Zoo: Day Five

Field Trip: Visit a zoo, petting zoo, or pet store. Let children see real animals up close!

Zoo: Day Four

Zoo Animal Habitats

Book:
We read out of a book called Animal Fact File: Head to Tail Profiles of More than 90 Mammals by Dr. Tony Hare, which is a great source of information about many zoo animals.

Song:
Zoo (to the tune of "Skip to my Lou")

Zoo, zoo, who's in the zoo?
Zoo, zoo, who's in the zoo?
Zoo, zoo, who's in the zoo?
Let's go for a visit.

Monkey, swinging in a tree.
Sheep and lions, grazing free.
Tall giraffes-a sight to see,
all on our zoo visit.

Or

I see Animals (to the tune of "Are you Sleeping?")

I see animals,
I see animals
in the zoo-
in the zoo.
Elephants, giraffes,
lions and seals,
monkeys, too-
monkeys, too.

I see animals,
I see animals
in the zoo-
in the zoo.
Tigers and bears,
hippos and snakes,
lizards, too-
lizards, too.

Lesson:
Different animals have different habitats, or places to live. Some animals live in hot, dry areas and some live in snow and ice. Some animals live in caves and some swing in trees.

In zoos, zookeepers try to recreate the habitats of the animals that live there so they will feel more at home.

Games/Activities:

• Zookeeper, Zookeeper, where do I live?

Place bowls of different animal "habitats," (sand, dirt, grass, water, etc) on a towel. Let children pretend to be zookeepers by giving them plastic animals and placing the animals in the correct habitats.

• Zoo Vet: Lay out stuffed animals and various first aid supplies. Have children pretend to be vets to take care of the sick animals.
  

• Animal Cages: Recycle styrofoam plates (like those you buy meat in) and transform them into animal cages. Give children a picture of a zoo animal to glue in the center. Decorate the cage to resemble the habitat of the animal. Punch holes at the top and bottom of the place and thread black yarn through the holes to resemble the cage bars.
  

Zoo: Day Three

Feeding Time

Children will learn about the types of food animals eat and that we call animals who eat plants Herbivores and animals who eat meat, carnivores.

Book:
Curious George Feeds the Animals by Margaret and H.A. Rey
Talk about how the zoo keeper was the one who should be feeding the animals. Why did they get upset at George for feeding his snacks to the animals? (Because it wasn't the right thing for the animals to be eating.)

Lesson:
What do animals eat?

Show pictures of different zoo animals. Ask the children what they think each animal eats.

Talk about how some animals in the zoo eat plants and some eat meat.

Separate the pictures of animals into their correct categories.

Animals that eat plants only are called "herbivores."

Animals that eat meat are called "carnivores."

It's important that animals eat the correct food, just like it's important for us to eat the right food to keep us strong and healthy.

Game:

Feed the seals: use a bucket and paper fish. Have children toss the fish into a hula hoop or large basket to feed the seals, just like the zoo keeper did in the Curious George book.

Feeding Time:



Graham Cracker Cages - Spread peanut butter over a graham cracker. Lay an animal cracker (or frosted animal cookies) on top. Put black licorice strings over top to make the cage's bars. *I didn't have the licorice strings, so we just put the animals on top----Eat and enjoy!!!

Zoo: Day Two

Zoo Animals and Animal Sounds

Children will learn the types of animals that live in the zoo and the sounds they make.

Book:
Read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear? by Bill Martin, Jr. Talk about the animals at the zoo and the sounds they make.

Ask children about the animals and have them make the sounds of those animals.

Song:
Sing a song about the animals in the zoo such as:

I see Animals (to the tune of "Are you Sleeping?")

I see animals,
I see animals
in the zoo-
in the zoo.
Elephants, giraffes,
lions and seals,
monkeys, too-
monkeys, too.

I see animals,
I see animals
in the zoo-
in the zoo.
Tigers and bears,
hippos and snakes,
lizards, too-
lizards, too.

(The song can keep going as you add more animals. Have the children try to fill in the song with more of their own animal ideas.)

Zoo (to the tune of "Skip to my Lou")

Zoo, zoo, who's in the zoo?
Zoo, zoo, who's in the zoo?
Zoo, zoo, who's in the zoo?
Let's go for a visit.

Monkey, swinging in a tree.
Sheep and lions, grazing free.
Tall giraffes-a sight to see,
all on our zoo visit.

Art:

Make animal crafts. Paper Plate Lion - Paint a paper plate yellow or tan. Cut several strips of orange, yellow, or brown construction paper. Curl the strips around a pencil. Glue strips of paper all around the plate to make the lion's mane. Cut out a face and nose out of construction paper and glue it on to the center of the plate. Draw in the eyes and mouth with marker. You can also do this with yarn around the face, but it is more difficult for younger children to manage.

Paper Plate Elephant - Paint the back of a paper plate gray (or any other color you choose) and let dry OR color with crayon. Print out the black and white or color template. Color the parts, if necessary, and cut out the pieces. Glue or staple the ears onto the plate on opposite edges. Glue on the trunk and eyes.

Giraffe Paper Bag Puppet - Print out one of the giraffe templates ( color - or - black and white). Color the giraffe, if necessary, and cut out the 2 parts. Glue the giraffe's head to the bottom of a small lunch-sized paper bag. Lift up the fold and glue in the neck of the giraffe so that when you put your hand inside the bag it looks like the giraffe has a head on top of a neck.

Zebra Stripes - Print the picture of the zebra without the stripes, or you can use a picture of a horse. Cut thin strips of black paper (I use a paper shredder for this as it is quicker). Give children black strips of paper and glue to make their own zebra picture.

Zoo: Day One

Go to the Zoo

Song:

Here we go to the Zoo--see the actions and hear the song here.


Book:
Curious George Feeds the Animals by Margret & H.A. Rey

Craft:

Make your own curious monkey!

Print out the monkey template. ( Monkey Puppet ) Cut out 4 strips of brown construction paper that are about 1 inch wide and 11-12 inches long. Take each of your strips of paper and fold them like an accordian so that when they are folded they are about an inch square. These are the monkey's arms and legs. Glue a hand or foot to the end of each accordian strip. Glue the monkey's head onto it's body. Glue each of the arms and legs onto the right spot on the body. You can turn this monkey into a funny puppet by gluing a craft stick to the back.

Camping: Day Five

Field Trip!!!!

It would seem obvious that a field trip lesson for this week would involve going camping! However, if you live in a place like South Florida, where it is deadly hot, buggy, and rainy (not a good environment for camping) in the summer, you could try one of the following:

• Visit a local park that already has tents/tepees kids can play in.

• Pack a picnic lunch and eat in in the shade of a tree.

• "Camp" inside by "grilling" hot dogs and making S'mores in the microwave!

Camping: Day Four

More Camping Fun:

• You can find tons of fun camping-themed ideas at Preschool Express.

• Camp out week at Mommy Nature.

• Camping out in Mrs. Bee's Classroom.

• A campfire you can eat at Recipe Zaar.

Camping: Day Three

Camping Activities

Read camping themed books.

Sing Camping Songs:

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle Twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle Twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.


Going Camping
(sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

I am going camping.
(point thumbs proudly to chest)
Time to pack
(point to wristwatch)
My tent, my bedroll,
(Make tent with hands; then fold hands
to cheek.)
And a snack.
(Pretend to eat)

I'll sit by the campfire ----
(warm hands over fire.)
Its glow so bright.
(Fan and wiggle fingers to resemble
fire.)
Then snooze in my tent
(Pretend to snore.)
'Til the morning light!
(Open eyes wide, forming sun over
head.)


Did You Ever Go A-Camping
(Sung to Where is Thumbkin?)

Did you ever go a-camping,
a-camping, a-camping?
Did you ever go a-camping
and sleep in a tent?

2... and see a racoon?
3... and hike in the woods?
4... and fish in a boat?
5... and have a campfire?

Shadow Puppets
Darken the room and experiment with a flashlight and shadow puppets. Tell stories to go along with the puppets

Bear Hunt




Hide several teddy bears throughout the house and then "hunt" for them, being sure to place the found bears in a trashbag so they won't get away!

Scavenger Hunt:
Go on a "white" scavenger hunt, collecting an assortment of items in the house that are white (or your chosen color of the week). Search fun places like closets, drawers, the kitchen pantry, the bookshelf, garage, etc.


Camping can be so much fun! There's so many activities to keep us busy while we're camping!

Camping: Day Two

Star Gazing

Read a book about camping under the stars like I Know God is Near by Dian Curtis Regan. Talk about camping and some of the fun things we do while camping. (sleeping in tents, sit around the fire, take hikes, sing songs, gaze at the stars.)

Sing a Camping Song:
Going Camping
(sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

I am going camping.
(point thumbs proudly to chest)
Time to pack
(point to wristwatch)
My tent, my bedroll,
(Make tent with hands; then fold hands to cheek.)
And a snack.
(Pretend to eat)

I'll sit by the campfire ----
(warm hands over fire.)
Its glow so bright.
(Fan and wiggle fingers to resemble fire.)
Then snooze in my tent
(Pretend to snore.)
'Til the morning light!
(Open eyes wide, forming sun over head.)

If the tent from yesterday is still up, you could get in it or rebuild it for today's activities.

Make at least 10 star cut-outs and hide them around the room, leaving one left-over for an example. Show the children the star. It has 5 points, it shines in the sky. When it is night time, we can look up in the sky and gaze at the stars.

Go on a star hunt. Have the children look around the room until they have found all the hidden stars. When all the stars are found, pull them out and count them, one-by-one.



Sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

Children can hide the stars and go on a hunt again or play in the tent and pretend to gaze at the stars.

Camping: Day One

Pretend Camp

Weekly Words: Camping, tent, star, flashlight

Color: White


"Pack" a backpack and pretend to go camping.

Make an old-fashioned tent by draping some blankets over a large table or over a broom laying across 2 chairs. Spread out sleeping bags, large pillowcases, or blankets inside.
Lay on the floor in the tent with the lights off. Talk about going camping and tell stories about your adventures. Shine flashlights around the room and pretend to gaze at stars. Build a pretend fire to sit around and sing songs. Eat hot dogs or sack lunches. Pretend to go to sleep (or even take a nap in the tent!)

Songs:

Going Camping
(sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

I am going camping.
(point thumbs proudly to chest)
Time to pack
(point to wristwatch)
My tent, my bedroll,
(Make tent with hands; then fold hands
to cheek.)
And a snack.
(Pretend to eat)

I'll sit by the campfire ----
(warm hands over fire.)
Its glow so bright.
(Fan and wiggle fingers to resemble
fire.)
Then snooze in my tent
(Pretend to snore.)
'Til the morning light!
(Open eyes wide, forming sun over
head.)


Did You Ever Go A-Camping
(Sung to Where is Thumbkin?)

Did you ever go a-camping,
a-camping, a-camping?
Did you ever go a-camping
and sleep in a tent?

2... and see a racoon?
3... and hike in the woods?
4... and fish in a boat?
5... and have a campfire?

Patriotism: Day Five

Field Trip!!!

Ideally, this unit would be taught around the 4th of July, so the field trip could involve attending a parade, barbecue, fireworks display, or other patriotic event.

Other ideas include:

• putting flags on graves at the cemetery
• going on a flag hunt to locate flags around town
• visiting a musuem which displays something about US history
• Washington D.C. or other historical sites
  

Patriotism: Day Four

More Flag Activities

• Entire Patriotic Theme from Mommy Nature

• Song: Red, White, & Blue (Tune: Farmer in the Dell) Red, white, & blue. Red, white, & blue. The flag of American is red, white, & blue.

• Flag sorting Game

• AMERICAN FLAG PICTURES: For each of your children, glue or tape a small American flag party pick onto a piece of construction paper. (Or attach an American flag sticker.) Set out crayons or markers. Then invite the children to draw pictures on their papers that incorporate the flags. Use their pictures to make a wall or bulletin board display, if you wish.

• PERSONAL FLAGS: Cut felt into rectangles about 6 by 9 inches each. Set out collage materials, such as felt and fabric scraps, yarn, ribbon, lace pieces, and rickrack. Invite your children to choose felt rectangles and glue on the collage materials any way they wish to create personal flags. When they have finished, staple each flag to a paper towel tube for a handle.

• SHAPE FLAGS: From various colors of construction paper, cut out squares, rectangles, and triangles to use as flags. Divide a large piece of paper into three sections and draw a set of flagpoles in each one. Label one section with a square, one with a rectangle, and one with a triangle. Then let your children work together to glue the "shape flags" on the flagpoles in the proper sections.

• FLAG MATCHING GAMES: Make ten flags by stapling or taping small index cards to craft sticks or drinking straws. Decorate the flags in one of the ways below and let your children use them for a matching game. (Number Flags: Draw numerals from 1 to 5 on five of the flags and sets of matching numbered dots or stars on the other five flags. Color Flags: Draw five different colored circles on five of the flags and matching colored circles on the other five flags. Picture Flags: Attach five different picture stickers to five of the flags and matching picture stickers to the other five flags.)

• FLAGS IN THE WIND: Give your children scarves to use for flags. Play music and invite them to dance around the room, waving their scarf flags in the air. Vary the tempo of the music to represent winds ranging from gentle breezes to stormy gusts.
  

• WAVE, WAVE, WAVE OUR FLAGS: Tune: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"

Wave, wave, wave our flags,
Wave them oh, so high.
Wave our colors back and forth
As we go marching by.

Invite your children to wave their Personal Flags, above, as they sing and march around the room

• FLAG SNACKS: Let your children use one of these ideas to turn crackers into "flags." Use thin celery sticks for flagpoles: Spread softened cream cheese over triangle-shaped crackers. Use carrot sticks or red bell pepper strips for decorations; cover graham crackers with peanut butter. Decorate with raisins, nuts, or strips of fruit roll-ups.
  

Patriotism: Day Three

Independence Day--Fourth of July
Celebrating the USA!!!

Children will learn about our country and that we celebrate our Independence Day on July 4th.

Learning Activities:
(from First-School)

Read a book about Independence Day and go over a simple history of the United States.

You could get ideas from Ben Franklin's Guide for Kids here.


Activity #1: United States Symbols The Eagle, and The Great Seal of the United States

1. The Bald Eagle - United States National Symbol:

The craft features the national bird and the national flag colors: red, blue and white.
1. Here is a friendly Ben Franklin with a simple presentation of the bald eagle.

2. The Great United States Seal - United States Government Symbol Ages 4.5+
The Great United States Seal is an important government symbol and it features the bald eagle prominently. We can acquaint the children with it, and as they grow expand on the meaning and significance of all of the elements in it.

Here is a depiction and explanation of this symbol -- at Ben's Guide to the United States Government - it is written for grade levels 3-5 so select a few elements and adjust to the age group. The introduction is well suited to provide a basic explanation.

Here is are coloring pages of both sides of the The Great Seal obverse side and reverse side courtesy of the U.S. Printing Office.

The bald eagle's appearance is powerful and compelling to children. They can appreciate how majestic it looks soaring and flying free in the sky.
Activity #2: Bald Eagle Printable Crafts

Patriotic Bald Eagle Craft - (easy ages 3+) and learning activities:

Patriotic Bald Eagle Paper Bag Puppet Craft - (ages 5+) and learning activities:

1. Skills that can be addressed with these craft activities: colors, numbers, shapes, small motor skills (scissor, cutting and assembly)

Activity #3: Alphabet Letter E is for Eagle Activities

Review and present letter E eagle theme alphabet lesson plan activities

Activity 4: Additional Activities with Eagle Coloring Pages:
Have children glue dark color craft feathers to the wings and chest of an eagle coloring pages. Optional: Add a wiggly eye. Color beak and legs yellow or orange. Write the letter E e and the word eagle prominently in the border before distributing.

Activity #5: Online Jigsaw Puzzle: Bald Eagle
Here are two 6-piece online puzzles. To increase the number of pieces click on the SHAPE button.
The puzzles are effective to develop problem solving skills.