brother Noah

Now that it's getting cooler outside (it was pretty chilly at the bus stop this morning!), I see that the park near my house is pretty empty in the morning, with the pre-school crowd showing up on sunny afternoons. So I thought I'd share a song / activity that would be fun for morning playtime inside. 

First, find some animals - you will need two of each. Animals that make noises are easier to use for this activity. You can use stuffed animals, little plastic toy animals, and images cut from magazines and coloring books. Then, find a container or tub to use as an "ark."

Before you are ready to sing and play, hide one of each animal in your play area. As you sing each verse, hold up an animal. Challenge your pre-schooler to find the matching animal before you finish the verse. After the pair of animals has been found, place them into the "ark" together. 

If you would like to extend this activity to a real-life experience, visit the zoo one afternoon, and photograph each animal you see. If there's a male and female in the enclosure, photograph them separately. When you get home, print the pics of the animals. Print two copies of the animals that were bachelor(ette)s or find another image, from a magazine or online, so that you have two images of each animal. Then play the game the next day - E I E I O!