Rain sticks allow each child to close his eyes and hear the sounds of the jungle. Collect an empty paper towel tube for each child and cover one end of each tube with brown kraft paper. Wrap a rubber band around the end to keep the paper in place. Let each child decorate a tube with crayons, then pour a few handfuls of dried beans and rice inside each tube. Cover the tube's open end with paper and another rubber band. When children slowly tilt their tubes back and forth, the moving beans and rice will sound like rain.
Animal masks are fun for children to create, but this project also provides an opportunity to teach children about the types of animals that live in the jungle. Set out art supplies and give each child a paper plate. Show children pictures of jungle animals, and ask each child to pick one to turn into a mask. Punch holes in opposite edges of each plate, tie on elastic to keep the mask on and help each child cut out eye holes. She can use markers and scraps of paper to make her mask resemble the face of her animal. Invite children to move around the room in their masks while they act like their animals.
Dioramas help children picture an environment in three dimensions. Ask each student to bring in a shoe box to use for a diorama. Children must first paint the insides of their boxes to resemble the jungle. Ask them to think about what the sky and ground look like in the jungle before they start painting. While the paint dries, give children lumps of play dough or clay to form trees or jungle animals. They can also cut these items from colored paper. Help children glue their decorations into their dioramas, then step back to admire their handiwork.
When you turn your entire classroom into a jungle, children can let their imaginations take over for all of jungle week. Enlist children to help create decorations. Tape pieces of brown construction paper to the walls to create trunks, then put children to work cutting leaves out of green paper to tape to the tree tops. Children can also make green paper chains to hang across the ceiling to simulate vines. Help children cut paper into strips, form a loop out of one strip and tape its ends together. Place a second strip into the first loop and tape it together. Children can keep adding loops until the chains are long enough to reach across the ceiling.