Farm Animals & Their Babies and Life Cycle Charts
The previous activities of Farm Animals are more suited to young toddlers!
The activities that you see in this article will be more appropriate for preschoolers!
1. Animals and Their Babies
This is a simple activity for your child to match mummies and their babies. I strongly suggest mummy to print pictures of your child and yourself! This will instantly engage your child without much effort! This is not the plain old boring matching game! You need to purchase connecting links to link ‘Mother Card’ and ‘Baby Card’.
Connecting links were one of the most versatile educational items. It can used be for sorting, patterning, and counting. These attractive connecting links strengthen fine motor abilities. The smaller size demands the manual dexterity your little one needs, while their rich colours add delight as your little one strives to achieve hand-eye coordination. Connecting links are easy to hook and separate and your child may just find it amusing to do so!
The advantages of connecting links are many but I have too many manipulatives at home. Thus, I purchase office connecting links as replacement of the real deal from Daiso. Talking about Daiso… There are so many things I can purchase without feeling the pinch!
My ‘1 stone kill 2 birds’ Activity 一石二鸟
2. Life Cycle Charts
The ‘Animals & Their Young’ flash cards set as the preliminary stage to Animal Life Cycles. They will be used as matching cards for the Life Cycle Charts.
- Invite your child to pick 1 Life Cycle Chart that interests her. Lay it on a flat surface.
- Show your child the Chart and talk about the different stages in the cycle.
Mummy: Which farm animal do you like best?
Boy: Hmmm… I like to eat egg!
(Egg is not an animal!!! Well, my boy’s love for egg is too great! I stayed calm and patient and did not want to dismiss him.)
Mummy: Oh! You like egg? Do you know what will hatch from egg?
Mummy: You got it right! Baby chick will hatch from egg. When the chick grows, it will become…
(Hint by pointing at the chicken)
With the chart, I elaborated further.
‘The chicken lays the egg in a nest. She then sits on them to keep them warm. From the egg comes hatchling. Hatchling is chicken that has just hatched. After a few days, the hatchling grows into a chick. The chick grows up to be a chicken!’
(At this stage, I started to cluck like mother hen! Well, you can always get your child to act out together. It will definitely be fun!)
- Invite your child to find the matching flash cards and lay it beside the Life Cycle chart.
I did not go through the 8 charts all at once. I followed my boy’s lead. I did not stress him as I want his learning journey to be enjoyable. I pasted the charts along the corridor as my boy would always pass by. This is top of mind awareness. The child sees, the child learns and the child recalls! J
I hope these two simple activities which I have created will help your child to learn in a more creative way! You may download from the links below.
Animals and Their Young + Animal Life Cycles Printable – CLICK HERE to download.
Content Source: Mummy Rosa
Edited By: Preschool Resources
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Preschool Resources.