Jungle Theme

CIRCLE TIME

Fun Jungle Facts -

• Jungles are overgrown with wild tangles of vegetation and dense forest.
• The thin canopy (or "roof) and plenty of rain creates dense areas of plants and vegetation that can be difficult to navigate.
• Jungles are home to a wide range of plants and animals.
• Jungles are usually in warm places with high rainfall.

Jungle Animal Facts -

1. Question: What is the smallest jungle animal?
   Answer: Ant.
   
2. Question: Where are jungles located? Answer: In the tropics  
   

   

   from enchantedlearning.com



3. Question: What is the fastest animal? Answer: The cheetah is the fastest animal on land. The cheetahs top speed can go up to 73mph.
   
4. Question: Can black bear climb trees? Answer: Yes. Black bears have great tree-climbing abilities because they have short, non-retractable claws.
   
5. Question: What are the two countries on earth that have alligators? Answer: the United States and China.
   
6. Interesting facts about elephant Elephants spend 16 hours a day eating plant food. The large tusks of African elephants can be over 10 ft (3 m) in length and weigh over 200 lb (90 kg).

Interesting facts about jungle animals

• Elephants spend 16 hours a day eating plant food.
• The large tusks of African elephants can be over 10 ft (3 m) in length and weigh over 200 lb (90 kg).
• Some antelope horns can grow to almost 5 ft (1.5 m) long.
• Apes and humans are so closely related that they share a large amount of same DNA.
• Coyotes are actually more scared of a human.
• giraffes’ fur darkens when they grow older. A giraffe tongue can be 18 inches long
• Tigers are the biggest cat. They can eat 60 pounds of meat in one day.
• Raccoons are actually close to the bear family. They like to live in urban areas.
• Wolves usually live in packs. They also fight in packs.
• Giant pandas are good tree-climbers and swimmers. They have lived on earth for about 3 million years.
• Armadillos eat fire ants as food. Armadillos are good diggers and swimmers.
• Hummingbird is one of the smallest bird and fastest flying birds.
• Not any two zebras have exactly the same stripes.

READING

 

This is a great rhyming book with references to some awesome jungle creatures!




A sweet story about a girl who goes on a magical adventure to the Amazon jungle and meets some new people and animals!



Rainforest Word Cards

Awesome cards from prekinders.com! Print these and post in the room near the circle time area so you can talk about them each day!

http://www.prekinders.com/rainforest-word-cards/

MATH

Giraffe Math Mats

Print the Math Mats from prekinders.com and use play dough to "feed the giraffe". This is a great counting activity and good for fine motor skills as well!

http://www.prekinders.com/feed-the-giraffe-mats/

SCIENCE

Animal Trax

http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/assets/PDF/Animal_Tracks.pdf

Have fun with these animal trax cards! Print and cut them out. See if the kids can match the prints to the animal! Talk about why each animal has the kind of feet they have. How do their feet help them?

ART

Rainforest Kool-Aid Art


Fill a spray bottle with water. Sprinkle different colors of Kool-Aid onto a white piece of paper. Allow the kids to spray the paper with the water and see what crazy art they can make!



CRAFT

Paper Plate Lion Masks

Materials Needed:
Large Craft Sticks
White Paper Plates
Yellow & Orange Construction Paper
Brown Construction Paper
Scissors
Glue

**Depending on the age of the children, you can pre-cut out the center of the plate and the strips of mane and the ears for them.

Begin by showing the kids how to cut the center of the plate out so their faces will show through. Then they should cut varying lengths of rectangle pieces of the orange and yellow paper for the mane. Cut ears out of the brown paper.

Glue the mane all around the edge of the plate and allow to dry. Glue the ears to the top portion of the lion's head. Glue the craft stick to the BACK of the bottom of the face to use as a handle.

Put the mask over your face and roar as loud as you can!!

(I will post images of ours soon, this is an example!)



FINE MOTOR

Play Dough Bugs and Snakes!

This is an easy one. Give the kids some playdough and let them get to it! You can make them a few examples yourself. It's a great way to play with the play dough too!!

MUSIC & GROSS MOTOR

(Make sure the kids are up and doing all the things the song talks about, it is very silly!)

Monkey See, Monkey Do

The monkey stomp, stomps, stomps his feet
The monkey stomp, stomps, stomps his feet
Monkey see, monkey do
The monkey does the same as you!
The monkey claps, claps, claps his hands
The monkey claps, claps, claps his hands
Monkey see, monkey do
The monkey does the same as you!
The monkey covers, covers, covers his eyes
The monkey covers, covers, covers his eyes
Monkey see, monkey do
The monkey does the same as you!
The monkey jumps, jumps, jumps up and down
The monkey jumps, jumps, jumps up and down
Monkey see, monkey do
The monkey does the same as you!

Note: Add additional verses (sits down, stands up, turns around, etc)

(from everythingpreschool.com)

COLORING

I have linked to firstschool.com because they have a whole list of great FREE coloring sheets to choose from!

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/animals/coloring-pages/rainforest.htm