Zoo Week for Preschoolers - Part 3

Well it is not in my habits to post on a Saturday as I usually use this time to work on curriculum development but I really wanted to get this last Zoo Part out before next week...So here it is!

Zoo Animal Cracker Patterns

Who doesn't like animal crackers? I don't tend to keep them around the house that much but I bought a bag for this week to the delight of my kids (We used Leibniz's zoo crackers). I quickly explained that before eating them, Adrian would need them for school. :) Needless to say, this activity HAD to be done on Monday. :) Using animal zoo animal crackers, I started a pattern and asked Adrian "What comes next?"  A fun and yummy activity.

Making a  Zoo Cage thru - Fine Motor Skills

Well this one can be both an art piece and a fine motor activity I guess. I really wanted to focus on the fine motor aspect of the activity so I personally prepared the "scene" for the zebra. I printed, cut and glued the zebra, cut and glued the green construction paper mountain behind it and made the indents on the cardboard (a cereal box). "All" Adrian had to do was to insert the flax yarn into each indent (not easy at all to him since it was as tight as floss and teeth) and wrap around the box with the yarn before inserting into the next indent. It took a while but it turned out to be a beautiful cage. I guess looking back I could have spaced the indents more...a lot more  Also, the indents could be done by a child if you draw them on the box prior to the cuts being made so they can align well. I know "A" still has trouble with scissor work so I decided to do the indents myself. Idea and zebra: DLTK Kids.

How Many Spots on this Giraffe?

Eights giraffes, eight markers colors and a different amount of spots of each of these mammals.  Adrian's work? To count the spot on each of these giraffe and then tally that number on the main sheet with number cards. This idea came from Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten. There were so many more good ideas for a zoo unit there. Wish my kid could attend sometimes! :) Anyhow, I made my own giraffe cards and sheets by using Corvus Tristis's pattern. You can always e-mail me to get the tallying sheet if you wish.

Zoo Animal Cards and Beginning Sounds

As mentioned in a prior post on our Zoo Unit, I made these beautiful zoo cards myself by using pictures provided by National Geographic. For this activity, I set them out with a tray of LeapFrog magnetic letters. Adrian then had to match pictures with beginning letters. Easy peasy literacy to him. We've progressed to the moveable alphabet but we're still waiting on it. KidAdvance seems to have lost our package... :(

Zoo Schedule of Events and Their Daily Times

Adrian has been telling time for a while now. I never really had to "teach" him. He kind of just absorbed it here and there by asking questions. Certain times are important to him and that's how he learned. He would stare at our clock and tell me the time. He especially loves the "o'clock". Now, digital time is easy to him so I grabbed an old fashioned clock to show him how the arms and hands work and all. He got it pretty quickly. The activity was to look at the zoo schedule I prepared and to indicate the time written on the schedule on that Roman clock. 

Close-Up of my Zoo Schedule 

Zoo schedules are so cool nowadays. When I was little, going to the zoo was it. There was very little else to do but to see the animals and believe me, that was plenty. Now, there are chats, shows, feeding times and so much more. When creating this schedule, I looked at several zoos around the world to get a pulse of what they have to offer. This schedule was based on my findings. That's right. These things happen for real, not in an imaginary world. Thus, if you want to feed the penguins, head to ZSL London Zoo in London, England, if you would rather see how a bear is trained, fly to Louisville, KY, U.S.A. In the mood for orangutan crossing? The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC, U.S.A. has it! Sea Lion show? Well now, that's pretty pretty much anywhere with sea lions, right? How about seeing an elephant take a bath? Could be funny, right? Then you'll need to go to Houston, TX, U.S.A. Finally, as you may have guessed, to hold a cuddly koala and get a picture taken with it, you'll need to arrange a trip to Taronga Zoo, in Sydney, Australia! There, you have it!

Zoo Feeding Stations - Feeding an Elephant and Giraffe - Fine Motor

Before we had kids, I was the kid. I was the one asking to feed the animals. Yep. I did the giraffe feeding, the dolphin feeding and all. :) For this activity, Adrian, who never got to feed any zoo animals yet (goats don't really count now, do they?), got to finally feed an elephant some peanuts with a nutcracker and a giraffe some lettuce with some tongs. 

* * * 

Today, I'm happily linking up to:

I can Teach my Child, Sugar Aunts, Teach Beside Me, Golden Grasses, No Time for Flashcards, True Aim Education, Hey Mommy Chocolate Milk, Chicken Babies, Life with Moore Babies, Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, Here Comes the Girls, Inspiration Laboratories, The Iowa Farmer's Wife, Artsy Play Wednesday , Discover and Explore, and Train Up a Child.   

If you would like me to link up with you, please don't hesitate to ask, it might take me a week or two, but I generally do!

Zoo Week for Preschoolers - Part 2

I've always been a big fan of zoos. Even before I had kids, I visited zoos on a somewhat regular basis. Seeing such "exotic" animals out of books and so close is something rather special. I'm still hoping to see some of these zoo animals in their real habitat while we're so close to Africa. We've been talking about going to either Tanzania or Kenya (South Africa is a LONG flight away) but these countries have both been a bit unstable lately. Hopefully, it will all get better soon, both for these countries and for my safari wishes! :)

Lion Paper Plate Craft - Fine Motor Skills & Art

Fine Motor Skills? Where, you may ask? Well, if you look closer, the mane of the lion has been scissor cut. Yes! Adrian is finally "making the cut"! :) I found a perfect pair of scissors that makes it manageable for him to cut. I still have to hold the material he is cutting but he is now able to cut instead of simply crease/fold the paper. I used a dinner plate to make this lion so cutting all around was long but he managed. The cutting was the first step. We then painted the face in yellow and then the mane in orange. Our plate had a slight bevel so I showed Adrian to use that as a "face" guideline to know when face and mane started/stopped. Once everything was dried, Adrian glued on the goggly eyes and the pre-cut nose/mouth. Idea credit: Preschool Corner.

I spy on this Zoo Map - A Literacy Adventure

Curiously, we do not play a lot of "I Spy" games over here. I guess it's one of those "too obvious" games that gets forgotten. I know some people have done versions with bottles, others with booklets and here I am presenting you a version with a zoo map. A San Diego Zoo Map to be precise. I downloaded it straight from their website. It is busy enough to make it challenging for a 4.5 years old yet not too difficult for one to give up depending on which animals you are looking for. Here are the ones my little eye was spying on...

-a panda

-an elephant

-a tiger

-a gorilla

-a lion

Adrian had no trouble finding them. I'm not saying it didn't take him a few seconds but he found them without needing any hints and without losing too much time/patience. As a bonus, I also asked him to find a white arctic fox and that was definitely a good bonus. It took him a long time but he finally did. Will you find it?

Water basin temperature matching aka Thermic "bottles"

Sometime during the primary years, the thermic bottles are presented to the children attending Montessori schools. I still hadn't done any thermic activities with Adrian and thought I might just be able to slip the "thermic bottles" in the zoo unit with a little variation: instead of using the bottles, I'd used budget-friendly glasses. As this was our first time doing this type of activity, I also decided to do only three different temperatures instead of the usual four. It also worked better for my zoo scenario. One cup was 37 degrees, one was 17 degrees and the last one was about 7 degrees (all Celsius). 

I explained to Adrian that each of these cups contained the perfect water temperature for an animal living at the zoo except for one that would be perfect for the people visiting the zoo instead. I told him his first job was to match the water cups by temperature and so he did with no problem. I then asked him to organize them from coldest to warmest. We discussed which felt most comfortable to him; which cup he'd rather take a bath in. He pointed to the 37 degree cup and I told him it was the water basin for the visitors of the zoo. I then showed him a picture of the penguins and asked him which water he thought they might prefer. He pointed to the coldest saying penguins like snow and ice. And that left us with the middle cup which is I explained was the perfect temperature for the dolphins. 

How Many Fleas on the Back of this Monkey?

Have you ever noticed monkeys at the zoo? They spent quite a bit of time looking for parasites into each other's fur. My son thought it was funny, especially when they'd find one and would eat it. I therefore dedicate this activity to him! :) I printed pictures of various monkeys and drew tiny specks with a black pen to represent "fleas". I tried to put them in the darker areas of the monkeys to make it more difficult. I then added a magnifying glass to the tray (first time using one for Adrian) and we were off to find and count fleas. It was indeed very fun. Adrian loved the magnifying glass and I am planning on including it some more later.

Magnifying Fleas

Sweeping a Zebra Enclosure

Adrian is, generally speaking, no fond of the sweeping activities. They are quite traditional in the Montessori schools and I try to make them fun but until now, they had never been caught Adrian's interest. I am so glad he liked this one. I used Panko bread crumbs, a paintbrush and put a zebra figure in the crumbs. I explained that the zookeeper was quite busy that day at the zoo and that it would be helpful as assistant-zookeeper if he could clean the enclosure himself by sweeping all the crumbs to one side. He would also have to move the zebra to make sure no crumbs remained under the animal. Mission accomplished!

In the Process of Getting Mr. Zebra's Enclosure Clean

Matching Labels to Zoo Fur Samples

When I thought about the zoo unit curriculum, I immediately knew I'd want to have Adrian match a picture of the zoo animal and a part of their fur/feathers and such. Unfortunately for me, the only place I could remember having these patterns on "paper" were Michael's stores (which is nowhere around here) Thankfully for me, TPTB had the same idea and I guess didn't have access to these sheets either! :) So I printed her work and used those instead with the labels as a literacy practice (Adrian can "read" by first letter and from then on can match to the fur card). Needless to say, I'm still wanting my "real" furry sheets for when little Zahavah gets to his activity but for now, I settled... *sigh*

Zoo Quiz

Every so often I prepare a little quiz for Adrian. I think last time I did one was in the fall and was about farm animals. This time, I made one about zoo animals. Only five questions with three hints, each getting easier. Adrian got all the answers and loved the quiz overall. 

Question 1. 

Hint 1. I have a blue-purple tongue.

Hint 2. I am the tallest zoo animal.

Hint 3. I am yellow and brown like a ripe banana.

Question 2.

 Hint 1. I cannot walk backwards.

Hint 2. I carry my joey baby in my front pouch.

Hint 3. I'm from Australia and love to hop (hop).

Question 3.

Hint 1. I am a bird but have no wings; instead I have flippers and love to swim.

Hint 2. I live in Antarctica.

Hint 3. I am mostly black and white and waddle like this (waddle).

Question 4.

Hint 1. I stand up to sleep.

Hint 2. My name was Marty in the movie Madagascar.

Hint 3. I look like a black and white striped horse.

Question 5.

Hint 1. I am the biggest zoo animal.

Hint 2. I use my tusks to find food and water.

Hint 3. My long trunk helps me pick up food.

* * *

Sequence for Kids

What? No picture? Nope! We did not get to play. But we will on one of these rainy days! :) If you haven't yet, you should get your own board. Sequence for Kids is GREAT. Adrian and I both love it and it features zoo animals. It fitted this week's theme perfectly but time was short and this was obviously not a priority on my list.

Zoo Enclosures with Blocks & Tape Measure

No way! Yet another thing we did not get to do! What is going on? Well, little Zahavah is growing up. As such, her nap time is being cut back and it is eating away at our school time. I guess I also had planned more activities than less or maybe we just took more time than I thought we would on certain activities. Anyhow, I had planned on having Adrian build zoo enclosures with wooden blocks. These enclosures would have been for our Jumbo Zoo Animals made by Learning Resources and I would have provided "dimensions" and a measuring tape for the activity. Let's see if we can recycle this activity in another weekly theme... 

Zoo Map continents

Hmm. Well, this one stayed "off the map" as well. I had originally planned on "making" a sandpaper globe and have a guessing game of where the zoo animals originally came from. I had planned on having 1-2 animals representing each continent.  Maybe I'll just get to it later, like over the summer or something. Here are the animals I had picked :

Asia: Tiger & Panda
Australia: Kangaroo & Koala
Europe: Chamois
Africa: Giraffe & Gorilla
North America: American Buffalo
South America: Llama
Antarctica: Penguins

* * *

Today, I'm happily linking up to:

Living Montessori Now, B-Inspired Mama, I can Teach my Child, Sugar Aunts, Teach Beside Me, Golden Grasses, No Time for Flashcards, True Aim Education, Hey Mommy Chocolate Milk, Chicken Babies, Life with Moore Babies, Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, Here Comes the Girls, Inspiration Laboratories, The Iowa Farmer's Wife, Discover and Explore, Train Up a Child and

If you would like me to link up with you, please don't hesitate to ask, it might take me a week or two, but I generally do!

Zoo Week for Preschoolers - Part 1

When planning a zoo week for Adrian, I knew it would involve more science than usual. I guess it's ok in a way. He loves science and in other units, we don't get to incorporate it as much. One thing is sure zoo week was well liked and a trip to the zoo is now pending! :)

Homemade Zoo Cards & Fun Facts

I actually made these cards last summer in anticipation for our annual zoo visit. I wanted to make sure Adrian would be able to identify most zoo animals he'd encounter and I also wanted to get him excited about this outing. It worked and I am glad I got to re-use these beautiful picture cards in school. I made them mostly using National Geographic pictures. I find they always provide such beautiful photographs on their website. For facts, I also relied on National Geographic as well as Encyclopedias we have here. I tried to stick to what the animals eat, what continent they originate from as well as a fun tidbit that would make the animal memorable to Adrian. For example, I put down that the giraffe had a bluish-purple tongue. He thought it was so strange! :)

Sorting : Farm or Zoo Animals?

Let's face it: there are lots of animals out there and it can get confusing for children, especially now that zoo have petting zoos. Are there really "proper" zoo animals? I guess not. A zoo is really just a place where animals are kept in an enclosure and shown off to visitors. Sure zoos tend to have more wild species than farm / domestic animals but nothing prevents zoo owners from adopting ducklings and kitty cats for their next exhibits. :) Now, our activity was to sort the Jumbo Animals from Learning Resources into two groups; Farm and Zoo Animals. Adrian did an excellent job and had no trouble spotting who went where. I tried my best to explain why farm animals were considered "farm animals" and why zoo animals had become "zoo animals". This activity was adapted from My Montessori Journey's.

How Monkeys Remain Off the Grounds

Some monkeys rarely hit the grounds running. They'd rather stay up in the trees. Now, monkeys have hands and feet like we do but clearly, there is no path in between trees. How do they get around? How do they go from branch to branch? From tree to tree? Our "monkey" helped us demonstrate how it's done. He slid on a branch that went from tree one to tree two that had an incline. He used his hands alternatively to grab the branch. He used his feet. He swung as well when he wanted to go faster. He even jumped from one branch to another when he couldn't reach with his long arms. Overall, Adrian thought it was an interesting lesson and enjoyed moving the monkey around and trying to figure out how to make monkey reach its destinations.

Stacking Monkeys

These stacking monkeys are a bit basic for Adrian but still fun. (They're actually Zahavah's monkeys).  I thought he may make more complex stacking structures today but....I was wrong. He put the monkeys in the holes and that was it. I showed him a more complex building of monkeys (see above) and thought it might inspire him to build something more advanced or higher but nope. Next! :) By the way, these are made by Lauri, one of my favorite toy companies. I had eyed them for Adrian but never bought them for him. Bought him the toddler tote instead a few years ago (what a hit that was...is). Baby Z got these for Christmas though and I was so happy! 

Fine Motor & Art: Striping a Zebra with a Q-Tip

Drawing lines is very basic. It's something your child will do around their what? 2nd birthday or something like that? Anyhow, we're still working on making beautiful lines here, both vertical and horizontal (as well as staying within the lines) so I thought a good way to practice would be to paint some stripes on a zebra! I even brought out our zebra figure as a model so the stripes could be painted in the "right" direction. I think it looks awesome, what do you think? Want to try it? Get a blank zebra at Mithmeoi.

* * *

This post was shared at Discover and Explore.