8 Ways to Introduce Animals to Preschoolers
Animals are of constant fascination to children, you’d know that if one of the first words your child said was “bhow-bhow”. To their innocent mind, an animal is a friend, an equal with the same feelings and emotions, perhaps that is why the sooner you introduce them to animals the more likely they are to grow into empathetic, kind adults.
But that doesn’t mean you have to own a pet to introduce your baby to animals, here are some interesting ways to introduce them to animals, their natural habitat and habits.
Introduce Animal Songs
Singing rhymes is a fun way to introducing toddlers to anything and one that has a lasting effect on their memory. You can never go wrong with “Old Mcdonald had a Farm”, oink and moo along with the song for the most fun-tastic experience. You may also want to explore songs for children by Boogiemites and Kidsparkz. Here is a playlist of videos we created using Boogiemites music during the covid-19 pandemic. If you like the music, you can buy it at a 20% discount using the coupon code: BOOGIENUTS20.
Harriet of Boogie Mites encouraging children dance along the Animal Songs
Tell Animal Tales: Animal Stories for Kids
Animal fables have been a part of our oral tradition since time immemorial. We’ve all grown up with the tale of the mouse who freed the elephant or the thirsty crow, stories that have passed over generations and still remain to be our faithful friends. NutSpace teaches children through theme and story-based learning and does cover EVS and Animal themes in a very elaborate manner. Register on the Nutspace Learning Platform and get access to some of our Animal-based themes. Here are some of the stories you may like. For more free stories you can explore the NutSpace youtube channel.
Storyteller Rohini Vij telling the story Mumma Owl Goes Missing
Visit a Zoo / Petting Zoo
Children love visiting the zoo and what better form of learning than by observing the wild in their space. If your city has a petting zoo – it is highly recommended that you take your children there. Children will be able to touch and play with animals and in turn will also develop a fondness for them.
Pretend Play
And if it’s too hot to go to the zoo, then you can always use your imagination to bring it to your room. Get down on all fours and let the child in you take over. Quack around like a duck or let your roar reverberate through the room.
Read Books
Indulge in a picture book and lose yourself in the beautiful colours. Sing and dance with the animals and become a part of the jungle. Below are some book recommendations. And if you are wondering how you need to read to your child or when you should start reading to your child, you must explore this webinar: Reading to Babies & Toddlers.
Animal Craft
Make your own animal puppets/origami. Weave a story around it to capture the attention of the child. Using puppets to tell stories encourages the child’s imagination and creativity. Here is storyteller Rohini Vij, telling the story of the Three Little Pigs using stick puppets. Make your own stick puppets by downloading this worksheet.
Rohini Vij uses stick puppets to narrate the story of Three Little Pigs
Drawing, Colouring Activities & Worksheets
Join the dots, colour in the animal, take the animal to its food – are some of the worksheets that can help introduce animals to children. There’s quite a lot of animal activity options online. You can even register on the NutSpace Learning Platform for free and access free themes like Farm Tales: Learn all about Farm Animals with Stories & Activities, The World Around Us: Explore Weather, Animals, Body Parts & The 5 Senses and Learn about Animals where we’ll befriend a duck, a frog, an elephant, a hard-working ant and a slithery snake. Each theme consists of stories, activities, video guides, vocabulary videos and worksheets.
Worsheets Samples from NutSpace
Creating Animal faces with Paper Origami
Games Based on Animals
Pin the tail on the donkey, Doggie Doggie, where’s your bone? The good old fashioned Animal Charades, or just get Alexa to play Animal Sounds, take your pick!
