Ask students to bring in their favorite stuffed animals to school. Gather the class together in a circle and discuss the math concept of sorting. Explain to students that this involves grouping similar items together. Create different sorting groups, such as color or size, and allow students to place their stuffed animal in its appropriate group. Extend this activity by creating a simple bar graph chart to illustrate the number of stuffed animals in each group.
Have your preschoolers come to the front of the classroom and tell a story from the eyes of their stuffed animal. Storytelling helps students prepare for more advanced reading skills such as comprehension. Students should complete this activity one at a time, and audience members should practice good listening skills while classmates tell their stuffed animal's story. Set a timer so that students do not take up too much time.
Allow students to practice their handwriting skills by making a name tag for their stuffed animal. Provide them with blank sentence strips and help students write the animal's name on the strip. Draw dotted lines to form the letters if students need additional help with their letter formation. Encourage students to decorate the name tags with drawings and stickers and place them in front of the stuffed animals for identification.
Encourage creative artwork in your preschoolers through a painting activity. Set up an easel, washable paints or finger paints and ask students to paint a portrait of their stuffed animal. They might add details that include an activity the stuffed animal might enjoy or the setting of where the animal lives. Provide old shirts for students to keep paint off their clothes. Display students' finished artwork around your classroom.