Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Zoo theme for toddlers: a week of activities

A zoo theme lesson plan for toddlers: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (two or three minutes, on laps), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for toddlersThe whole zoo week

A day of the zoo theme with toddlers

  1. Arrival and free play on the floor.
  2. Sing “Pop Goes the Weasel” with actions; repeat it while you change and feed.
  3. Hold and pass something real for the week (zoo), and say its name.
  4. Snack: a toddler-safe version of frozen banana pops (check the recipe's lines for under-4s).
  5. Outside: a short walk looking for lion.
  6. Read I See a Boy on laps, pointing and naming.
  7. Nap, then the song once more at pick-up.

Zoo circle time

  1. Hello song: sing hello to each child by name.
  2. Look out of the window together: sun, rain or clouds?
  3. Show the theme: hold up something real and name it.
  4. Sing: Pop Goes the Weasel.
  5. Read: I See a Boy (level 3).

Infants and toddlers: two or three minutes, on laps.

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.

Infants and toddlers: one book, read every day; point and name.

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.

Infants and toddlers: let them touch and hold the materials while you make it; nothing small enough to swallow.

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).

Infants and toddlers: skip the trace page; show the picture page and say the word.

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 2 year oldsZoo theme for 3 and 4 year oldsZoo theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30