Children's Activities on Animal Paw Prints

Identification

• Take the children outside and look for animal tracks. Find areas with soft dirt, sand, mud, or snow to look for prints that have been left behind. Have the children draw any tracks they find on a piece of paper and guess what type of animal made them. Go back inside and hold up pictures of animal tracks for the children to compare their drawings with and positively identify.

Molds

• Mix plaster of Paris and water in a large bowl with a wooden stick. Have children find paw prints outdoors and help them poor the mixture over the prints. Let the mixture sit for 20 to 30 minutes and gently pull it off the tracks. You should have a mold of the print in the hardened plaster. Let children help create their own mold to take home.

Clay Prints

• Give children piece of clay and let them practice making different kinds of paw prints in the clay using their fingers and various objects. While the children are making prints, discuss the different types of animal feet such as hooves, claws and pads. Teach the children the different purposes for each type of foot and which animals have which foot type.

Scavenger Hunt

• Cut out 10 to 20 prints each of three or four different animals. Print out a picture of each of these animals. Place the prints in winding lines around your home, yard or classroom with the picture of the corresponding animal at the end of the prints. Bring the children to the beginning of the tracks and have them pick one type to follow. Let them follow the tracks to the animal's picture. Once they have found the animal that made the tracks ask them what they know about it. Answer their questions and tell them specifics about the animal that they didn't know.

Coloring Pages

• Print out pages with different tracks on the page. Give the children crayons and allow them to color the tracks. Have them guess what animals they think made each track. Hold up a picture of the animal and its track and tell the children more about the animal.

Matching Game

• Draw or print pairs of tracks on pieces of paper. Lay the papers upside down on a flat surface. Have the children take turns flipping the papers over two at a time. If they find a match then they get another turn, if not then it is the next child's turn. Every time a match is made have the children identify the animal that the track belongs to.