Biology Field Trips & Unit Ideas for 3-5 Grade
- 20+ Ocean Unit Activity Ideas for K-2nd
- 30+ Ocean Animal Picture Books
- Pout Pout Fish Story Time and Writing Printable
- Sea Turtle Unit Ideas
Owls
Penguins
Polar Bear
Pond Animals
Sharks
Snails
Spiders
- Very Busy Spider Story Time and Sensory Bin
- Spider Web Hunt with Free Printable
- 15+ Bat & Spider Book and Storytime Ideas
Squirrels
- Fall Nature Walk
- Ultimate Children’s Book List for All Things Up in a Tree
- Acorns & Squirrels Story Time
Vet
Whales
Zoo Animals
- 15+ Awesome Zoo Picture Books for Preschoolers
- Zoo Animal Activities for All Ages
- Teaching 1-1 Correspondence with Goodnight Gorilla
- Zookeeper Training: Project Based Learning Unit
Find 12 More Animal Adventures in My Book!
