Recycle bin crafts: sensory "touch and feel" animal habitat books for hands-on animal lesson plans

Want to make animal lesson plans more hands-on and interactive? Here are lesson plans to make sensory or "touch and feel" animal board books to provide tactile stimulation. Use these for preschool and special education for students with autism and special sensory needs. 

Start with my blog posts on free printable animal habitat lesson plans. You'll find loads of animal coloring pages, cut and paste habitat dioramas and zoology printables. After coloring and assembling, attach animal habitat pieces to recycled cardboard from recycle bin. I suggest cereal and food packaging weight cardboard for ease of use with scissors. Value added: these recycle bin crafts and science activities are perfect for Earth Day to practice ecology and environmental awareness. 

Next, hit up that recycle bin and fabric scrap basket for various textured materials to simulate animal habitat structures, nests and body coverings. Depending on age, have students cut or cut for them, pieces to attach to habitats and animals. What you're going for are the multisensory "touch and feel" animal board books such as babies like. 

Here are some suggested multisensory materials to use for different animal body coverings and habitat structures:
 

fake fur or carpet pieces for furry mammals (cats, tigers, rabbits, squirrels)

polar fleece for lambs, sheep and goats

felt for animals with hide, hair or short fur (primates, monkeys, dogs, horses and giraffes)

feathers for birds

straw or twigs for nests

rough sandpaper for habitats pebbly surfaces 

soft sandpaper for beach habitats

wood chips or bark for woodland and tree animal habitats

foil for snakes or fish with skin

sequined fabric for fish with scales

satin ribbon or soft plastic pieces (such as from milk jugs or dairy containers) for frogs, dinosaurs, amphibians and mammal fish (dolphins, whales, seals). Look for appropriate colors. 

straw for nests

cotton balls or stuffing for snowy arctic regions and polar habitats

corrugated cardboard for trees

burlap for toads, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, turtles, pigs and animals with rougher skin

construction paper, canvas or bumpy fabric for dens and caves (also sandpaper would work)

yarn, string, brush bristles (any kind) for lion, goats, giraffe, zebra, mule, donkey or horse mane or tail

You don't need to cover the entire surface, just a bit as multisensory "touch and feel" books do. Try include as many sensory elements in the animal "touch and feel" books for optimum VAKT lesson plans. Assemble pages in book format by punching three holes along the edge and tying together with shoelace, for added tactile stimulation. Use these for preschool, students with autism and special sensory and tactile needs. 

Cage-free Zoo Animal habitat lesson plans with free printable animal activities

I've been a teacher for 40 years and today I was going to share preschool lesson plans to make a zoo animal circus train from my early days. And I realized that lesson plans that feature animals behind bars are not really ethically, environmentally or animal friendly. Piggyback on this, a discussion with my oldest homeschooling daughter (second gen homeschool <3) how she was rethinking what she was teaching, taking kids to on zoo field trips, with animals locked in tiny, non-habitat appropriate cages. This includes aquariums and marine zoos, especially. If we learned anything from the film "Blackfish" about Tilikum the "killer" orca whale, it was the damaging effects cages have on animals. So here are cage-free zoo animal habitat and animal classification lesson plans with free printable activities. 

Visit animal friendly zoos. Happily, many zoos are redoing structures to move away from tiny cages to wide, open more habitat appropriate spaces. The Detroit Zoo and Toronto Zoo are examples. John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Mich., still has cages but new structures are more open. And even if you don't want to visit the zoo, check their website for free printable animal lesson plans. JBZ and the Detroit Zoo and probably all zoos have lesson plans and printables on animal classification, animal body coverings, adaptation, habitats and more. 

Research petting zoos. Maybe they've improved over the years, but we've had some unpleasant experiences at petting zoos. Tired, uncomfortable and even neglected animals forced to interact with mobs of people who aren't always respectful of the animals is a recipe for disaster. Pun intended, "vet" petting zoos before visiting. This includes any zoo day camps or zoo school experiences. 

Visit animal sanctuaries, nature centers, wildlife preserves and animal hospitals. Blandford Nature Center in Grand Rapids, Mich., is a good example. Yes, animals are in cages, but that is for their protection. All have been injured, maimed or in some way damaged by interaction with humans. Our youngest daughter was sensitized, then incensed seeing a bobcat that had been taken captive for a wildlife circus and declawed. He is literally helpless. It's a sad but relevant object lesson on why animals should be protected, not endangered. Blandford has a beautiful wildlife preserve, nature center and animal hospital that rehabs injured animals for reintegration to the wild.  Visit any nature center or wildlife preserve near you. Most all will have free printable animal lesson plans and activities to further study. 

Make animal habitat dioramas. Use my lesson plans to make animal habitat dioramas and here are free printable animal habitat diorama cut and paste coloring pages. Teach biodiversity, animal classification, body coverings, animal tracking and more! Make animal activities VAKT and special education friendly, by adding "touch and feel" elements to habitats. Use straw, fabric, fake fur, bumpy and textured surfaces to simulate animal body coverings and nest or dwelling materials. More on that later!