This adorable I Spy activity for kids teaches counting and animal names. I am absolutely in love with all of the many amazing I Spy activities created by Life Over C’s, but I was looking for something that also incorporated literacy exposure. So I changed the format a little and came up with this great printable activity that will perfectly accompany 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: Feed The Raccoon Alphabet Activity

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!

Two Ways to Download

If you subscribe to our weekly newsletter, we will give you this download as a FREE thank you gift. The printable will be delivered directly to your email inbox after you sign up.

If you’d rather not go the free route, you can also purchase this Forest Animal I Spy printable from our store for .99 cents. Whichever option you choose, we thank you for supporting our small business!