Zoo Counting Book for Preschoolers
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If you have read some of my posts, you might know that I love animals in general (except roaches!), and one of my favorite activities is going to the zoo to observe and admire the animals, which is something that most children love as well. That is why I know that this free Zoo Animal Counting Book will be the perfect activity for this season or your zoo animals theme because its hands-on nature will help preschoolers practice their counting, one-to-one correspondence, and fine motor skills, in a fun way.
This FREE book includes 6 total pages with two half pages each, with the numbers 0 to 10, conveniently in black and white, to allow children to color the animals after they count them and write the number. You can get it at the end of this post.
Importance of Counting and One-to-One Correspondence Skills
When preschoolers start building the foundation for the development of their number sense and math skills, they are working on their problem-solving skills.
Two important skills they need to develop are counting, and one-to-one correspondence. Counting involves memorizing numbers in the correct order, and one-to-one correspondence is the ability to match objects to the right number. This means that children need to understand that they need to say “one” when they count one object, “two” when they count two objects, and so forth.
When preschoolers develop counting and one-to-one correspondence skills and learn how to put them to work together, they set up a strong foundation for more complex mathematical operations in the future.
Zoo Counting Book
Each page of this book has students counting the animals that appear on the pages, and writing the number at the bottom, to complete the phrase “I see _______ animals”. Then they have to color the animals, which has them work on their fine motor skills as well.
This book is very easy to put together, and you will only need a handful of materials which are:
- FREE Zoo Counting book (found at the end of this post).
- White paper or cardstock.
- Laminator, and laminator pouches.
- Pencils, markers, colored pencils, or crayons.
Books About Counting
Read counting books with your children. This activity will encourage them to see, hear and say numbers aloud, and count objects together. Below are some suggestions. You can find them at your local library, used book store, or on Amazon. For your convenience, I added my direct Amazon links to the pictures. If you like any, just click on it and it will take you directly to the site.
- Zoo Time by D. S. Park. This book uses stunning illustrations to bring the zoo’s animals to life.
- The View at the Zoo by Kathleen Long Bostrom. With a clever twist and a new, sturdy board book format, this book will have children begging for a trip to the zoo to see the animals in person.
- 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo by Eric Carle. This book combines simple counting with unusual illustrations of animals. counting.
- I Want to Be a Zookeeper by Dan Liebman. This book is a realistic insight into the working day of a zookeeper, using color photographs, to help children understand what’s involved in this job, learn to respect the importance of doing a job well, and appreciate the contributions these workers make in the zoo animal lives.
- It’s a Crazy Day at the Zoo by Stacey Lee Doyle. This is an exciting and entertaining tale designed to captivate the imaginations of children.
- Lou’s Zoo and Winston Too by JoAnn M. Dickinson. This book beautifully illustrates the value of embracing our differences and accepting one another just as we are, using lovable zoo animals, each with their unique personalities.
- A Visit to the Zoo by Blake A. Hoena. The text and photographs in this book take children on a visit to the zoo including descriptions of the things, people, and animals found there.
Pin It for Later
If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it for later, pin it to one of your Pinterest boards to have it available when you need it.
I hope your preschoolers enjoy these free Zoo Animals Counting Book, and help them develop their math and fine motor skills further. Grab your printable by clicking on the link below and type your information. Don’t worry. You won’t be subscribed twice if you are a friend already.
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
P.D. Please let me know if you want me to create anything special. My goal is to help you in any way I can, and I would love you to find something useful on my site.