:: THEME BASED LEARNING CURRICULUM ::

ANIMALS

Prepared for MeMeTales By Allison McDonald, Educator and Founder, No Time For Flash Cards

Children see animals every day which makes this theme so much fun. There are so many animals to choose from and from the earliest age

kids have their favorites. These activities can be tailored to any animal so feel free to use your child’s favorites in order to make these cool activities

even cooler.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.PLAY: Animal Tracks2.MAKE: Shadow Puppets3.PLAY: Quicksand Animal Rescue4.LEARN: Swim Fly Walk5.LEARN: Elephant Footprints6.MAKE: Fingerprint Animals

1. PLAY :: ANIMAL TRACKSThis simplest of activities can be done with any sort of animal toy and you will be amazed at how much children love it. Tip : Introduce the animal figurines one at a time to prolong play.

WHO IS THIS FOR● Preschool● Kindergarten

WHAT THEY LEARN● Fine Motor Skills● Critical Thinking

WHAT YOU NEED

● Playdough ● Animal Figurines ( anything capable of making tracks).

WHAT YOU DO

Press the animals into the playdough leaving tracks. Encourage thinking skills with questions like “ What would you do if you saw tracks like these?” “Do you think this animal tracks would be bigger or smaller than your footprints?”

2. MAKE :: SHADOW PUPPETSImaginations are wonderful things and being able to see the world in a creative way is not just a fun thing, it’s critical. Creative thinking helps learning in all subject areas and simple activities like puppet play is a great way to promote this skill.

WHO IS THIS FOR● Kindergarten● Grade 1 +

WHAT THEY LEARN● Creative Expression● Literacy Skills● Fine Motor Skills

WHAT YOU NEED

● Black Paper● Tape● Craft Sticks● Scissors● Pencil● Flashlight

WHAT YOU DO

Draw the outline of an animal on the black paper. do not worry if the animal is not perfect, encourage effort not results. Cut the outline out. Tape a craft stick to the bottom. In a dark room set a flashlight on a table towards a wall. Move the puppets between the flashlight and the wall to make the shadows. Create stories and puppet shows for family and friends.

3.PLAY :: QUICKSAND ANIMAL RESCUEThis simple activity uses your child’s imagination to turn them into an animal rescuer while fine tuning their fine motor skills and pincer grasp . This helps develop the right muscles in their hands and wrists for writing .

WHO IS THIS FOR● Preschool● Kindergarten

WHAT THEY LEARN● Fine Motor Skills● Math Skills● Memory Skills

WHAT YOU NEED

● Rice or sand.● Miniature animal figurines . You can even use puzzle pieces or in a pinch cardboard with stickers on them ● Tongs ( large tweezers or small ice tongs work well too). ● 2 Containers - one large one big enough to hold all the animals.

WHAT YOU DO

Pour the rice or sand into the larger container. Add the animals, the smaller container and tongs.Explain to your child that these animals are caught in quicksand and they need to be rescued. Tell them how many animals in total they have to find. Explain they must only use the tongs to rescue them by placing them into the smaller container.

4.LEARN:: SWIM FLY WALKSorting is an important skill for young children. This activity sorts animals by their primary mode of transportation. Do they swim? Fly? or walk? Use the animal toys you have around the house and don’t forget some animals can do all three!

WHO IS THIS FOR● Preschool● Kindergarten

WHAT THEY LEARN● Cognitive Development● Critical Thinking

WHAT YOU NEED

● Construction Paper● Animal Toys ● Marker

WHAT YOU DO

Write fly, swim and walk on different sheets of paper. Gather your animal toys and sort. Talk through it with your child but don’t interrupt if they are deeply involved. Ask questions such as “ Do you think that ducks fly or swim more?” Let them explain and support their answer.

5.LEARN :: ELEPHANT FOOTPRINTSMeasurement is a fun part of math that can be taught in so many creative ways. This activity not only demonstrates just how big elephants really are but it also sparks interest in math and comparison.

WHO IS THIS FOR● Elementary● Kindergarten

WHAT THEY LEARN● Measurement Skills

WHAT YOU NEED

● Tape Measure● Ribbons ( 2 colors)● Scissors● Paper ● Marker

WHAT YOU DO

Using the tape measure measure your child’s foot. Note the length and measure out the length in ribbon. Cut and label it with a marker. Next measure out 40 cm or 15.5 inches, this is the average length of an elephant’s foot. Cut a piece of the 2nd color ribbon and label it. Using the ribbon measure your child’s height. Record how many “My feet” tall your child is compared to how many “ Elephant feet” tall they are. Measure things around the house as well.

6.PLAY :: FINGERPRINT ANIMALSThis is a fun activity that uses your child’s fingerprints to make animals. Open ended and completely creative set few boundaries and see what they can come up with!

WHO IS THIS FOR● Kindergarten● First Grade +

WHAT THEY LEARN● Creative Thinking● Fine Motor Skills

WHAT YOU NEED

● Washable stamp pad● Fine Tipped markers● Paper

WHAT YOU DO

Press fingertips into the stamp pad, press onto paper, add animal features to turn the fingerprint into an animal using markers.