Right now my preschooler is very into letters and letter sounds. Alphabet Zoo was a perfect way to tap into this curiosity and build her growing literacy skills!

Here’s what you’ll need to create your own Alphabet Zoo: 

Supplies

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• Black beans
• Zoo Animals
• Magnetic Letters (or any type of letters)
• 41 Qt, Clear Sensory Bin (Large)
• Tweezers
• Slotted Spatula

Super Easy Alphabet Zoo Set Up

I filled our sensory bin with the black beans and then added the zoo animals.

My three year old helped me out with this set up and insisted on having farm animals and dinosaurs too. I of course didn’t fight and just added additional letters to go along with them.

Some of the letters were buried some not. I then handed her a set of tongs and a slotted spatula and started to set the story.

Telling the Story

I’m sure there is a technical educator term for setting the stage for an activity, but I call it telling the story. I find that my almost four year old gets more engaged in activities no matter what skill is being used when there is a story behind.

In this activity she is a zoo keeper who has to feed all the animals in the zoo (and the few farm animals and dinosaurs as well) the right type of food. And what is the right type of food you ask, well the letter that each animal starts with of course!

I’m not sure what toddler or preschooler would not find that fun. Now I don’t always set the story myself. Most of the times I have her set it for me. That way she is even more engaged.

Fine Motor Tools

In this activity I gave her a few fine motor tools to use to remove the animals and letters from the bin but not the beans. You can have your little one use their hands or whatever tool you have available.

When using a slotted spatula, make sure that the slots are big enough to allow the beans to fall through.

Endless Possibilities

This activity can be amended in so many ways to include different fillers or different type of animals. For instance you could do water beads with ocean animals and letters. Have fun with it and so will your little one!

WILL YOU TRY ALPHABET ZOO WITH YOUR LITTLE ONE? Pin it for later!

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