Are you looking for animal homeschool activities for your 3-6-year-old students? Now's the perfect time to follow up our Woodland Animal Preschool Theme with my free Preschool Deer Theme unit study, four single week unit studies, one for each season.
In fact, your preschooler through first-grade homeschool students will enjoy this Deer Theme homeschool unit study during any season.
Use this seasonal unit study outline to learn about deer with all your younger elementary homeschool students throughout the year.
(Note: this post is part of my series on Wilderness & Woodland Animals for Kids. Once you've finished the woodland theme, you could move into one or more weeks of our woodland animals unit study or even our polar bear unit.)
Deer are a common backyard animal for roughly half of the children in the United States, even in many cities and city areas. You can take this backyard animal and make it magical for your kids with thematic learning.
My Preschool Deer Theme unit study includes a one-week option for each of the four seasons. Pick whichever week works best for you, or do all four and study the seasons at the same time.
Why do a Preschool Deer Theme?
If you've been following along with our adventures homeschooling off the grid, you know that I'm a big believer in getting kids outdoors and learning about nature, forest schooling, and animals of all kinds.
And even though my youngest is now eight, some of my favorite memories with my kids include theme studies during the preschool years. We had so much fun! We started with using simple board books on any topic they were interested in. Then we'd follow it up with printable activities.
For example, my younger daughter was fascinated with dinosaurs. Luckily, there are a ton of books about dinosaurs for kids at our library. We then turned to the internet to find some amazing dinosaur printables. She loved them! And she learned so much.
At this age, little ones are like sponges. They soak up information at an amazing rate.
Cuddle on the couch with books about deer, make a craft together, and enjoy an activity. The result is a beautiful, enriching learning experience. It's simple to pull together and your child will love the experience.
Since backyard deer are common for so many kids across North America, even in many more urban areas, this is a theme many children can really relate to.
In fact, when we lived on the edge of a small town in Northern Ontario, we would see as many as 20 deer each night nibbling on our shrubs and flowers!
When you see deer on the side of the road, point them out to your kids. This will help build excitement for your deer theme.
How does the Preschool Deer Theme Work?
This is a super-easy plan to follow. You'll see the outline down below. ⬇️⬇️ Each day I've included a book to read, a craft to make, and something to do together like a game or science experiment.
I've also included a link to grab my Deer Fun for Little Ones printable pack at the end of this post. Use it for a little seatwork each day.
Remember, it's up to you to choose how much or how little to do each day based on your children's ages and interests.
For example, you might pick and choose days from any of the four weeks to create your own study. Or even select activities based on the books, crafts, and other resources you have in the house.
While I've laid it out for you in an organized way, you aren't locked into following my schedule unless it works for you.
Add Seasonal Books to Your Preschool Deer Theme Unit Study
Take your preschool deer theme up a notch when you serve thematic snacks and engage your child in related playtime. I recommend this beautiful deer playset.
If you are planning to use all four weeks of the deer theme unit study and play up the seasonal aspects of each week, you might want to add a couple of books about the four seasons.
I recommend these:
The Squirrel's Busy Year by Martin Jenkins
A Tree For All Seasons by Maryse Guittet
Ready? Here are the preschool deer theme weeks to enjoy.
Preschool Deer Theme in Spring
Day One
Read: Fawn at Woodland Way by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Create: Cut and Paste Deer Craft for Kids from Simple Mom Project.
Do: Find Deer Tracks with your kids with instructions from Personal Creations.
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Two
Read: Lost in the Woods by Carl R. Sams
Create: Footprint Deer from Crafty Morning
Do: Watch this video about Deer from Elementary Cubby
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Three
Read: Oh Deer! by Brandi Smeltzer
Create: Cardboard Woodland Animal Puppets from Toddler at Play (I'd just make the deer, but several animal patterns are offered.)
Do: Look at this gorgeous pick of a baby deer (fawn) and encourage your child to use rich vocabulary to describe the fawn.
Talk about and describe the fawn together. If your child is ready for story-telling, make up a story about this precious baby.
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Four
Read: Deer Babies by Donald M. Jones
Create: Deer Handprint Card from Mas and Pas
Do: Learn about Deer Behavior from Educationdotcom
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Five
Read: A Little Fawn by Rosalee Wren
Create: Make these Deer Finger Puppets from Happy Paper Time
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Preschool Deer Theme in Summer
Day One
Read: Can You Yawn Like a Fawn by Monica Sweeney
Create: Paper Bag Deer Puppet from Krokotak
Do: Watch this live New Jersey Wildlife Cam with deer.
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Two
Read: If You Give a Deer a Carrot by Paul Pineapple
Create: Deer Painting Activity from Learn, Create, Love.
Do: Deer Dot-To-Dots Deer activity. Finish a couple of the dot to dots from Template.com -- the ones about halfway down are simpler to complete. This is a huge collection of downloads with lots of awesome coloring pages too!
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Three
Read: Over in the Forest by Marianne Berks
Create: Learn to Draw a Deer from Activity Village
Do: Play this Deer Game from Ultimate Camp Resource
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Four
Read: The Antlered Ship by Dashka Slater
Create: Beautiful Deer Coloring Pages from the State of Virginia.
Do: Do this Deer Yoga Pose from Flow and Grow Kids Yoga
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Five
Read: Deer at the Brook by Jim Arnosky
Create: Pick One of These Deer Crafts to complete. We like the hoof print! From Bright Hub Education.
Do: Make this White-Tailed Deer booklet from The Meek Moose
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Preschool Deer Theme in Fall
Day One
Read: First Snow in the Woods by Carl R. Sams
Create: Beautiful Woodland Deer Ornament from Ruffles and Rainboots
Do: Hide the Deer and Learn About Camouflage. This activity *says* reindeer, but features regular plastic deer in the pictures and definitely works for white-tailed deer. From SteamSational
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Two
Read: All About Deer by Jim Arnosky
Create: Felt-Decorated Deer Pumpkin from Frugal Fun for Boys
Do: Measure Animal Tracks from Rebecca Reid
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Three
Read: Wyatt's First Whitetail by Shasta Sitton
Create: Make Deer Poop Cookies from Left Brain Craft Brain.
Do: Enjoy this Lifecycle of a White-Tailed Deer Activity. from Megan Williams
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Four
Read: Dear Deer by Gena Barretta
Create: Make a Deer from Leaves from My Owl Barn
Do: Listen to this song about deer and prance around as deer do.
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Five
Read: Deer, Moose, Elk, and Caribou by Deborah Hodge
Create: Popsicle Stick Deer Friends from Glued to My Crafts (She calls these reindeer, but they can be adapted easily.)
Do: Watch this Deer Migration from National Geographic
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Preschool Deer Theme in Winter
Day One
Read: Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams
Create: Paper Bowl Deer from Glued to my Crafts (This has a red nose, which you can leave off to make it a regular deer.)
Do: Work With Your Child To Create a Photographic Fantasy from The Happy Housewife
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Two
Read: Snow Still by Holly Surplice
Create: Heart Nose Deer Craft from Crafty Morning
Do: If you have snow, this painting footprints in the snow activity is very cool from Wilder Child
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Three
Read: Oh Dear, said the Deer by Sigal Adler
Create: Make and Eat Gingerbread Dear from From the Family with Love
Do: Use these free printable deer tracks to make deer track art. You can finger paint them, cut them out, and put them on white construction paper for prints in the snow. That's just one idea! From Printable Treats.
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Four
Read: Deer for Kids by John Davidson
Create: Free Printable Deer Mask for Kids from Simple Everyday Mom. Alter the antlers to make a white-tailed deer.
Do: Make Deer Poop with Playdough. Look at deer poop here for reference.
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Day Five
Read: Snow Bunny the Deer by Mark A. Schneider
Create: Make a Deer Bauble Ornament or card from Red Ted Art. Change the nose to brown.
Do: Use your plastic deer and other animals to make footprints in the snow with playdough from No Time for Flashcards
Learn: Complete two or three pages from our Deer Fun for Little Ones Printable.
Psst - looking for a few more preschool summer resources? You'll love this post on preschool books about summer!
Preschool Deer Theme Printable
If you're looking for a printable package suitable for children ages 3 through 6 (roughly preschool through first grade) you're going to love this.
Deer Fun for Little Ones is chock-full of fun, simple yet educational activities to help your children learn math, printing, reading, comprehension, and logic skills - all with a deer theme!
Here's what's included:
- Three Cut and Do Puzzles
- Five Pre-Writing Pages
- One Cutting Practice Page
- Four Letter Formation Pages
- Four Letter Dot Maker Pages
- One Alphabet Maze
- Two Tangled Mazes
- One Number Line
- Two Number Recognition Pages
- Four Regular Mazes
- One Playdough Mat
Ready to grab this right now and use it today?
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Layla
This Deer Theme unit study is a great help for keeping my little one make learning so engaging. This is exactly what I needed to spice up our homeschooling. Excited to explore more deer facts and fun.