Free Printable Forest Animal Pattern Block Template for Kids

Forest Animal Activities for Preschoolers

Doing forest activities with your preschoolers is a great way to teach them about the necessity of trees and plant life. This is the perfect activity to incorporate into a forest animal preschool theme.

• Teach about animals that might seem scary (opossums, anyone?), but are necessary for controlling pests.
• Learn about animals living in the environment that you might not see because they only come out at night.
• Discuss animal camouflage.
• Discuss the natural habitats of forest animals and expand your preschooler’s thinking beyond their natural living space.

Preschool Forest Animal Theme Activities

I have a special needs child, who loves learning about animals, so I created this set of free printable forest animal pattern block templates for her. But there are other reasons to learn about forest animals!

Build Empathy

Creates an understanding of why it is so important for us to take care of the world around us and protect the animals.

Learn About Habitats

Taking a trip for a short ‘hike’ with your preschoolers if possible. It is a great way to learn about forest habitats and if you are lucky, you may even get to see deer! Visiting a local animal center is a great way to introduce children as well.

Develop a Child’s Curiosity

Incorporating forest animal activities and books in your lesson plans is a great way to include science and research. Children can make a list of questions about the animals and habitats that you can help them research.

Work on Gross Motor Skills

Even a short hike around the block will work children’s gross motor skills and add some physical activity to their day.

Fine Motor Activities for Preschool

Building fine motor skills by working the small muscles in the hands is super important for young children.

I love using activities like these forest animal pattern block mats for our forest theme because kids can work on their fine motor skills and several other skills at the same time.

How To Use The Forest Animal Picture Mats

MATH & FINE MOTOR SKILLS

WORKING WITH PATTERN BLOCKS SUPPORTS FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND FOUNDATIONAL MATH SKILLS

Simply print the animal pictures and gather your pattern blocks. Laminate the sheets or use a dry-erase pocket so that you can reuse as often as necessary!

Children will use the correct blocks to make the picture on the mat. Once it is complete, they will cross off the blocks they used.

They will then complete the “which picture is different?” task.

Materials Needed For the Forest Animal Pattern Block Templates

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What Skills Will You Cover?

Visual Discrimination Skills

Identifying the different picture out of the three, marking the shapes used, and matching images to the pattern block pieces are ways to use visual discrimination with this activity.

Development of Fine Motor Skills

Picking up the small pattern block pieces and placing them onto the correct place on the mat works those little fingers! You also get some pre-writing practice in crossing off and circling pictures.

Visual Scanning Strength

Children will need to scan the images to find the matching pattern block pieces, scan a series of three pictures to see which doesn’t belong, and look carefully for the shape images at the bottom of the page and the forest animal image to find matching shapes.

Make Differentiation Easy

Even if you are not working with kids who have special needs, these pattern block picture mats are a great way to continue to build on these essential skills that kids will need throughout their life!

Strengthening visual scanning can be help children stay focused on an activity. This can be a reason why some children struggle with things like one-to-one correspondence when counting because their eyes need to stay focused on the items.

These pattern block shape mats allow children to work on so many skills through play!

I hope you will enjoy them too!

Pair the pattern block animal mats with these great books about forest animals for preschoolers!

Extend the Activity:

Learn About Shapes

Pattern blocks in math are used often to teach children about shapes and how those shapes fit together.

Practice Symmetry

Build designs with your child and challenge them to keep the design symmetrical. Use a mirror as a teaching tool.

Play Counting Games

Pattern blocks are the perfect manipulative to use to work on foundational math skills with preschool and kindergarten children. They are fun, colorful, and easy to use!

Build Connections Through a Forest Animal Theme

Make this fun Brown Bear paper plate craft with your kids while you read Eric Carle’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear book.

More Pattern Block Activities You’ll Love:

• Pattern Block Templates and Activities
• Uppercase Alphabet Pattern Blocks Mats
• Lowercase Alphabet Pattern Blocks Mats

Want More Pattern Block Activities?

Want More Forest Animal Ideas?

• Forest Animal Mini Eraser Counting Activities
• Forest Animal Unit Study
• Biome Sorting Mats for Forest Animals
• Forest Animal Graphing
• Forest Animal Matching Activities