What could be more exciting than transforming into a nocturnal animal? While the children won't be able to literally sprout a fox tail or bat wings, you can help them create some costume craft pieces that can help them pretend. For instance, make some nocturnal animal masks using materials like round paper plates and paints. You can also construct individual animal parts; a snout can be made from a paper cup, while a tail can be made from fluffy fabric or a feather boa. Let your preschoolers choose the kind of animal they'd like to embody for the day, and then get cracking on crafting the attributes.
Nocturnal animals have a variety of special features that help them combat the darkness and use it to their advantage for survival. Discuss these special traits with your preschoolers, and then construct your own crafty weapons against the darkness. For instance, you could make tin can telephones or stethoscopes to represent some nocturnal animals' excellent sense of hearing, while you could decorate miniature flashlights with paints, sequins and other decorative materials to represent other animals' sharp night vision.
Not all preschoolers have issues with being afraid of the dark, but it's a common problem that affects many children. Address these bedtime blues by incorporating your nocturnal animal theme. For instance, have the children bring in a blanket, pillowcase or nightlight to decorate in class with images of their favorite nocturnal animals. You can use materials like fabric paints or crayons for the preschoolers to do their own artwork, or you can have them assist with small tasks like deciding on the placement of the images while you iron them onto the surface of the fabric with transfer sheets.
Double your craft project as a game that the children can play at school or at home with their families. There are many classic games you could spin to go with the nocturnal animal theme, such as bingo. Have the children choose a selection of nocturnal animals to incorporate into the game, and provide them with bingo cards to decorate in keeping with the theme. You could also make nocturnal animal trading cards that the preschoolers can collect, or you could create an original board game that each child could help decorate with animals you've covered in class.