If your children love wildlife and they’re asking lots of questions about them, especially questions about where they live, then this activity is perfect to build on their knowledge of animals and animal habitats.
You might like to start with a basic animal classification activity like this one and move onto this Animal Habitat Activity later. It’s always a good idea to ease into learning about more complex natural systems by understanding the animals themselves, first.
If your children are already quite knowledgeable about wildlife already, jump right into this one. Your kids will learn:
- That may wildlife live in specific habitats
- Some wildlife live in more than one habitat
- Many animals live together in habitats
Plus they’ll build scissor and fine motor skills too.
Introduce Animal Habitats
Firstly, it’s important you explain the different types of places that animals live and then ask them to give you examples of animals that may live in each:
Arboreal – live in trees
Terrestrial – live on the land
Aquatic – live in the water
Animal Habitat Activity
- Cut out some pictures of wildlife. All different types. We used magazines and old picture books
- Ask your children to draw the following on a page: tree, land, and water.
- If your children are old enough, ask them to label the sections terrestrial, aquatic and arboreal.
- Next, ask your children to glue the animals onto the habitat where they belong.
- While they are doing this you can walk around and ask them probing questions. The best animals to ask about are the animals that may live in two different habitats. It really gets the children thinking critically about the task.
Once you’ve finished, they can display their finished in the classroom or on your wall at home.
Follow up activities:
I’d suggest asking your children to write in a journal and reflect on this activity.
- Which animals did they struggle with and why?
- What were some of the animal adaptations that were similar in each habitat (legs, feathers, scales)?
- What’s something new you learnt about an animal?
I love this Penny! The sorting is great by itself but the fact that it is also a flip book is awesome!
Wow, how clever!
This is a really neat idea. Definitely borrowing this one
Wow, what a super idea. I’ll definitely be ‘magpie-ing’ this one! Thanks for sharing
Fabulous! My boys love learning “big” scientific words and this activity is so them! Thank you. Pinning xo P
So much to love about this – recycling, learning and fun with a clever flip book too. We have recycled animal pictures from calendars to sort animals into habitats.
I have shared this on facebook and pinned it. Love it! Thanks for the idea 🙂
I love this idea! And I think my youngest would really be ready for this; though I wouldnt have thought to do it myself. Thanks so much for sharing!
Looks like a great activity, I sometimes buy books from the op shop for the express purpose of cutting up and using in craft projects but end up keeping them to read instead! I hate seeing books get destroyed by little ones but great work saving this one from the bin 🙂
My best friend busy lovely wildlife books from the op shops and makes envelopes out of them. They are just so beautiful! Re purposing rocks!
You are so clever with the ideas you come up with Penny. I’m sure I’ve said that to you many times because I always think it. Great work and I love that this is way to recycle too. 🙂
Good idea reusing the book! I’ve lost a couple to our toddler recently too 🙁
I have a lot of spare animal collector cards left that would be great for this activity. Thanks for the idea!
That is such a fantastic idea! Definitely one to try one day 😀 xx