Nature Preschool Program

\ Deception Pass State Park

Who Goes There? - Animal Tracks

Age: Nature preschool
Time: 30 minutes

Materials:
 Animal Track Templates
 Animal Tracks Scavenger Hunt Sheets
 Orange Disk Plates with tracks on them
 My animal track is a… (Large poster)
 Trays (for sand)
 Bucket (to gather sand)

Intro: Sitting on Log Rounds, group introductions (5-10min)

 Let them know that today we will be searching for signs of animals.
 What animals have you seen in the park? What animals do you think live in the park?
 Animal Tracks Matching Activity
o Using My Animal Track Board
o 1 student at a time matches the animal print-Ask students to take a seat after matching
o Provide one fun fact about each animal after the student matches the track
 Ex. Deer have hooves-can have students stomp their feet
 Ex. Beavers have webbed feet to help them walk- have students spread out hands really
wide to demonstrate webbed feet
 Ex. Coyote tracks look like dog tracks
 Ex. Porcupines have long toes with claws because they climb trees
 Ex. Great Blue Herons have three large toes facing forward and one facing backwards to
give them stability when walking in sand or mud- Can have students hold up three
fingers on one hand and 1 on the other, then cross them
 Ex. Alligator Lizards have 5 long thin toes
 The more interactive the fact the better
o Repeat activity until each student has participated once
Transition: Today we are going to find these animals in the park with an animal hunt! Keep in mind those
fun facts we just talked about to identify the animal tracks. If you are ready for an adventure you may stand
behind ____ for some instructions.
Activity 1: Animal Hunt (5-10min)

 All stay together. Must stay behind____ when going from track to track.
 6 different animal tracks set out on the way to the beach.
 Animal Hunt story to take them from track to track.
o Can be anything they might find interesting.
o Become each animal that we find in the park on the way to the next track
 Nature Preschool Program
\ Deception Pass State Park

 At each track, have them look at their sheets to see if they can identify which animal it is. Each student
points on their paper to what track it is and shares with a friend what animal they think it is
o After everyone ha

Activity 2: Create your own tracks (15min)

 At the beach (for low tide days)

o Provide a demonstration on how to use the sand to create prints
o Go over boundaries for where students may be during this time
o Create their own tracks and have them find the differences between their handprint and the
animal prints.
o Use animal tracks; encourage students to try more than one animal track.
 At tables (High tide day)
o Provide demonstration on how to create prints in the sand
o Provide each student with a tray of sand
o Tracks spread out on two tables for students to use and create prints

Note: Have a tracks or animal based game in mind. Some students may be done earlier than others
End: At the beach, Mary and Emma have the option to stay at the beach for longer or bring them back
Note: Students may keep their tracks paper to show their parents or look for prints at their house or later at
school