Crafty Mommy Monday- Zoo

Sorry this post is a day late.  We have been very busy and I'm just now getting a chance to sit down and write this up.

This weekend we will traveling to Washington DC to visit my sister and her family as well as some very special friends...some of my fellow Preemie moms and their families. On Saturday we will be going to the National Zoo so I thought this week and next would be the perfect time to talk about zoo animals.

Some of the activities we'll be doing:

Sensory box: I'll leave in the dried beans and add in the animals from the Rainforest Toob.  I've been trying to think of how to make these sensory boxes more interactive (inspired by this awesome blog) so I'm going to add in some plastic trees we have from another play set.  Any more ideas?

Craft:  I'll cut out zebra shapes and use a marble or golfball with black paint to paint stripes.  I'll put the zebra cutout and the ball in a box and let Campbell roll it around to make the stripes.  I wish I could remember the blog where I saw this idea to give them credit...  Edited: I remembered: http://www.preschooleducation.com/azoo.shtml

Gross motor/imaginative play: we have several stuffed zoo animals (panda, lion, elephant, bear) that I got out for Campbell to play with.  While I was digging them out, Campbell spotted the tunnel and tent we got at IKEA last year.  So, she spent a long time taking her animals through the tunnel and putting them into her tent.  I think we'll have lots of fun this week playing with this set up.

I also love love this visual discrimination activity to use with the craft pompoms we have.

Check back next week for more zoo fun!