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Zoo theme for 3 and 4 year olds: a week of activities

A zoo theme lesson plan for 3 and 4 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (ten to fifteen minutes, with a child holding the book), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for 3 and 4 year oldsThe whole zoo week

A day of the zoo theme with 3 and 4 year olds

  1. Arrival, sign-in, and a job from the helper chart.
  2. Circle (ten to fifteen minutes): calendar, “Which zoo animal would you like to see, and how does it move?”, sing “pop goes the weasel”, then I See a Boy.
  3. Centers, with the craft at one table: zebra stripes.
  4. Letter Z: trace it once, then hunt for Z around the room.
  5. Snack: Frozen Banana Pops, with children pouring and counting.
  6. Outside: zoo parade.
  7. Rest, then a longer read-aloud: At the Zoo.

Zoo circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “Which zoo animal would you like to see, and how does it move?”
  4. Sing: Pop Goes the Weasel.
  5. Read: I See a Boy (level 3).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Zoo theme books

  • I See a Boy (level 3, free on peabody.kids): Seeing animals one by one, for the twos.
  • The Red Bus (level 1, free on peabody.kids): A bus full of animals going somewhere.
  • At the Zoo (read aloud, level 4): A read-aloud pattern book: monkeys and more at the zoo.
  • Lion and Mouse (read aloud, level 4): A read-aloud: the big lion and the small mouse who helps him.

Zoo craft: Zebra stripes

You need (4): white paper zebra shape (grown-up cuts), black crayon or paint, a paper strip mane, glue stick.

  1. Draw stripes across the zebra.
  2. Glue on the mane.
  3. Count the stripes together.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Zoo song: Pop Goes the Weasel

The words

All around the cobbler's bench The monkey chased the weasel; The monkey thought 'twas all in fun. Pop! goes the weasel.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Zoo snack

Frozen Banana Pops from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Swap: Yogurt → oat yogurt.

Letter Z activities

ZzZ is for zoo. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace Z and z once, then find Z in the room and in the book.

Outside activity: Zoo parade

Call an animal; everyone moves like it: an elephant stomps, a monkey swings its arms, a snake slithers.

Zoo theme for toddlersZoo theme for 2 year oldsZoo theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30