Exploring the rainforest is an exciting mystery, wondering which exotic animal or plant might be lurking around the corner or hiding in a towering tree. Your jungle preschool activities should be just as alluring, building so much curiosity that your preschoolers can’t help but explore your literacy centers.
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Rainforest Lesson Plans
Crocodile Snap Alphabet Game
Jungle Preschool Activities
We all know how fun it is to sing “Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree.” Now you can snap up that same fun with some Crocodile Snap!
Your little ones will sing along to the catchy crocodile song and then flip over an uppercase or lowercase letter card. Then, they will feed the magnetic letter on the alphabet mat to the crocodile, but watch out for those teeth!
Easily differentiate this literacy activity with a sight word game or alphabet game of Crocodile Snap!
How to Play Crocodile Snap Game:
- Flip over cards with letters or sight words and name them.
- If you get a Snap! card, get ready to shuffle all your cards back into the middle pile.
- Whoever has the most cards when time runs out wins!
Materials:
- Crocodile Snap Alphabet Game
- cookie sheet (Dollar Tree)
- magnetic letters
- dishwasher pod container
Rainforest A-Z
Jungle Animal Initial Sound Activity
Would you rather… go on the touristy hike or one only the locals know about in Hawaii?
If you even allude to an adventure, I’m down, so I confidently chose the latter.
And since it was rainy season in Hawaii, the trail was almost entirely washed out, a slick sliver of a trail with towering trees on one side and a teetering drop on the other.
Shoes didn’t work. We slipped on the mud inside our shoes as well as the mud on the bottom of our shoes, so we continued shakily sliding along the rainforest trail barefoot.
I bet you’re wondering why we didn’t turn around. Oh, the tantalizing allure of a waterfall at the end kept us going, and even when we knew sunset was fast approaching, we had to accomplish this feat.
When creating this rainforest activity with the green linking chains vines hanging down, my only thought was of the vine that saved me from sliding off the cliff’s edge that day.
But you don’t have to worry about any dangerous cliffs with this jungle literacy activity. Just name the rainforest animal or object and match it to the beginning letter on the trees.
And don’t forget the vines! They are a great way to incorporate fine motor skills into your jungle literacy centers and an important part of the rainforest (as I know personally).
Materials:
Rainforest Opposites
Jungle Literacy Game
What’s the opposite of a boring literacy activity? One that your kids will not stop playing!
And that means so much practice with opposite words!
Spin the spinner (one with rainforest words and two with everyday opposites) and place a colored counter on the matching opposite word on the game board. Taking turns with a partner, continue spinning and placing gems, trying to get three in a row.
But if someone spins the same word you are already on, you get bumped!
Not only does this make for an exciting opposite game, but it ensures there are no cat games. Brilliant!
Materials:
- Rainforest Opposites Game
- magnetic spinners
- cookie sheets (Dollar Tree)
- 2 sets of colored gems or counters
Sloth Syllables Activity
Jungle Preschool Activities
I am an Enneagram 1 with a nine wing. That means I am a perfectionist with peacemaker characteristics. This also means my deadly sin is part sloth, dragging my procrastination habits along. At. Every. Step.
So me and sloths, we’re kindred spirits. It would be flat-out wrong not to include sloths in my rainforest activities.
I landed on Sloth Syllables to feature my confidante in our rainforest theme.
The adorable sloths have their mouths wide open, just waiting for your preschoolers to feed them leaves.
Which leaves will they feed each sloth? It all depends – how many syllables are in each word!?
Each leaf’s fun, vibrant images will ixnay any type of procrastination as they excitedly count syllables and feed each sloth.
Materials:
Snake letters
Alphabet Construction Activity
Picture this: Walking along a nature trail at a toddler’s pace, noticing every butterfly and deer, every crunch of the leaves under our feet, and even a little garter snake slithering into the reeds.
Now, picture this: Your students are on task, using their fine motor skills, and practicing letter formation. Sometimes, we just need to slow down to notice the details.
Sounds like a dream, right? This dream can become your reality when you invite your toddlers to create Snake Letters!
Printable snake letter formation cards guide toddlers in making playdough letter snakes, helping them slow down and notice every shape and curve.
Don’t forget the googly eyes!
Materials:
- Snake Letter Cards
- green playdough
- googly eyes
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MORE Rainforest Activities for Preschoolers
What are you waiting for?! Adventure and learning await around every tree in these jungle preschool activities. Excite your little learners with these rainforest literacy centers today!
