Play Animal Detectives

Even if you don’t see animals on your walk, kids can look for clues to show them what critters have been on the path before you got there.

If you are walking in nature, it can be frustrating and disappointing for children (and adults) to not see any animals roaming about the woods. Of course, I should clarify that statement by saying that we might not notice animals as opposed to saying that we might not see animals on our walk.

One, many people don’t count birds and insects as animals. They move too fast, they don’t travel in straight lines, and oftentimes we hear them but we don’t get a good look at them. Two, many animals are active between dusk and dawn when the lighting allows for them to be seen. Noon is when the day is brightest and hottest. However, you can still look for signs of the animals that have recently moved through the area you are walking at the moment.

Although we call them ‘signs’ they are anything but as obvious as the signs that people make. Animal signs can include holes in the ground and in trees, droppings, tracks, nests, chewed twigs, bent twigs, and scratched up areas of ground or leaves. You don’t need to identify the sources of these signs of animal activity but it can be fun to guess. Avoid spending a lot of time analyzing the source of each sign, as children will tire of the activity. For older children who desire some competition, award one point to the first person to notice each sign.

If children really want to learn what animals are moving around in nature, look for a tracking field guide that shows more than footprint patterns.

Walking Games with Kids

Whether you’ll be walking in the wood, through a park, along a city or suburban sidewalk, or, perhaps, through the mall, these walking games will engage young children. If older children think the game is too silly, then have them take turns leading the game or place them in charge of younger siblings.

Animals on the Move
Have the children pretend to be animals while walking from one spot to the next. At the beginning of this game you can select one or two animals and call them out randomly. Children must then act out that animal’s behavior for ten-to-fifteen seconds.

Fox – Red fox “perfect step,” which means that all four feet move in a single line and that the back feet step in the prints left behind by the front feet. Have the children walk placing one foot in front of another in a straight line.
Rabbit – Hop with feet together.
Hawk – Hold arms out to the side and pretend to soar.
Ant – Crawl along the ground in a straight line.
Geese – Try to walk so all participants are moving in a v-shape.

After introducing each animal and calling out the actions for the children to act out, you should be able to call out the animal’s name at any time and the kids should respond.

Animal Antics
This version allows for more random actions. If you are walking with children who are arguing about who gets to walk at the front of the line, this activity will eliminate the pushing and shoving by rotating the children from the front to the back of the line. Start by telling the children that when the leader make an animal sound, they must then act out the behavior of that animal for a count of ten while continuing to walk.

Select a child to be the leader. Point out a spot up ahead and tell the child that when the group reaches that point she should make an animal sound. (Why point out a place for the child to make the call? Depending on the child’s age, she may make an animal sound immediately upon it becoming her turn and then the group doesn’t get to move very far.) When the group hears the animal sound, they then act out the behavior they believe most appropriate. Rotate leaders.

The challenge with this game is encouraging the children to make the sound loud enough for the other children to hear. As the leader, you can help support the child-leader by encouraging them to repeat the sound as they turn to face the other children.

Now, get walking!

The Animal Analogy Game

At yesterday’s barbecue, a bright yellow parakeet landed in the yard and hung out with our party goers. The bird was hesitant when someone got too close, but it rarely flew off and instead would take a few sidesteps while watching us. Obviously, this was a pet that escaped but from where? We enjoyed the bird for quite a few hours. It got so bold as to land next to a piece of cake and begin eating just inches from where we sat!

An animal control volunteer showed up with a cage and the request that someone keep the bird until the next day when the animal control officer could take the animal. Our neighbor enjoyed a few more hours with the parakeet.

When the bird first appeared, someone called to me and said, “Look at the yellow cardinal.” It could have been a slip of the tongue that he said ‘cardinal’ and not ‘bird’ since we’d had a male and female cardinal flitting about the yard since morning. However, it is a good lesson in how our brains work; when faced with something we don’t know we compare it to something we do know so the unknown makes more sense.

We look at squirrels chasing one another and say they are playing, but they might be fighting over territory. On the other hand, noticing similarities can help us with identification and our understanding of what animals are doing.

Play an analogy game with your kids. This can get a bit silly, and that’s fine! On at least ten slips of paper, write one common human object (chair, car, etc). On another ten slips of paper, write the name of any sort of mammal, bird, fish, insect, reptile, or amphibian. Keep the two categories, human stuff v animals separate. Place each stack in individual bags, bowls, or hats.

Pull one slip from each bag. Now the fun begins. Everyone uses their creativity to find something that these two dissimilar things have in common. How is a cat like a car? How is a book like a squirrel? There is no right answer, no wrong answer, just imaginative fun!

Easter Games and Passover Activities that Welcome the Return of Spring

What is it about spring holidays that encourage a tradition of hide-and-seek? Those who celebrate Easter hide real eggs or plastic treat-filled eggs; and, a Passover custom is to hide a piece of matzo and then send the children to go look for it – the finder gets a treat. Is it that flowers are popping out of the ground where nothing but dirt was for months and leaves are starting to crack open the tight buds that hid them for so long that games of hiding and revealing seem appropriate?

Celebrate the season with a game of hide-and-go-seek. For variety, try the game probably best known as Sardines, in which everyone goes searching for “It” and then joins her when they find her. The challenge is for the increasingly larger group to remain hidden from those who are yet to find “It.”

Plan a scavenger hunt – there’s no reason it has to be for eggs. Theme Walks with Children describes six different scavenger hunts that you can do in nature or in an urban or suburban neighborhood. Or, play a game of Hot and Cold. Hide something, indoors or outdoors, and as seekers get closer to the object, call out, “tepid, warm, warmer” and as they move away from the item tell them, “cool, colder, icy.”

Although children might not care for the symbolism of these games, they are a reminder that Nature is revealing herself throughout this season.

Animal Movement Games for Preschoolers

These funny animal walks can focus preschoolers indoors, as they move about the room; or outdoors while walking at the park, along the street, or even, I suppose, at the mall. Because today was a cold, rainy day and school vacation is just a few days away, I figured the preschool class that I visit throughout the school year wouldn’t be up to learning about another local animal. I thought that today would be a good day for games.

Duck Walk – The children are ducklings; the instructor is mother duck. Everyone mills about the room. When mother duck calls out, “quack, quack, quack” then the ducklings hurry over to their mother and follow behind her in a straight line.

Hawk & Vulture – Have the children stand and bend over at the waist. To be a soaring hawk, they hold their arms straight out to the side. To be a circling vulture, they hold their arms up, in a “V” formation over their backs. Call out “hawk” and “vulture” as the children then bring their arms to the correct formation. Throw in a few tricks, “hawk, hawk, vulture, hawk, vulture, vulture, vulture.”

Hummingbird Flight – The children hold their bent arms close to their sides and flap their hands very fast. Hummingbirds can fly forward (step forward), backward (step backwards), up (stand on tippy toe), and down (bend knees). With the children flapping their “wings,” call out different directions to move. Can the children understand why hummingbirds each nectar (sugar) from the flowers for enough energy to move so fast?

Fox Walk – After the frantic hummingbird movements, have the children step in the perfect tracking pattern of red foxes. The children walk with heel touching the toe, moving in a straight line or as if they were on a tightrope.

Pigeon Bop – Have the children walk while bobbing their heads front to back with each step.

Deer Walk – You’ll need to do a bit of preparation for this one. Make a deer tail prop from a piece of brown and a piece of white felt or craft foam. Cut both into a wide tail shape, the white piece smaller than the brown. Glue together, leaving a pocket between the two pieces so you can slide your hand inside. Explain that white-tailed deer seem to have brown tails until they see some dancer and move to run way, at which point their tail flips up and the more obvious white is showing. This signals the deer to follow the deer that gave warning. Have the children mill about, pretending to be deer eating grass. When you flip up your tail, the other deer should get in line behind you.

Some of these games work well at gathering the children to you. Other games focus a burst of energy and get kids’ attention for a few moments. Once kids learn these silly movement games, you can use them in an instant, whether you are at home with one child or at school with a group.

Learning about Animals

Originally published 3/15/2011 at explorealongtheway.com

Today I was teaching a tracking program to city kids. Actually, I was indoors talking about movement patterns – how the shape of an animal’s body and the length of its legs affects the way it moves, and therefore the pattern its feet makes while walking through snow or mud.

I pointed out to the kids that we were talking about mammals – specifically, four-legged furry animals. The challenge for these kids seemed to be in picturing animals in their minds. They knew terms like “mammal,” “amphibian,” and “invertebrate” but they had difficulty connecting the terms to specific animals.

Today’s suggestion is an indoor activity. Print out pictures of animals, glue them to index cards, and write the name of the animal on the card. (Be specific with the name; not just “butterfly” but “painted lady.”) The more cards the better; you can add to the deck over the years. Include a variety of local animals and animals from around the world. Include mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, fish, and other invertebrates (animals without backbones, like mollusks and crustaceans).

You may actually be able to find this as a manufactured product. You could easily end up with hundreds of cards so don’t try to make this deck all at once. If you are a teacher, you may want a few duplicate decks of pictures.

Depending on the age and knowledge of the kids, they can play endless games with these cards while learning about animals. Here are a few ideas to get kids started.

· Sort animals into groupings – mammals, birds, etc.
· Group canines, butterflies, hoofed animals, etc.
· Sort animals into those that live in your area and those that live elsewhere.
· Sort animals into habitats – ocean, forest, rainforest, prairie, etc.
· Sort animals as endangered or common.
· Sort animals into sizes (difficult when looking at pictures).
· Sort animals into those that eat plants, meat, insects, fish, anything.
· Sort animals into nocturnal (night), diurnal (day), crepuscular (dawn and dusk).
· Set the animals into food chains or webs.
Each time a child learns something new about animals they can turn to these cards and sort through for animals that meet different qualifications. This means reading up on some of the animals, not just guessing and adding this information to the cards.

The creatures of the earth become familiar – they are more than facts, they are seen in a variety of relationships to one another and the world … and the child.