Unicorn Themed Toddler School Lessons

Unicorns bring a sense of magic into the room and are a childhood favorite! I love finding ways to create learning activities around my children’s favorite things, so a unicorn week is perfect! This Unicorn Themed Toddler Unit is packed with everything you need for a full week of learning, so get ready to have fun while you learn about the letter U!

Lesson Components

This unit is made up of 5 lessons that will each work on the following activities:

• literacy/language
• sensory bin
• math and science activity
• fine motor activity
• gross motor activity
• art activity

If you want to learn more about how to get started planning activities for your little ones, download my FREE guide for everything you need to know about the skill areas we incorporate into toddler school:

Literacy Activities

As you begin a new unit, it’s fun to create a journal to store your masterpieces in. Your child can color the unicorn cover page and attach it to the front of the notebook. Make sure to say the letters in your child’s name as you write them. If your child is ready, he or she can even practice writing their own name. Don’t forget to introduce the letter U as well. If the letter U is in your child’s name, then see if they can spot it.

Fine Motor Activities

Fine motor skills are not only fun and engaging for kids, but they’re also incredibly important! They help children perform important tasks such as feeding themselves, grasping objects, and writing.

All you need for this activity is the letter worksheet and a dot marker. To start off, you will introduce the shape, circle. Then your child will dot inside each circle in the letter Uu. This is a great opportunity to use language like “Dot inside the circle.” I also love to have my own kids (and students) say the name of the letter (or the sound if they’re ready) each time they dot on the paper.

What could be more fun than giving a unicorn a haircut! To prepare this activity, just tape some ribbon to the back of a unicorn. Then, give your child some scissors and watch as they give their first haircut to the unicorn.

***Don’t forget to remind your child we only cut the unicorn’s hair, not our own!

Sensory Bins

We love sensory bins because they provide play opportunities that keep our little ones entertained, while also incorporating meaningful learning opportunities. Here are three fun bins to use this week!

For this sensory exploration activity, all you’ll need to do is fill a bin with colored rice, spoons, unicorn toys, and a “water” bowl. Give your child time to explore the rice and have a fun sensory experience. The more pouring, scooping, playing and talking, the better!

In this sensory bin, we are working on matching numbers. What could be more fun than turning it into a game of hide and seek?!?! To prep this bin, just fill it with rainbow sprinkles, add 3 dishes, and “hide” several number cards in the sprinkles. Then, watch your little ones go on a hunt to find them! As they find each card, have them sort the number cards into the dishes. Then, give them free time to play with the bin after sorting the cards.

We’re all busy, so reusing a sensory bin filler is a great way to save time. Just switch out the skills your little one is learning to make the bin “fresh” and new. So, use the same bin filled with rainbow sprinkles, and add the unicorn sensory bin puzzle pieces. For extra fun, add a few mini unicorns into the bin. Hide the unicorns and cards under the sprinkles for a fun hunt for your child. When your child finds a match, they can lay it down next to the sensory bin.

Math Activities

We love math! This number book is a quick and easy way to work on counting as you learn about unicorns. Plus, it is a great way to begin working on concepts of print. You can show your child the cover, the spine, and the pages. As we went through the book together, it was fun to count the unicorns on each page and say the number.

1:1 correspondence is the ability to match an object to the corresponding number and recognize that numbers are symbols to represent a quantity. In this activity, you will give your child number match cards and about 30 fun counters. Place a counter on each image on the number match cards. Count aloud as you and your child place the counters on the number match cards. Simple, low prep, and engaging!

Another fun way to count while also getting some fine motor practice in is through clip cards. Laminate the cards and give your child clothespins. Guide your child in clipping clothespins onto the number that matches the number of unicorns on each card. Encourage your child to count aloud. This is perfect work to strengthen those finger muscles and build up those fine motor skills.

Gross Motor Activity

Gross motor skills are important for young children to practice as they learn how to coordinate and control their body movements. For today’s movement activity, we set up a maze outside! It was so much fun following chalk lines to find matching unicorns. It was a great way to get moving and we loved doing it over and over again!

I hope you found some magical ideas here to inspire you and your little one! If you want to make teaching your toddler super simple this week, make sure to check out my Unicorn Themed Toddler Unit for 5 complete lesson plans and all the printables and activities you’ll need to make the week magical. And if you need even more toddler school themed units, check out the Toddler School Curriculum.

I hope you enjoy every minute of magical playing and learning with your little ones!

This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my affiliate links, which helps to support The Primary Brain blog. As always, I only recommend products that I love and all ideas shared are my own.

Written on February 2nd, 2022 by Laurin Brainard