Animal Play---A Review

Animal Play is an early learning curriculum created by a homeschooling mama just like me and you!  I first learned of it when my son completed his first year of schooling after using Little Hands to Heaven.  Even though my oldest had cycled through that program twice using some more supplementation the second time around, I wanted a break and didn't particularly want to teach it for a third year in a row.

Aron wasn't ready yet for Little Hearts for His Glory and I wasn't quite sure what to do with him next.  Tamara over at {School} Days Gone By recommended Joy Bryant's Teach Me Joy site which is the home for three curriculums written from ages 2 all the way up to second grade!  I perused the site for several weeks trying to make my decision.  It all looked great and VERY AFFORDABLE but I'm the queen of making my list and checking it twice (or a million times) and I wanted to be sure.

Then the curriculum went on sale over at CurrClick for $1.99 a piece and I snatched it up!  I purchased both the 2-3 year old program and the K3-K4 program.  After mulling them over, I decided to use Animal Play.

Surprisingly, this is labeled as a program for two and three year olds, but I found it to be great for my newly turned four year old.  He did already know his letters and initials letter sounds and could count to twenty, but the K3-K4 program, at that time, seemed beyond his attention span and writing skills.  I added in some phonics and a few other things and we kickstarted our year! 

Aron LOVED it and thrived!  In fact when the year was winding down, he told me more than a few times that he was sad that "animal school" was going to be over soon.

So, what do you get with this curriculum?

First, the curriculum is in digital, downloadable form which is why at full price it is only $15.00!  There are sales frequently on the home site and on CurrClick though, so keep your eyes open and be watchful!  The downloaded file includes detailed lesson plans, worksheets, coloring pages and more.

The lesson plans covers thirty two weeks of  fine motor skills, Bible lessons, crafts, music, letters, numbers, shapes, and colors.  Using the letters of the alphabet, the child also learns about animals, their behaviors, their traits, and their habitats.  There is an intro page before each week's plans that includes a list of all the supplies you will need for the week, suggested extra activities, alphabetical Bible memory verses.  The plans follow a four day schedule and the entire week is laid out on one page to make organization easier.  

There are a few other books that need to be purchased in order to utilize the lesson plans, but even if you tally up the cost of these books BRAND NEW, you'd still be saving a considerable amount of money compared to other preschool programs.

For Bible lessons, the main source of information is The Rhyme Bible Storybook.

This children's Bible portrays well known Bible stories and characters using a simple and short rhyming cadence.  It gives an overview while keeping in mind that young children are still fine tuning their attention skills.

Also used is My Big Book of Five Minute Devotions.  Tying lesson on biblical character traits and ideals in with animal behaviors, this book helps young minds grasp the sometimes difficult ideas behind HOW we should behave as Christians.

Finally, on a few occasions, there are short activities used from Bible Animals.  This is a small board book containing brief mentions of Bible stories that contain animals and easy activities involving the animals on its pages.

To further the child's knowledge of many of the animals they learn about as they journey through the alphabet, Animal Play draws information from these First Facts and Pictures books: I Love Rainforests,

I Love Oceans,

I Love Farm Animals,

and I Love Animal Homes.

These books contain brief, but informative snippets about the designated animals and include beautiful illustrations that will captivate little eyes.


For craft time, Alphabet Art serves as a guide to teach your child words and animals that begin with each letter of the alphabet while also providing accompanying age appropriate animal crafts.

Don't forget the music!  What preschool time is complete without a little silly musical fun??

Wee Sing's Animals, Animals, Animals is chock full of animal themed songs and rhymes to round out your school day!

Even with the things that I added in for supplementation, each day's lessons only took 30-45 minutes!

This program would be great for a first year of preschool or to be used as I did (with a little boost) for slightly older children who aren't quite ready for full on kindergarten work. 

To see the curriculum in action, click here to see how we enjoyed it!