Turn your classroom into a monkey-filled haven. Drape green crepe paper streamers across the ceiling to simulate the look of vines. Print out images of monkeys and suspend them from the crepe paper streamers. Another idea is to hang images of tress on the walls and hang pictures of monkeys in the trees. Bring in potted trees and sit plush monkeys in the branches. Play a tape of monkey sounds to give your students auditory experiences with these animals.
Integrate monkeys into literacy instruction by offering students monkey-themed reading and writing activities. Reinforce the sound the letter "M" makes by printing the letter on sheets of paper and tell students to cover the letters with stickers of monkeys. Fill your classroom library with books from the "Curious George" collection, written H.A. Rey. Other monkey-themed books are "Hand, Hand, Finger, Thumb" by Al Perkins, "That's Not My Monkey" by Fionna Watt and "Apes and Monkeys" by Barbara Taylor. Use a flannel board to tell the story of "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." Tell students to write creative pieces, describing what it would be like to own monkeys or to live among them.
Engage children in monkey-themed games and activities. Discuss how monkeys move and sound and encourage children to pretend they are monkeys and to move and make sounds like them. Hide monkeys around your classroom and send children on a monkey scavenger hunt. Set out the game, "Barrel of Monkeys" and invite children to see how many monkeys they can link together. Play a monkey-themed variation of "Simon Says," but instead of saying "Simon," say "Monkey" before each action you want students to perform.
Use arts and crafts as an extension activity during your monkey-themed unit. Provide children with brown paint, construction paper and paper plates and allow them to use the materials to create monkey masks. To make a monkey, glue two brown craft pom-poms together, creating the head and body. Attach brown pipe cleaners to the body as arms and legs and glue googly eyes onto the head. Encourage children to create paintings of monkeys in their habitats and invite them to share their paintings.