Zoo Curriculum Theme

Blue Hen Chicken Collage

8/29/2014

Supplies:
Construction paper
Glue
Markers, crayons, or colored paper
Googley eyes (optional)

Directions:
Cut, rip, or tear construction paper and glue on to paper to create a blue hen chicken. Use a writing utensil to add details.

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Gorilla Hands

3/17/2014

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Animal Puppets

11/5/2013

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Puppets are a useful tool to help children express emotion. Let them create some puppets or give them some that have already been prepared. Ask them to create a story to act out with the puppets. Puppets help children act out social scenarios and express problems they have faced.

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Animal Activities

11/5/2013

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Cow Mask
Imaginative play is important for brain development. Creating a mask and pretending to be an animal may spark questions such as, what would this animal do? Where does the animal live? What do they eat?
We made our mask out of a paper plate and string. We colored a face and added a little bit of tulle as grass.

P is for Pig
This activity can be used for any word. "O" for octopus, "F" for fish, etc. Give the children a letter and allow them to be creative with things that start with that letter.
Example: Things to give children while creating with the letter P, pennies, pink, prickly, etc.

Yarn Lamb
This sensory project allows children to feel the soft "wool" as they wrap the yarn around the lamb. This activity also promotes hand movement and muscle growth. Cut out a foam sheep. Allow children to give their sheep an eyeball and its fur.

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Fun Paper Plate Projects

10/29/2013

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Literacy extension to “Owl Moon” by Jane Yolen and for animals, “The Carnival of the Animals" (Book and CD)Jack Prelutsky(Author), Camille Saint-Saens (Creator), Mary GrandPre (Illustrator)

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Zoo Animals and Letter Match

10/15/2013

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The Zoo is filled with animals found in the alphabet! Here is a game to play connecting first sounds with animals in the zoo.

Read the book: Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Materials needed: Cut out pictures of animals in the zoo for each letter of the alphabet. On 3x5 index cards write each letter in lower case. (We use lower case first, because most of the words they will learn will be begin with a lower case letter.) Laminate or contact paper the animals and letter cards.

NOTE: When teaching phonetics choose animals whose name begins with a letter sound of only one letter. So you would probably not use “giraffe” if using this tool to support phonetics in the early stages. Because the “g” sound in “giraffe” is the same as “j.”

Instructions: Place the animals and letter in two small baskets. Go through each animal and help the child find the first letter sound of the animal’s name.

NOTE: As children become proficient in their understanding of phonetics you can expand knowledge by looking for last letter sounds. Go through each letter card and sound it out.

Have the child choose either a letter or an animal. Place it on the table in front of them. Repeat the first letter in the name of the animal, or the letter on the card.
Support children as they find the animal or letter to match their initial choice of an animal or letter.

Extension: Once children understand and can do this game on their own, have them work in pairs.

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Paper Plate Lion

10/15/2013

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My Zoo Book

10/14/2013

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Read the book: Children's Books: “Zoo” by Land of Nod

Materials needed:

construction paper
markers/crayons
scissors
animal pictures
glue

Description: Use one piece of construction on the top and one on the bottom. Add as many pieces of white paper to color at least 5 papers.

Have five sets of animals for each child. Place an animal picture on each page of the children’s books.

Let the children color a picture about what the animals is doing. As children dictate their story write it down on the page.

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Paper Plate Giraffe

10/14/2013

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5 Little Monkeys

10/14/2013

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Here is Fun Way to Play 5 Little Monkeys!

Read the book:
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
A Five Little Monkeys Story by Eileen Christelow

The video above was produced by Successful Solutions own advanced level trainer and CDA Advisor, Debra Hasbrook, M.Ed.

Materials needed:

tongue depressors
glue
cut out pictures of monkeys and an alligator

Directions: Glue each picture to a tongue depressor.

Instructions: Either you can hold the puppets, or let each child have a puppet and play along. The one with the alligator always has fun!

As you say the rhyme let the alligator eat a monkey. Have fun and count wrong sometimes. The kids love it when they correct you and everyone laughs and has a good time.