For me the interest the zoo sparks in my son about animals have tipped me on the side of going to our local zoo and exploring the theme at home. I am glad you brought this up Cil because I know you won’t be the only one who feels like this and I have wrestled with this too.

I loved seeing him sit back like this to take it all in.Ĭheck out our favorite books about the zoo here! I like to include books with activities to deepen the learning and extend the interest in the topic.įiled Under: Age Preschool, Age: Kindergarten, Animal Activities, Preschool Activities, Pretend Play, Zoo | 14 Comments I think the most interesting observation for me watching my son do this was how he really wanted a specific design.The goal wasn’t to force him to write it was to play so I was happy to help. No he didn’t write those words, after a few he asked if I could do it and I did to keep the momentum of the play going.

Africa and the petting zoo were next followed by the whales.

Starting with the sign then building the structure and adding the animals. It took a lot of patience to arrange them just so. He wrote the sign, the built the house and arranged the snakes. These stretchy snakes are adored in our house for some odd reason.

Next sort the animals and build their enclosures.

I drew the outline as he explained it to me but the rest was up to him. My son and I have made up worlds we tell stories about all the time ( Mine is called Mommyland … original eh?) and we decided to base the layout on the zoo from his imagination. Only do this on hard surfaces or the paper will rip and tear when you try to write and draw on it.

Start by cutting a large piece of craft paper and taping it ( using the painter’s tape ) to the floor.

You will need some craft paper ( get it at the dollar store and save!), blocks, animal toys/ puzzle pieces, crayons, some painters tape and scissors. I loved how involved he was from start to finish and that I could work in some writing practice ( every little bit helps) that didn’t feel like practice at all. I intended it to be for both kids but my daughter was not so excited about his vision for the zoo so we read zoo animal books while he crafted his very own zoo. This build your own zoo pretend play hit all the right notes for him. The battle against screen time is a constant struggle with my kindergartener so when I find an activity that he loves and keeps him engaged for a long time I feel like I’ve won the lottery.

Build your wild self zoo