World Turtle Day | EYFS & KS1 Activity Ideas

**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with World Turtle Day. World Turtle Day is celebrated annually on May 23rd. It was established in 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of all species of tortoise and turtle. The purpose of the day is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and to encourage human action to help them survive and thrive. It highlights the threats they face globally, such as habitat destruction, illegal pet trade, and entanglement in fishing gear, and promotes conservation efforts. For official information and how to get involved, please visit the American Tortoise Rescue website: www.worldturtleday.org

Saturday 23rd May 2026

23rd May

• 🤔 What is World Turtle Day?

  World Turtle Day raises awareness of turtles and tortoises, highlighting their importance in ecosystems and the need to protect them and their habitats.

• 🐢 Understanding World Turtle Day in EYFS & KS1

  This theme provides rich opportunities to explore:

  • animals (reptiles, sea creatures, pets)

  • habitats (ocean, land environments)

  • life cycles and growth

  • conservation and environmental care

  This supports:

  EYFS:

  • Understanding the World (animals, habitats, environments)

  • Communication & Language (describing, questioning)

  • PSED (care, empathy, responsibility)

  KS1 (National Curriculum):

  • Science (animals including humans, habitats, life cycles)

  • Geography (oceans, environments, conservation)

  • Citizenship/PSHE (responsibility and care for animals)

• 🌱 A Developmentally Appropriate Approach in the Early Years

  In the EYFS, learning about animals develops through:

  • real-world exploration

  • observation and curiosity

  • play and imagination

  • responsive adult interaction

  👉 Find out more about developmentally appropriate practice in EYFS by exploring our ‘Curriculum & Pedagogy Suite’.

  Pathways available for:

  ↪ Babies | birth-18 months

  ↪ Toddlers | 18-36 months

  ↪ Preschool | 3-4 years

  ↪ Reception | 4-5 years

  ↪ Childminder | Mixed-Age Care

• 💛 Why This Theme Matters

  Exploring turtles and tortoises supports:

  🐾 Empathy & Respect for Living Things

  Children develop care for animals and their environments.

  🌍 Understanding Habitats

  Children explore where animals live and why environments matter.

  🌿 Environmental Awareness

  Children begin to understand how human actions affect animals.

  🔍 Scientific Curiosity

  Children observe, question and explore animal behaviour and features.

🌿 EYFS: Provision & Child-Led Ideas (0–5 Years)

These ideas are not activities to be planned or completed. They support learning through exploration, play and real experience.

• 👶 Babies (0–18 months)

  Exploration is sensory and relational.

  Babies may:

  • observe movement (e.g. water, animals)

  • explore textures and natural materials

  • respond to sounds and visual patterns

  Adults can:

  • provide sensory-rich experiences

  • narrate simple observations

  • support calm shared exploration

  👉 Additional curriculum & planning support for this age group may be found on our ‘EYFS Planning for Babies (0–18 Months)’ hub page.

• 🚶 Toddlers (18–36 months)

  Toddlers explore through movement and curiosity.

  Children may:

  • notice animals and environments

  • explore water, sand and outdoor spaces

  • engage in simple pretend play

  Adults can:

  • follow children’s interests

  • model simple language (“turtle”, “water”)

  • allow repeated exploration

  👉 Additional curriculum & planning support for this age group may be found on our ‘EYFS Planning for Toddlers (18–36 Months)’ hub page.

• 🧒 Preschool (3–4 years)

  Children begin to explore ideas about animals and habitats.

  Children may:

  • ask questions about animals

  • explore habitats through play

  • sort and group animals

  Adults can:

  • support curiosity through conversation

  • introduce simple concepts (e.g. ocean vs land)

  • extend thinking through play

  👉 Additional curriculum & planning support for this age group may be found on our ‘EYFS Planning for Preschool (3–4 Years)’ hub page.

• 🎓 Reception (4–5 years)

  Children deepen understanding and make connections.

  Children may:

  • explore differences between animals

  • understand simple environmental impact

  • use more complex vocabulary

  Adults can:

  • support reasoning and explanation

  • introduce simple scientific ideas

  • extend learning through provision

  👉 Additional curriculum & planning support for this age group may be found on our ‘EYFS Planning for Reception (4–5 Years)’ hub page.

• 🧠 Key Principle Across EYFS

  Understanding animals develops through:

  • exploration

  • observation

  • interaction

  • real experiences

🌱 Environment Enhancements & Invitations (EYFS)

These are optional enhancements that may be added to provision if they align with children’s interests in animals and environments.

• 🐢 Exploring Animals Through Play

  You might enhance provision by:

  • adding animal figures (including turtles/tortoises)

  • providing small world environments

  • allowing imaginative play around animals

  Resources that may support this include:

  • Animals resources

  • Reptiles resources

• 🌊 Habitats & Environments

  You might enhance provision by:

  • creating simple ocean or land habitats

  • offering materials to build environments

  • allowing children to explore where animals live

  Resources:

  • Under the Sea

  • Ocean

  • Habitats

  • Wildlife

• 💧 Water & Sensory Exploration

  You might enhance provision by:

  • providing water play opportunities

  • adding sea animals to sensory play

  • exploring movement and floating

  Resources that may support this include:

  • Water play resources

  • Sea animal materials

• 🗣️ Language, Curiosity & Conversation

  You might enhance provision by:

  • introducing simple vocabulary (turtle, shell, ocean)

  • responding to children’s questions

  • modelling descriptive language

• 🌍 Care, Respect & Responsibility

  You might enhance provision by:

  • modelling gentle behaviour towards animals

  • supporting children to care for environments

  • introducing simple ideas about protection

  You may link to:

  • The Environment

  • Recycling

  • Endangered Animals

• 🎨 Creative & Representational Play

  You might enhance provision by:

  • offering materials for drawing or modelling animals

  • allowing children to represent habitats

  • valuing children’s interpretations

• ✨ Key Reminder

  Understanding animals develops through:

  • exploration

  • curiosity

  • real experiences

  • meaningful interaction

📘 KS1 Learning Activities for World Turtle Day

In Key Stage 1, this theme can support more structured learning about animals, habitats and conservation.

• 🐢 Learning About Turtles & Tortoises

  Children can:

  • explore characteristics of reptiles

  • compare sea turtles and tortoises

  You may use our:

  • Sea Turtle Pack

  • Turtle Body Parts Posters & Writing Sheets

  • Reptile Posters

  • Pets Fact Cards

• 🌊 Habitats & Life Cycles

  Children can:

  • explore ocean and land habitats

  • understand how animals live and grow

  You may use our:

  • Under the Sea displays and resources

  • Sea Animal Word Mats and Cards

  • Turtle Egg Find Game

• 🌍 Conservation & Environmental Care

  Children can:

  • explore how to protect animals

  • understand environmental impact

  Resources:

  • The Environment

  • Recycling

  • Beach School

• 🏥 Responsible Pet Ownership

  Children can:

  • learn how to care for animals

  • explore needs of pets

  You may use our:

  • Veterinary Role-Play Pack

  • Pets resources and word mats

• 🔢 Numeracy & Literacy Through Theme

  Children can:

  • apply maths and literacy within meaningful contexts

  You may use our:

  Maths

  • Sea Animal Counting resources

  • Number puzzles and multimats

  Literacy

  • Sea Animal Alphabet

  • Word cards and phonics resources

• 🎨 Creative & Expressive Learning

  Children can:

  • represent animals and habitats

  • explore creative expression

  You may use our:

  • Drawing Sea Animals

  • Animal Multimats

  • Creative resources

• 🌍 Explore More Resources | EYFS Enhanced Provision & KS1 Activities

  You may wish to explore:

  • Animals

  • Under the Sea

  • Reptiles

  • Pets

  • Endangered Animals

  • Ocean

  • Habitats

  • Life Cycles

  • The Environment

  • Beach School

• 🧠 Using Special Dates Thoughtfully

  A helpful question: “Does this deepen children’s understanding and respect for living things?”

  If it supports:

  • curiosity

  • empathy

  • connection

  → it is meaningful

• 🐢 In Summary

  World Turtle Day supports children to:

  • explore animals and habitats

  • develop empathy and care

  • understand environmental impact

  • build early scientific curiosity

  In the EYFS, this is most effective when it is:

  • play-based

  • exploration-led

  • rooted in real experiences

  In KS1, it can be:

  • supported through structured learning

  • extended through discussion and investigation

• 🔓 How to Access Resources

  We offer a range of resources to support practitioners across EYFS and KS1, including printable materials and in-depth curriculum and pedagogy guidance.

  🟢 Free Membership

  You can access a selection of free resources by creating a free account.

  This includes:

  • selected printable resources

  • sample materials

  • weekly support emails for those who opt-in

  👉 [Create a free account]

  🟡 Premium Membership (Printables)

  Our Premium Membership provides access to our full library of printable teaching and provision resources.

  This includes:

  • themed resources (e.g. Gardening, Emotions, Seasons)

  • continuous provision materials

  • activity cards, displays and printable packs

  These resources can be used flexibly to support:

  • provision enhancements

  • small group work

  • classroom organisation

  👉 [View Premium Membership]

  🟣 Professional Membership (Curriculum & Pedagogy)

  Our Professional Membership provides access to our full Curriculum & Pedagogy Suite (Birth–5).

  ~ In addition to Premium Printable Provision access.~

  This includes:

  • age-specific pathways (Babies, Toddlers, Preschool, Reception)

  • planning guidance and templates

  • observation and assessment support

  • SEND and inclusion guidance

  • inspection-ready documentation

  These documents are designed to support:

  • confident decision-making

  • consistent practice across teams

  • clear articulation of EYFS pedagogy

  (KS1 curriculum coming soon!)

  👉 Visit EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Suite

  👉 [View Professional Membership]

  🧠 Choosing What Works for You

  You do not need to use everything at once.

  Many practitioners:

  • start with free resources

  • build their printable provision over time

  • use pedagogy documents to support team understanding and leadership

  Choose what best fits your setting, role and stage of development.

👉 To explore more early years events, visit our Special Dates Calendar.

Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘World Turtle Day’

Free ‘Turtle’ and ‘Tortoise’ printable resources and activities:

‘Turtle’ printable resources and activity ideas in our ‘Animals’ and ‘Under the Sea’ topics:

‘Tortoise’ printable resources and activity ideas in our ‘Pets’ topic:

Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes

More Early Years Event Pages for May

Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children

Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!

Search ‘Little Owls Resources’ Using the following Menu Buttons…

Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'World Turtle Day'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), which established this annual observance. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this event. For official information and how to get involved, please visit the American Tortoise Rescue website: www.tortoise.com/.