Activities with Kacey: Zoo Animals

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July 20, 2020

 

Summer activities with Kacey

Activities with Kacey: Zoo Animals

Kacey the Quality Koala and Maryland EXCELS have been sharing fun and educational activities and mealtime discussion questions for families and child care programs.

The theme of the activities below is “Zoo Animals.”

To see the latest activities and questions, visit this page or social media!

Share your activities on
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the hashtags #MarylandEXCELS and #KaceyEXCELS.

The Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood understands that activities described on this page and in website links are not suitable for all ages. Ultimately, all activities require adult supervision and are not endorsed by the Maryland State Department of Education or Johns Hopkins University.

Monday

Paper cubes with pictures of zoo animals on each sideRoll and Move Game

Let’s go visit the zoo! Listen to the song Let’s Go to the Zoo and move and dance as your child pretends to be different zoo animals.

As a follow-up activity, find an empty cube-shaped box. Wrap the box in wrapping paper,  recycled paper, or newspaper. Draw, print, or find different pictures of zoo animals in magazines. Under each animal create a movement to accompany the animal. For example, run like a cheetah, climb like a koala, stomp like an elephant, fly like a parrot, jump like a kangaroo, slither like a snake, balance like a flamingo and waddle like a penguin. Glue one animal to each side of the cube. Once the glue dries, roll the cube and act out the parts. Another fun idea is to roll the cube, silently act out the parts, and have family members guess which animal each person is pretending to be.

Mealtime discussion question: If you were to visit the zoo, what animal would you like to see first?

Tuesday

Paper Chain Zoo Animal

Depending on the age of your child, either you or your child can cut strips of different colored construction paper. Show your child how to make a circle with the strips and loop them together. Tape or glue each circle closed. Create patterns or a rainbow zoo animal. The zoo animal can be small–or longer than you! Add a face, eyes, a tongue, teeth, or other features. Share your snakes, alligators, giraffes, and other zoo animals with us on social media. 

A toy snake made from green and yellow links of paper A toy monkey made from a paper lunch bag with arms made from strips of brown paper linked together Two alligators made from green construction paper

Mealtime discussion question: Elephants have trunks, zebras have stripes, and giraffes have long necks. What special features does your zoo animal have?

Wednesday

Four young children wearing lion masks made from yellow, orange, and white paperRead a Zoo Story

Take your child on a pretend visit to the library with a lion as you read or listen to Library Lion.

As a follow-up activity, create a paper plate lion mask. Cut the middle circle from the paper plate. Cut and glue strips of paper around the plate. Can you roar like a lion?

Mealtime discussion question: Discuss your favorite zoo animals. How are those animals alike? How are they different? Where in the wild can these animals be found? 

Thursday

Zoo Parade

Look around your house for toy animals. Create lines on paper or with painter’s tape on the floor and have your child line up their animals for a zoo parade!

Toy animals lined up on blue painter's tape on carpet A young child lining up toy animals on lines drawn on a large sheet of white paper

Mealtime discussion question: What other toys could you have in your parade?

Friday

Zoo Animal Rescue

A teal laundry basket with string criss-crossed across the top with toy animals inside Toy animals taped down to a large blue sheet of paperFind toy animals around your home. There are different variations of this fun activity. The animals can be placed into a box or laundry basket with yarn strung in different directions across the top. Your child will have to reach down and retrieve the animals through the maze of yarn. Another way to vary this activity is to tape the animals to a box, the floor, or a table with painters’ tape. Have your child “rescue” the animals from the tape. For older children, help them decorate a small box as the animal zoo. Rescue animals trapped by tape. Wrap animals in painter’s tape or pieces of recycled paper then race to unwrap the animals and return them to their home at the zoo.

Mealtime discussion question: If you could bring a zoo animal home, which animal would you choose? Where would they sleep? What would they eat? What would you play together? 

 

See activities from past weeks: