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From the camel found in the desert to the Macaw flying in the jungle there are many kinds of animals on earth. They come in all shapes and sizes, their sounds are unique, and they’re various adaptations to stay alive are fascinating. No wonder kids love learning about God’s creatures!
Is your child fascinated by different animals? Mine are, that’s why I enjoy creating learning opportunities for them to play and engage with the characteristics of the animals. We read plenty of books and watch online resources about animals but to actually engage with the information through play is important. That’s why we have games like this one, Animal Charades.
Table of Contents
Books about kinds of animals for kids.
I have found many books that teach about different kinds of animals for kids succinctly are usually habitat books. They quickly round up a lot of different creatures and knowing the environment these animals live in is helpful for understanding them more.
Firstly, a favorite for our family is a series by Kate Messner: Over and Under the Pond and many more are available including the Rainforest and Wetlands. Also, Patricia Hegarty’s books Above and Below, as well as Above and Below: Sea and Seashore are excellent read aloud books.
DK has The Animal Kingdom as You’ve Never Seen It Before and their Life Cycles Book is an excellent read to learn about the life cycles of various animals. There are many books about most individual animals you can easily find at your local library but these are the ones I enjoy keeping in our family library.
Kinds of animals for kids online resources.
Our family loves learning about animals so I am always looking for great resources about kinds of animals for kids. Animal Logic on YouTube is an excellent resource for kids to learn about animals. As well as the PBS TV Show Wild Kratts.
How to play charades to teach about the kinds of animals for kids.
Set up and play.
This activity can be printed on cardstock or on regular paper and then laminated. I recommend one of these methods to ensure durability. Once printed, cut out the various animals from the different habitats.
Check out this sorting activity if you also want to teach about habitats. If so, I recommend playing this sorting activity game first to help your child familiarize themselves with the various habitats animals belong to.
Next, place all the cards down on the table or in a basket. A timer is set for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then each person takes a turn drawing a card and acting out characteristics about the animal on that card. The other players on the person’s team guess what animal they’re acting out.
Once someone on the team guesses correctly then play shifts to the other team. This continues until the timer runs out. Whichever team is still acting out an animal loses.
How to up the ante.
If you’re specifically wanting to teach your child the habitat the animals live in then there is a simple way to that. When someone on the same team guesses the animal that is being acted out correctly then the team must also state the habitat the animal lives in before receiving that point.
There doesn’t need to be a winner.
If there aren’t enough people to have teams then the game does not need to be competitive. My kids love to act out the animals and guess over and over again with no clear objective in mind. Their only goal is to have fun. And the best part is they’re having fun and learning at the same time.
Continue the fun with the same printable.
Use this printable for another game to continue learning about kinds of animals for kids. The game is based on the Guess Who? Game where you must ask questions to guess who you are. Check it out at Zz is for Zebra.
Get the free printable to teach about different kinds of animals for kids.
This game is simple but so much fun for kids in homeschool learning about animals. Sometimes getting my kiddos to engage with the information is difficult. That’s why after learning through online resources and books we play games to help them retain the information. Get the free printable of the animals below.
Learn about the kinds of animals for kids with Animal Charades
Game Instructions
Materials needed
- Printable
- *laminator
- *cardstock
Instructions
- If you want this activity to last you can print on cardstock or even on regular paper but then laminate it. This isn’t necessary though!
- With the cards facing down. Each person takes a turn drawing a card and acting out the animal on that card while the other individual guesses what animal they’re acting out.
- Once the individual guesses correctly they must name the habitat the animal lives in, then they get to go.
- There doesn’t need to be a winner.
- If you have teams and want to make it into a game, use a timer. Set it for 30 seconds to 1 minute. A team must work within itself to act out and guess the animal and habitat. When they guess correctly, the player shifts to the other team who draws a card and must act it out, guess correctly, then it shifts back to the original team.
- Whoever is still acting out and guessing when the timer ends, loses.
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