Zoo trip

We had a very successful trip to Hamilton zoo yesterday. All the children were super excited and ready to explore! 

We looked at: 

- the coverings of the animals: fur, hair, scales, skin, shells...

- the animals' habitat: what does it need in its enclosure to survive? Shelter, water, food, grass, trees, mud, rocks, dry dirt...

- how we can sort the animals into groups: carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, mammals, reptiles...

I hope your child came home and told you lots of information. Try to use some of these words above to prompt and support their learning of the concepts. You can give examples of animals you know that fit into these groups, or take a trip to the library to read a book about a favourite animal of theirs that they want to learn more about. 

Ask lots of questions to encourage their curiosity:

- Is this _______ living or non-living? How do you know?

- Does this animal eat meat, plants, or both? How do you know?

- How is this animal different/the same as this animal?

Or wonderings:

- I wonder why this animal has sharp teeth?

- I wonder why this animal has a shell?

- I wonder why this animal lives underground?