Letter Z
- 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.
- Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of white paper, some black paint, a black marker,scissors, some black pipe cleaners, something to paint with like a sponge or brush, and a piece of construction paper.
- Draw or have your child draw a fat Z
- Draw a Zebra head, don’t worry about it being perfect!
- Start painting the stripes.
- Glue pipe cleaner pieces on as the mane, you could use paper strips or yarn for this too.
- Cut the Z out .
- Glue everything onto a piece of construction paper!
Playing with letters, seeing letters and print in their environment is a really important part of early literacy. Providing a print rich environment helps to teach your child that words are not just for stories that letters, words and print is used by us in practically everything we do. Point letters out to your child, have scavenger hunts – just have fun and you will be amazed by how naturally they will learn.
educational!
