Animal Inquiry Pack – Animals, Habitats & Life Cycles Learning Resource Early Childhood

The Animal Inquiry Pack is a practical digital toolkit designed to support early childhood educators in guiding meaningful, EYLF-aligned learning about animals, their features, life cycles and environments.

This downloadable PDF set includes animal group cards, life cycle posters, habitat sorting mats and themed animal posters. Each resource is written in clear, child-friendly language and supports inquiry learning, observation, classification and discussion across a wide range of animal topics.

The pack is designed for 3–5 year old classrooms and supports educators in animal projects, science explorations, inquiry tables, group discussions and linking children’s interests to the planning cycle.

Topics Included

✓ Animal groups — mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, invertebrates
✓ Animal life cycles — butterfly, frog, chicken, bee and turtle
✓ Habitats — ocean, coral reef, forest, desert, polar, savannah and outback
✓ Themed animal sets — Australian animals, farm animals, sea animals and arctic animals
✓ Observation & classification — noticing similarities, differences and patterns
✓ Inquiry learning — sorting, questioning, revisiting ideas and discussion

What’s Inside

✓ Animal Groups cards with clear visual examples and simple definitions
✓ Animal Life Cycle posters showing growth and change over time
✓ Habitat Sorting Mats with matching animal cards for open-ended inquiry
✓ Themed Animal Posters (Australian, Farm, Sea and Arctic animals)
✓ Real photographic images to support accurate identification
✓ Clean, consistent formatting suitable for displays and inquiry tables
✓ Designed for repeated use — print, laminate or use digitally
✓ Fully digital (PDF) — ready to print or use on screen

This pack supports intentional teaching, child-led inquiry and flexible programming, allowing educators to adapt activities based on children’s interests, questions and developing understanding.