My under-3 loves animals!
As I was going through some things today I found a book about the Creation that she hadn't seen in a long while. She loved putting the puzzle pieces of the animals in the pages and telling me which ones she did or didn't have in her hands. (And I've tried but I can't rotate this picture! Oh well.)
Song: My Heavenly Father Loves Me (Children's Songbook, pg 228-29)
Attention Activity: Show pictures of the World (GAK, #600), and the Creation (GAK, #100) and tell your child that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ made the Earth for us to live on and they put lots of animals on the earth. Talk about what animals she can see in the picture.
Scripture: Moses 7:30 "And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;"
Activity: You could pick and choose from some of the animal-oriented activities listed below.
-Mystery Animals - I gathered up animals from among her toys and put them in a pillowcase. We took turns pulling out an animal and we would all act like that animal. This was a fun way to teach crab walks, gallops, froggy-hops, and other interesting ways of moving.
-Animal Guessing - This is a simplified charades. How we played growing up was that you all got to take a turn (chosen by whoever was over activity) acting out an animal, but without making sounds. This got really interesting when my little brothers would be acting out "sea cucumber". You may also need to have to whisper it to Daddy so the animal doesn't change midway.
-Animal books or puzzles - Have some of your favorite animal books or puzzles gathered to share together.
-Draw your favorite animal - Nothing like a little refrigerator art or something to slip into the next letter to the grandparents. Just be sure to write something like, "My favorite animal that Heavenly Father put on the earth is_______" at the top; this adds a memory trigger for your child as well as explains what the artwork is about.
-Making animals out of clay or a fun dough - My under-3 is partial to ducks and dinosaurs. Consider if you want to make a salt dough and keep the sculptures or a fun dough for more short lived creativity.
-Make animals as a craft - You could make a soda bottle piggy, a toilet paper tube giraffe, a pipe cleaner caterpillar, a sun catcher butterfly, a cotton ball sheep.... the possibilities are limitless!
Dessert: We actually didn't have desert tonight. But here are some ideas:
-animal crackers
-frosted animal cookies
-sugar cookies you made with animal shapes
-"bear claws" or "elephant ears"
-desserts shaped like animals (I've seen ideas online like caterpillars, mice, and buggy cupcakes.)
