Earth Day I Spy Worksheet (Preschool and Kindergarten)

Time for your little eco-warriors to get out those magnifying glasses for this recycling themed activity. With this Earth Day I spy game, your little learners will be so busy hunting for Earth Day things that they won’t even notice how much counting practice they’re sneaking in!

The worksheet is beautifully simple. Your little ones scan the worksheet, packed with Earth Day symbols, then count how many of each they can find and record their answers at the bottom.

Time to get scanning!

What Skills Can Your Children Learn and Practice?

Here are a few of the skills that your little ones can learn and practice when playing this Earth Day I spy game.

• Visual Scanning – This is an important early reading skill. It is the ability to use their vision to search in a systematic way, from top to bottom or left to right. This skill also helps them move around without bumping in to things.
• Visual Discrimination – Visual discrimination is the ability to identify differences and similarities between objects – shapes, sizes, colors etc. This is a foundational reading readiness skill – helping children later distinguish between similar-looking letters and words.
• Counting – They’ll have to count carefully if they want to ensure they get the correct answers.
• Number Formation – When they write how much of an item there is they’ll get a chance to practice their number formation. Try to gently correct them if they do it wrong.
• Pencil Grip and Pencil Control – Any time your child picks up a pen or pencil is a great chance to practice and develop these skills.
• Concentration and Perseverance – There’s a lot to spot here so your little ones will have to remain focused if they want to finish the game.

Related – to learn other ways to help strengthen your child’s mathematical mind why not check out 7 simple ways to develop preschool math skills.

How to Prepare This Environment Themed I Spy Game

Firstly go and download the printable I spy game by clicking on the download box at the bottom of the page.

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Then print it off onto paper or card.

That’s it really – an easy one today!

Get Even More Out of This I Spy Worksheet

Here are some other ways to deepen the experience depending on your little learner:

Grab a Bingo Dauber

Hand your child a bingo dauber/marker instead of a pencil and let them dab each thing as they find it. It sounds like a small swap but it completely changes the feel of the activity. Now it’s suddenly exciting in a way that a pencil just isn’t – “I can splat them?”. It also gives those little hands a different kind of grip and pressure workout, which is great for fine motor development.

Use a Pointer

Give your child a chopstick, pencil, ruler etc. to use as a pointer, tapping each thing as they count rather than touching the page with their fingers. This demands different hand-eye coordination than circling.

Play the Describing Game

Before your child finds an Earth Day related item, describe where it is without naming it – “can you find the one that’s next to the daisy, above the leaf?” Then swap, ask your child to describe one for you to find. This quietly adds some positional language (next to, between, above, below, beside etc.) in a way that feels like a game.

Stick It on the Wall

Print and pin the sheet at standing height so children work vertically instead of at a table. This simple change shifts the whole body changing core engagement, shoulder stability, wrist extension. Great for children who find it hard to settle at a table, or just for mixing things up a little.

Simplify the Focus

For younger or less confident learners, rather than finding all eight things, pick just one or two to focus on. You can even make a simple frame from a piece of card to place over the sheet and reduce the visual field and help prevent over-stimulation. Celebrate each find as a big deal – high fives all round!

Estimate First

Before counting begins, ask your child to have a quick look and then guess 
(no counting allowed!) which do you think there are the most of? Which the fewest? Write the guesses down, complete the sheet, then compare. This small addition introduces the concept of estimation, they’re now testing their theory to see if they’re right – not just filling in boxes.

Tally It Up

Rather than write the numbers once they’ve found them all they can tally as they go. It’s a nice introduction to tallying and data handling.

However you use this Earth Day worksheet, I hope you and your little ones like it!

Enjoy and let’s nurtured those neurons!