Less is More (Z is for Zoo) - 8/15/11

I was reminded today about the old saying "Less is more."  We were going to do Z is for Zoo.  When I went to find the container of zoo animals to put out with the blocks, I found that they had been left outside (for a long time by the looks of them) and were all dusty and gross. What to do? So I changed my plan real quick and thought they might have fun having an "animal wash." I put out a tub of soapy water, a tub of clean water, some little sponges and some small drying cloths and then some towels to lay the animals out on. This one activity was a BIG hit with the kids and we were able to cover so much "learning" in the process. We:

talked about the steps involved and they worked on following 3 part directions: wash, rinse dry.

identified each animal and talked about where they lived, what sounds they made, and what they ate.

talked about the animal's body parts and made sure we got them all clean.

described each animal's colors and textures.

talked about the feel of the bubbles and temperature of the water and exercised small muscles of the hand every time they squeezed those sponges.

used position words like "upside down, over, on top of, behind, underneath, and next to."

counted how many animals we washed as well as how many of each animal there was.

This activity lasted for about an hour. That's a LONG time in Nowville! Less is more!

Here are some of the other things we did today:

And now for some added extra fun: