Hobbies And Interests
Paper Crafts
For easy paper crafts, print zoo animal coloring pages for the children to color. Make a giraffe by cutting out the outline of a giraffe neck and head for each child. Have the children dip their fingers in brown paint and press onto the giraffe to make his spots. Give the children googly eyes to glue on the picture. For added decoration, cut small pieces of brown yarn for the children to tape or glue down the back of the giraffe neck. Make an easy lion by having the children paint a paper plate yellow. Give them uncooked spiral noodles to glue around the outside of the paper plate to resemble the lion's mane. Draw the eyes and mouth on the plate with a marker.
Hunt Games
Have a zoo animal scavenger hunt in the classroom by hiding several plastic zoo animals all over the play area. Give each preschooler a small bag to hunt the animals. The child who finds the most prizes wins the game. Use a black marker to draw a star on a couple of the animals. The children who find those animals also win a small prize. Another idea is to call out the name of a certain animal like an elephant. The preschooler who finds an elephant first wins a small prize.
Animal Activities
Ask an older teen or adult to come into the classroom and paint the faces of your preschoolers like zoo animals. Other activities include zebra marble painting and plush snakes. Print a picture of a zebra with no stripes and place the picture in the bottom of a cake pan. Have the children drop a marble into black paint and allow it to roll around the picture, creating the zebra's stripes. After the picture dries, the children can cut the zebra out. Another idea is to have the children bring an old necktie to class. Sew up one end and give the children cotton balls or stuffing to fill the necktie. Sew off the other end to create a plush snake. For added decoration, the children can glue on googly eyes and red felt for the tongue.
Other Games
Other preschool games include bingo and an animal sound contest. Give each preschooler a bingo card filled with pictures of zoo animals. Call out different types of zoo animals and have the children mark their cards. The first child to bingo and say "I love zoo animals," wins a small prize. Have an animal sound contest by having each preschooler give her best impression of a zoo animal. Award prizes to the best, most realistic and funniest impressions.