Preschool/KG
From200 Essential Preschool Activities, Julienne M. Olson
What to have - Jungle animal pictures - Paper - Art supplies - Computer and printer
What to do Children will work as a group to make a class mural with a jungle theme. Create a jungle board in the shape of a tree and place it on a wall. Use cotton balls behind the leaves to make them three-dimensional. Ask children to tell you what animals they would like to make. Assist them in looking up information and pictures on the computer of their chosen animals. Share some information about the animals and print one animal picture for each child. Children can pick out materials from the art supplies to make their animals. Let them work freely. Ask them to tell you where to put their completed animals on the mural. Allow them to be silly and creative. For example, they may want to put the forest elephant in the tree or hang the tiger from a branch. You can also attach the computer pictures to the animals. Make sure both items go home with the children when it is time for the mural to come down. When the mural is complete, ask the children to share their thoughts about how it turned out. Encourage them to use positive words to talk about the finished job.
Why Children are learning about being a part of something bigger than themselves when they contribute to the class mural. They are learning to be creative and they also are learning what real animals look like. They are learning how to access information on the computer and discovering that the Internet is a tool for finding answers to questions.
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By Julienne M. Olson Copyright 2012 Preschool/KG