Zoo Z !
Has your summer already gotten busier than you thought possible? Well this week’s letter of the week activity is easy, fun and fast to do! When I am trying to save time or mess with a craft I grab stickers, my son loves them , peeling them off is great fine motor and on a busy day where I don’t want even more mess to clean they are a perfect choice for art time!
” Inside a Zoo in the City” by Alyssa Satin Capucilli is a rebus read along , so children who can’t read words yet can help read this with pictures put right into the text! The story is repetitive and builds with one animal and page at a time. Preschoolers love these books and the repetitive nature of it makes it interactive and fun!
” 1, 2, 3 To The ZOO” by Eric Carle is fun counting book perfect for toddlers. Actually as I type this my toddler is reading it. There are no words, just pictures and numbers and that makes it perfect for toddlers who are just learning both numbers and animals because parents can read it slowly counting , naming the animals and making the animal sounds, or more quickly just counting!
- Gather your materials. You will need a piece of white paper, a piece of construction paper, animal stickers, a crayon( or marker), scissors and glue. * Our stickers were a little small but the only ones we had on hand, if I did this again I would use much larger ones.
- Start by drawing a large uppercase Z.
- Hand it to your child and have them practice making straight lines, my son did a few before the urge to draw in circles overtook him. That’s fine the straight lines are good writing practice but at 2 I am not worried with specifics . The lines straight or curves will be the cage bars.
- Add your animals to the cage. I encouraged my son to put the animals inside the Z, most got in. This adds a quick in vs out lesson in opposites.
- Cut out.
- Add the glue
to the construction paper.
- Add your Z and let dry.
Books!
” Inside a Zoo in the City” by Alyssa Satin Capucilli is a rebus read along , so children who can’t read words yet can help read this with pictures put right into the text! The story is repetitive and builds with one animal and page at a time. Preschoolers love these books and the repetitive nature of it makes it interactive and fun!
” 1, 2, 3 To The ZOO” by Eric Carle is fun counting book perfect for toddlers. Actually as I type this my toddler is reading it. There are no words, just pictures and numbers and that makes it perfect for toddlers who are just learning both numbers and animals because parents can read it slowly counting , naming the animals and making the animal sounds, or more quickly just counting!
“Peek-a-Zoo!” by Marie Torres Cimarusti is a vibrant lift the flap book that goes through sounds different animals make while playing peek a boo with the reader. What I like about this book is that the flaps offer a chance for your baby or toddler to anticipate what animal it hiding as well as the sound , so it grows with them. Also the flaps are large enough that little hands can grab them and won’t get frustrated.
Pop over to FamilyEducation.com ! And read my reviews of even more Zoo books.
4 Responses to “Letter of The Week Z!”
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How fun! I can't wait to try this one later with my son
He's been all about the zoo and animals lately!
Another one we love around here is "Dear Zoo" (also lift the flap). "I wrote to the zoo to send me a pet…"
I LOVE his little robot shirt!!
Love how you made a cage on the Z. Great idea! We also love "Goodnight Gorilla" – good for bedtime AND talking about zoo animals!