Home Preschool: Rainforest (+ Free Printable!)

Learning about the rainforest was SO fun and Pumpkin absolutely loved it. I had no idea how interested she would be in the subject, but we both learned a lot!

Here are some of the activities we did:
To start, we (I) painted this cardboard box to look like a rainforest.


Pumpkin really enjoyed playing with these animals in the rainforest.  (You can get them at most craft stores with your 40% off coupon!) We also made a few animal crafts, and talked about which level of the rainforest they belong in (i.e. canopy vs. floor).


On the top left is a baby tapir, which might be Pumpkin's new favorite animal. Like fawns, baby tapirs have brown fur with white stripes and spots, so I had Pumpkin fingerpaint these on. The top right is a howler monkey. As you can tell, I used her handprint and added the details myself. On the bottom left is an emerald tree boa. I had Pumpkin color with green markers on white paper, and then we sprayed it with water and watched the colors run. Then I cut the paper in a spiral shape. On the bottom right is a parrot. For this one, I cut out circles in different colors, and then talked through cutting them into halves and quarters. I then had Pumpkin assemble them onto a brown background. This is a great way to introduce fractions!

We also made binoculars out of toilet paper tubes. We made a "camo" design by gluing paper leaves onto brown paper. We used the binoculars to look for the little plastic animals that I had hidden around the room.

I also made these animal action cards (here's your free printable)! Pumpkin absolutely loved picking a card and getting to act like that animal, though I think she thought it was funnier when I did it.

Here are some of the books we read:
The Mixed-Up Chameleon, Eric Carle
The Umbrella, Jan Brett
Over In The Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme, Marianne Berkes
Toucans, Too, Bethanie Murguia

Here are some of the videos we watched:
Are We There Yet? Costa Rica - Animal Rescue
Are We There Yet? Costa Rica - Zip Line
Are We There Yet? Brazil - Tree Climbing
Amazing Animals: Red Eyed Tree Frog
Party Animals: In the Jungle
World's Most Famous Frog
Sesame Street: Grover Searches the Amazonian Rainforest

Yet again, the "Are We There Yet?" videos were a big hit, with both Pumpkin and me. We also searched for videos about animal that Pumpkin seemed especially interested in, like baby tapirs. Lots of baby tapirs...

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