Animal Activities
- Gather your materials. You will need some fun toy animals, a plate, paper,markers and paint.
- If you want you or your child can draw some scenery.
- Spread some paint on your plate and dip your animal in.
- Start making some tracks.
- Add the next paint color and more paper if you want and keep going.
“Is Your Mama a Llama? “ by Deborah Guarino is a classroom favorite, I don’t know many preschool teachers who can’t recite most of this book . Readers follow Lloyd the llama as he riddles his way through a bunch of animals until he find the one he calls mom. I like the mix of animals in this book, a little different than your average zoo or farm collection.
My son has been talking a lot about tigers lately, so it was no shock to me when I asked him what he wanted to make for art and he replied “Tiger?”. He loved making this and even though we didn’t cut eyes out, he has been playing with it like a mask , pretending to be a ferocious tiger!
- Gather your materials. You will need some orange and black paper, a paper plate, some orange paint ( or mix red and yellow like we did), scissors, googley eyes, and glue.
- Start by mixing your orange paint
- Paint your plate- we started out with the dainty brush,
but finished with hands.
- While our child is painting, cut a nose and mouth.
- As well as some black stripes – we used 8
- And ears out of the orange paper.
- Add the stripes on either side by first adding glue
- Then the paper.
- Next add the mouth and nose.
- My son was begging to add the eyes before we finished the stripes, so we did it before we did the head stripes, it doesn’t really matter what order you do the gluing in.
- Add the stripes on the top of the head too.
- Next up, the ears, add two stripes on each ear.
- Glue the ears on and let everything dry.
“If You See A Tiger” by Richard Powell is a cute book for babies and young toddlers. It’s a lift the flap book that encourages your child to do what the book suggests if you come across various animals. My son really liked this book when we read it a year ago when he was 18 months old.
“The Loudest Roar” by Thomas Taylor was given to me at my baby shower, recommended by a friend who’s son loved it. Sure enough my son does too, especially if I roar really really loudly along with Clovis the little tiger with the loudest roar of all. It’s a good book when toddlers are learning about when we can be loud and when we should be quiet.
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Let me explain the title, over the weekend we went on a family road trip and went into a little small town diner for lunch. Immediately we were met with various stuffed animal heads mounted pretty low on the wall. It terrified my son who began screaming “No Animal head !” and grabbing at me to leave. We eventually found a restaurant sans elk but I suggested we make this moose head in part to get over the fear .Even if there was no trauma involving an elk or moose head at your house, this is a cute activity to do.
- Gather your materials. You will need 3 pieces of construction paper , some scrap black paper, 2 googley eyes, brown paint, a pencil, scissors, glue and some crayons.
- Have your child draw the background with crayons. My son drew clouds , the sun and “og” (fog).
- While they do that, draw antlers on the first piece of paper.
- Draw the outline of the moose head on the other piece of paper. I drew an uneven keyhole shape.
- Have your child paint the head with the brown paint.
Using a big brush will help get all the head painted with little guys, our dauber didn’t do such a great job, so we took turns. - Paint the antlers. Let dry.
- Cut out the antlers and head.
- Glue the antlers to the scenery.
- Glue the head on top of the antlers.
- While your child is gluing , cut out 2 ovals from the black paper for the moose’s nostrils.
- Glue the nostrils on.
- Add the glue for the eyes.
- Add the googly eyes. Let dry.
“Moosetache” by Margie Palatini is a absurd book about a moose with an out of control mustache! Kids love this book, they laugh at the poor moose who is quite anxious about his unusual facial hair. The book has a valuable message about accepting yourself and the quirks that make you you.
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- Gather your materials. You will need a piece or two of paper, glue, scissors, some animal stickers and your choice of crayons, markers or colored pencils.
- Cut 2-3 cages paper out of the lighter paper, you don’t have to do this step if you child can draw the cages themselves, but if not this is a good way to lengthen the activity for children who may benefit from that.
- Have your child draw cages, depending on their age they can do a basic one or something more sophisticated with signs and walk ways. If you are using the cut out cages have them color them here.
- Add your zoo animals!
Have your child identify which animals they are choosing and what sounds they make or of they are older ask them what would happen if a monkey and lion shared a cage! - Color the zoo background
- Glue the cages on !
- Now you have your very own zoo .
Books!
” 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!
” Good Night Gorilla” by Peggy Rathmann is a silly story about a zookeeper and his charges that follow him home to bed. Luckily his wife is on her toes and gets those silly animals back to the zoo ! This book is good for the 1-3 crowd , after that most kids I know have lost interest in the limited text. I love to use this book as a bedtime story.
” 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!
