Ideas and Resources

Young children learn by doing, by experiencing.

They learn through a community, in relationships, through modelling.

They will therefore learn most by having those around them model how to care for animals, how to enjoy them, how to value and interact with them.

Then they will learn by being involved in that care and interaction.

There are SO many ways to include animals in the early childhood setting. So whether you have a large outdoor space just crying out for an aviary, or a small corner that could house a temporary insect house, there's something for everyone!

Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Build a worm farm
Click HERE to see a You-Tube clip showing how easy it is to make a wormfarm, or go HERE to find an already built one!
Children can learn about waste and being more sustainable as they feed morning tea scraps to the worms

Michael investigates the worm farm (under Mum's watchful eye).  He already knows he isn't allowed to eat any of the rotten food and will wash his hands when he's finished.  He's mesmerised by the wriggling mass of worms!

Grow swan plants for monarch butterflies
Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Houdini the Amazing Caterpillar, or Pepetuna (or all three!)
Learn about life cycles

Have a chicken coop
Children learn about where food comes from
They can collect eggs each day
Cook food together that uses your eggs

Michael enjoys interacting with Madge the bantam.

Fill an aquarium or terranium
Fish are nice, but you could have tadpoles turning into frogs in summer, or snails in winter.
Snail races are loads of fun!  Use a twink pen to mark large snail shells and watch them 'race' on a large sheet of paper!
Sing five little speckled frogs and put out a frogs small world play suggested by The Imagination Tree, like this:

Michael has pet snails in a teranium! "They're the best first pet ever!" says Mum, "He's learning how to be gentle and I'm not as worried as if it was a bigger animal - we can quietly replace any mishaps as there are plenty more in the garden."

Have a centre bird inside, or a small aviary outside

Have guinea pigs or rabbits

Michael uses a Snuggle Sack to hold his guinea pigs.

Bring animals to you
Visit local animal parks in your area.  Here are just a few around Bay of Plenty/Waikato: Hamilton Zoo, Marshalls Animal Park at McLaren Falls Park, Butterfly Creek in Auckland, or The Katikati Bird Gardens.

Michael, Bella, Jasmine, and Asher all gain great enjoyment from interacting with animals outside the confines of their home and ECE setting.

Go on bug hunts.  You could look round your centre, or go on a nature walk up the road, or to a park.  See how many different bugs you can find.  Take photos, look in books to name them, look at under magnifying glasses, then when you're done, return them to their homes.

Michael investigates an ant nest found in a bundle of empty pots.

 

Visit the beach, there are many animals to find nestled in rock pools and hidden in the sand.

Michael explores the beach with his family.