CUCC Mom's Group

Are you as excited as we are for the zoo tomorrow? Check out these Zoo inspired activities/songs to pass the time! These ideas come from ChildFun.com: 


Thumb print Monkeys
Give each child a piece of construction paper with the outline of a tree drawn on it. Set out ink pads and felt tip markers. Let the children make thumb print monkeys all over their tree pictures. To create each monkey, have them press a thumb on an ink pad and make two thumb prints, one above the other, on their papers. Then let them complete their monkeys by adding faces, arms, legs, and tails with the markers.


Blubber Experiment
Take two small plastic bags-turn one of them inside out and place it inside the other bag. Spoon crisco shortening in between the two bags and seal them together. This makes a blubber mitten and the kids can insert their hands into the mitten and put their hand into icy water and see the difference that the blubber makes in keeping warm.


Room Zoo
Have the children bring in their favorite stuffed zoo animal and set up a zoo in the class room.


Counting Cages
Collect 10 plastic strawberry baskets for cages. Cut index cards in half, and write a number from 1-10 on each half. Put the corresponding number of dots for young children. Turn the baskets over and attach the cards to the top of each basket on the bottom. Set the cages out along with 55 small plastic zoo animals. Direct children to count out the right number of animals for each cage.


I'm A Little Penguin
(Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)
I'm a little penguin
On the ice.
I think cold is very nice.
I can hop around first once, then twice,
I think ice is very nice.


Swing, Swing 
Have the children stand in a circle and hold hands. While you recite the following poem, have them swing their arms up and down.
Little monkeys swinging in the tree,
All hold hands and swing with me.
Swing up high and swing down low,
Swing in the tree, now don't let go!
Swing, swing, like I do.
Swing like monkeys in the zoo.

Penguin Thoughts 
Have you ever seen penguins in picture books?
I always smile when I see their looks.
They look like men in their fancy suits,
all black and white from head to boots.
I often wonder when it snows,
Do they freeze their little penguin toes?
Do they shiver and shake in their land of ice?
Sitting on icebergs CAN'T BE NICE!

Three Little Penguins 
Three little penguins dressed in white and black.
Waddle, waddle forward and waddle right back!
Three little penguins, in a funny pose,
They are wearing their evening clothes.
Their suits are black and their vests are white,
They waddle to the left and they waddle to the right.
They stand on the ice and they look very neat,
As they waddle along on their little flat feet.