Z is for Zookeeper

Happy Monday!  Today we began our zoo unit!  The children are very excited about our upcoming field trip to the zoo.  We learned a new zoo rhyming poem.  Then we met Zookeeper Bob.  Each day he will help us learn something new about the zoo.  Today he helped us learn about some of the jobs that a zookeeper has, such as feeding the animals, cleaning the cages, and watching the animals to make sure they are healthy.

Then we read a story about a zookeeper named Sam.  His job was to feed all the animals.  As we read, we talked about the foods each animal ate and whether it was a herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore.  The children remembered these words from when they were introduced in February during our dental health unit.  They even remembered that herbivores have flat teeth and carnivores have sharp, pointy teeth!  When Sam's wagon was empty, the elephant had not been fed yet and was fearful that Sam forgot him.  Ask your child whether or not Sam forgot to feed the elephant.

During centers, we pretended to be zookeepers!  Today we had to visit two centers instead of just one!  At Miss McCabe's center, we rolled a die and identified the letter.  Then we had to think of a zoo animal that begins with that letter, such as z for zebra.  The children could then mark that animal off as being fed on their recording sheets.

At Mrs. DeKeyser's center, the children made a "Feed the Animals" booklet.  They had to read each page to determine what food to feed each animal, as well as how much food each animal needed to get.  See if your child can read the book to you tonight!

Of course we had to play.  Several children enjoyed playing with the zoo animals in the sensory table.  Others enjoyed playing "zoo" in the dramatic play area by taking on different roles, such as selling tickets, being zookeeper, being guests at the zoo, or taking on the roles of being different animals.  It required a lot of teamwork and communication to figure out each person's role.  We also began to paint hands for a special project.

After snack, we learned all about our new letter Zz!  Next week we will learn our final letter in the alphabet and the children cannot wait!  Today we practiced making the /z/ sound while tracing over zebra z.

Then we read a zookeeper alphabet book that helped us learn about more jobs a zookeeper may have, such as trimming an elephant's toenails.  We also learned many new vocabulary words, such as incubator, quarantine, and veterinarian.

Have a great evening! :)