Zoo small group ideas?

Question

Our preschool class is going to the zoo the week after so our theme next week is 'the zoo' but I have no ideas for small group which is just the class splitting up into separate groups and sitting at a table doing an activity.

Answer 1

We did a zoo project where I printed off zoo animals off the internet, let them choose one, cut it out and color it - glue it on a meat tray, color its surroundings or habitat and then take a piece of yarn and wrap it around the meat tray like bars on a cage.  cute!

Answer 2

I love curriculum themes!  I always use a checklist that I have created for this exact purpose that lists goals and objectives and then helps me come up with learning center activities.  It depends on the age group you are dealing with, but here are some general ideas:

***Learning Objectives: Creative Expression, Language, Imaginitive Play, Physical Education, Sensory and Science, music and movement

***Translate those objectives into Areas: Blocks, Dramatic Play, Language and Communication, Discovery, Library, Art, Sand and Water, Music and Movement, Cooking, math and Manipulatives, Outdoors, etc.

The possibilities are endless!

The ideas really depend on the direction you decide to take it.  Decide the areas you will create.  For example:

                1.) Break the group into small groups and have each table represent a different "place that animals live" (the jungle, the mountains, the farm, water, the desert, etc.) OR depending on their age you could do (Africa, Austrailia, China, America, etc., etc.)

                 2.)  Break the group into small groups and have each table represent a different "sense"- Hearing, taste, touch, sight, sound (I.E.- "Hearing table" with a cassette tape of animal sounds- Encourage the children to draw the animals that make the sounds, etc.)

                 3.) Break the group into small groups and have traditional centers set up- as listed above.  (I.E.- Dramatic Play center set up with outfits and props for the kids to pretend to be zoo keepers, animal trainers, veterinarians, etc. or an ART center set up with stamps of different animal tracks (a hoof, a paw, a claw, a webbed foot, an elephant foot, etc. for the children to create their own "Animal Tracks"!)

These are just some general ideas- as I said, it really depends on the age of the children, etc.  Other curriculum ideas include: Foods and cooking ideas, Circle time songs or poems, books on zoos, music and/ or video clips about zoos, outdoor imagination activities about animals, and so much more!  Use your imagination! :-D

Let me know if you would like me to attach the checklist I use to an e-mail and send it your way!

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Have tham color or draw their favorite zo animal and then ask them why its their favorite

Answer 4

My personal favorite is to create a G giraffe.  If the children are able to cut around a large yellow construction paper G than have them do so.  (I enlarged a Print Shop Giraffe G...the head is at the top.)  I also have them previously rip and cut brown paper and then we glue it onto the G giraffe.  We then discuss the amount of glue that is needed for the pieces and then at the end we count how many "spots" we gave our Giraffe and ordered them from least to highest.

MONKEY ALLITERATIONS: Have your child write down or tell you sentences about monkeys. All words in the sentence should begin with M as in monkey.

Examples:

Monkeys move.

Monkeys mop.

Monkeys mimic motorcycles.

Monkeys mash melons.

Monkeys munch marshmallows.

Millions more monkeys made monster masks.

Beginning sounds--- choose 3 or so zoo animals and place their picture and the corresponding beginning letter at the top of a chart divided into three columns.  Then provide a container of objects (preferbably zoo related) for the children to sort.

Clap the syllables- use zoo related words that have 1,2, and 3 syllables/word chunks.

Scissor skills- color a paper plate green and cut into a circular snake.

Seriation:  Provide different sizes of zoo animals to place in the correct order.

Do you have access to zoo animal manipulatives?  You can use a scale and weigh them; count them, sort them, make patterns, etc.

Hope this gives you some ideas to work with.

Just thought of another one we did during the zoo theme.  I provided enough paper for each child to form a "book" with a front cover, a page for each letter in their name, and a back cover which had a Venn Diagram printed on it with the labeling sticks/both/curves.  I provided zoo stamps and they stamped each letter of their name (starting from where we are teaching them to write their name).  When they were finished they used alphabet stamps to stamp their name on the front cover and the zoo stamps to decorate.  Then on the Venn Diagram page I had them stamp (using alphabet stamps) where each letter in their name would go.  We then stapled them together.

Answer 5

make animal masks out of paper plates like lions and zebras

Answer 6

You can have them cut or color different zoo animals. There are patterns online that you can download. They can color, cut and glue the pieces together. You can also make paper bag puppets.