Word List for early word users

bear, crocodile, elephant, giraffe, kangaroo, koala, lion, monkey, mouse, owl, tiger, turtle, snake.

GAMES

1. Zoo Enclosure

Set up a zoo with enclosures, water troughs, feeding time and a zookeeper and visitors. Put signs on the fences and have the zookeeper drive around feeding the animals. Great way to practice animal sounds and names.

2. Safari

Put some people in a bus/van. Use some binoculars to look at the animals and make the sounds.

3. Vet set

Use a medical kit with the ‘sick’ animals. Put on some bandages and use the medical kit to help them.

PICTURE BOOKS

This is our recommended list for toddlers and preschoolers learning about animals.

Handa’s Surprise. A girl goes walking with a basket of fruit on her head. Little does she know that as she walks the animals have been stealing them! This is a visually appealing book with a nice steady rhythm and sequence. Great for preschoolers linking ideas.

Words to Try – monkey, elephant, emu, giraffe.

Dear Zoo. A classic story for very young children to flip the pages over. A great book for learning som basic animal names but also for using adjectives and linking words (conjunctions).

Words to Try – scary snake, grumpy camel, naughty monkey.

Buster’s Zoo . Another toddler book with animals to touch and feel different textures.

DK My First Zoo. Picture dictionary of lots of different zoo animals. A big range.

Zoo