This adorable I Spy activity for kids teaches counting and animal names. This is a great printable to pair with a nature walk, hike, or camping vacation!

How to assemble the Forest Animal I Spy, preschool counting activity:

Materials:

• Forest Animal I Spy Printable (at bottom of page)
• card stock
• scissors

Steps:

After printing the I spy activity, cut out the animal cards.

Related Read: Kids Love This Raccoon Game That Teaches Letters and Numbers

Then, shuffle the cards and place them in a pile face down next to the I Spy board. Draw 1 card at a time. To add in literacy practice, have your child touch the word on the card after it’s drawn. While touching the word, say the name of the animal aloud. If your child knows letters and seems interested, they can also identify the letters in the animal names.

Although your child is probably not yet reading, this step helps expose her to the concept of words. It will also help them to understand that words are composed of individual letters. The more your child is exposed to written words, the more quickly they will realize that written words represent real-life people, places, and things.

Unless your child seems extremely interested, you do not have to include this literacy practice with every card, That may be a bit much for young kids. Instead, pick a few cards that you think will really interest your child and focus on those.

After saying the animal name aloud, it is time for your child to use her counting skills. She will search through the I Spy board to see how many of that specific animal she can find. Continue drawing cards until all of the animal cards are gone.

Happy Learning!