Preschool Learning: Animal Antics Writing Activity

Is your kid an animal lover? Grrrreat! Today's activity will have your child get up close and personal with his favorite animal and observe its actions. (Psst! Little does he know we're going to give his brain a boost!) Whether it's a giraffe at the zoo, a backyard squirrel or the house pet, this super-simple activity helps reading comprehension and writing organization. And hopefully, you'll both learn something new about a furry creature!
What you need:

• Paper
• Pencil, crayons or pen
• An animal to watch (in person or even on TV)

How to do it:

• Scout out an animal and spend some time watching that animal.
• As you observe, talk to your child about the animal: What it looks like; what it's doing; what it eats; where it lives. Ask your child questions to see if she can come up with words to describe that animal. If your child has a really vivid imagination, she can make up a story about her animal.
• Then have your child draw a picture of the animal. For a younger child, you can draw the picture and she can color it in.
• While looking at the picture, have your child tell you the details again of what you just witnessed the animal doing or the story she told. You may need to ask questions to prompt her. If her retelling is a little disjointed, gently help her organize her words into a more coherent and understandable sentence.

Brain-Building Bonus: Under the picture, write out three things you learned about that animal. For younger children you can use a rebus-style where you draw in pictures as a substitute for words. So your sentence might read: (picture of two squirrels) love (picture of acorns). Then have your child read those sentences to other family members.
How this builds brains:Even a few facts about an animal can be turned into a descriptive story. In this exercise, you're helping your child pick out important facts and organize those facts in a way that others can understand.
Get more brain-building activities for preschool learning! Check out our Brain Building Boot Camp with Dr. Christine Ricci.