🦁 Letter of the Week: Z is for Zoo

Featuring the Safari Animals Printable Kit from our Letter of the Week Bundle

This week's theme is "Z is for Zoo", and we're pairing it with our Safari Animals Printable Pack from the Letter of the Week series, designed especially for sensory play and perfect for decorating your IKEA Flisat table. The zoo kit turns your FLISAT table into a safari — animals to spot, tracks to follow, and tickets to sell at the gate. It all starts with how I set up our FLISAT — table, bins, and backdrop.

Safari animal sensory table setup

🛒 What's in the Safari Animals Printable Pack

The Safari Animals pack is one of the 26 nine-page kits in the Letter of the Week Bundle, and includes:

  • "Z is for Zoo" banner, awning, and zoo signs
  • Printable safari animals and scene pieces
  • Worksheets: letter Z tracing and zoo-themed activity pages
  • Vocabulary cards: zoo, safari, lion, zebra, and more

Get all 26 Printables for just $26

🧰 Materials You'll Need

  • Safari Animals Printable Pack (from the Letter of the Week Bundle)
  • IKEA Flisat table (or any sensory bin)
  • Dried chickpeas, lentils, or tan kinetic sand as "savanna"
  • Toy safari animals and binoculars
  • Safari Animal flashcards for matching
  • Leaves, sticks, and rocks for habitats
  • Scoops, trays, and a toy jeep

🦁 How to Set Up Your Zoo Sensory Bin

  1. Print and hang the banner, awning, and zoo signs on your pegboard or backdrop.
  2. Fill one bin with savanna filler and build simple habitats with leaves and rocks.
  3. Hide the safari animals around the "zoo" for spotting with binoculars.
  4. Set out the flashcards for a matching game — card to animal.
  5. Place the vocabulary cards and worksheets nearby, then open the gates — safari time!

Get the FREE Letter of the Week poster

🎯 Learning Objectives by Age Group

  • 6–12 mo: Grasping chunky animals; listening to animal sounds you model
  • 1–2 yrs: Scooping savanna filler; naming favorite animals
  • 2–3 yrs: Matching animals to flashcards, sorting by size, counting stripes
  • 3–4 yrs: Letter Z tracing, habitat talk, following a simple zoo map
  • 4–5 yrs: Animal facts, sequencing a safari story, drawing their own zoo map

💌 Free Bonus: A to Z Letter of the Week Guide

Don't forget your Free Printable Letter of the Week Poster! Download the A–Z Letter of the Week Sensory Guide, with all 26 themes, links to products, and learning goals. You'll also receive the Letter of the Week Email Series, with weekly reminders, bonus activity ideas, and links to new blog content.

  • All 26 Letter of the Week themes
  • Printable calendar
  • Links to each week's setup
  • Email reminders with learning extensions

Get your FREE poster

Letter of the Week series banner

💡 Tips to Extend the Activity

  • Zoo Ticket Booth: Sell tickets at the gate with play money and a hand stamp.
  • Track Hunt: Press animal feet into playdough "mud" and match the tracks.
  • Habitat Sorting: Sort animals into savanna, jungle, and water homes.
  • Safari Story: Photograph the safari and make a simple zoo book together.
  • Story Time: Read a favorite zoo picture book before opening the gates.

📚 Related Activities

  • Safari animal sensory play with flashcards
  • Letter N: Nature week
  • Safari Animal flashcards and memory game
  • Letter Q: Quack & farm animals week

🔤 25 Vocabulary Words for "Zoo" Theme

zoo, safari, lion, zebra, giraffe, elephant, monkey, hippo, tiger, rhino, habitat, wild, animal, tracks, binoculars, jeep, map, ticket, gate, zookeeper, roar, stripes, savanna, jungle, explore

📌 Pin It for Later

Last letter, best week — save this post for your letter Z finale, and follow along with the whole A–Z series on the Letter of the Week hub.