2. 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
4. 1. PLAY :: ANIMAL TRACKS
This 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?”
5.
6. 2. MAKE :: SHADOW PUPPETS
Imaginations 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.
7.
8. 3.PLAY :: QUICKSAND ANIMAL RESCUE
This 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.
9.
10. 4.LEARN:: SWIM FLY WALK
Sorting 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.
11.
12. 5.LEARN :: ELEPHANT FOOTPRINTS
Measurement 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.
13.
14. 6.PLAY :: FINGERPRINT ANIMALS
This 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.
