Transform an ordinary paper plate into a lion’s face. The face of the lion can cover the entire paper plate. Use a shade of orange-brown or brown-yellow as a base over the surface. Let the paint dry. Cut strips of orange yarn to create a mane for your lion along the top of the plate. Use white school glue to attach the yarn. If you want to make your paper plate into a mask, cut out the eyes prior to painting the surface. Otherwise, use markers or paint to add the feature. With either paint or markers, add a nose and mouth and then attach a wooden craft stick to the bottom with a staple, if desired.
Gather an assortment of animal cookie cutters and allow the children to make various zoo animals from the molds. Aside from it being a hands-on activity to reinforce the animals that live at a zoo, clay is an ideal medium for young kids as it builds fine motor skills. If working with preschool-age to kindergarten students, transform this simple activity into a pattern-building skill. Help the children to start a pattern and encourage them to continue the sequence.
Send your students on a hunt for zoo animals in magazines and newspapers and save an assortment of cutouts. Once they have gathered a reasonable amount, supply them with poster board and glue to create a collage of the animals. You may want to encourage the students to work in groups to create a collage of one type of animal per board to show different sizes of the animals.
At the zoo, there’s often a wide range of birds available for viewing. Have your students create their own feathered friend. Decide which bird your students will make and cut out a template ahead of time. Supply each student with a cutout and allow them to embellish with wiggly eyes, yarn on the main part of the body and feathers along the wing and tail sections.