Explore Through Movement and Play with Your Toddler
Activity: Move Like an Animal
Note to parents and caregivers: Moving around like an animal is not only fun, but also builds gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, language skills, and develops social and communication skills. Plus, moving around like animals can provide a needed movement break that can help get some wiggles out. Moving like animals can lead to lots of questions about different animals and what they look and move like.
Materials:
- Open space to move!
- Book about different animals (recommended)
Instructions:
- Find an open space and tell your child you are going to move like animals.
- Here’s some suggestions to get started. Don’t forget to try and make the sounds.
– Hop like a bunny
– Stomp and move your truck like an elephant
– Slither like a snake
– Crawl slowly like a turtle and then hide in your shell
– Gallop like a horse
– Walk backwards like a crab (or pretend to have claws)
– Waddle like a penguin - Ask your child if there is an animal they want to move like. Ask them to show you how they move.
- Look through the animal book to get more ideas. Talk about why certain animals move the way they do.
Questions to Ask
- Why does this animal move like that?
- What does this animal sound like?
- Why did you move your body like that?
- How else can we move like that animal?
Activities Prepared by:
Discovery Center Museum
URL: www.discoverycentermuseum.org/
Fun & educational science museum with exhibits, workshops, crafts & experiments for kids.
