Going on Safari Lions

January’s theme is all about Going on Safari with Experience Curriculum. Lion day was much anticipated.  Going on Safari Lions day includes learning about patience, a song, number recognition game and making a lion mask.

Here’s a sample of the Mother Goose Time lesson plan for a day. Each day starts with Circle Time, a greeting song and discussion question. There’s a concept to review – in this case – shapes.
The opening song is usually a hit. I’d have to say, The Lovely Lazy Lion is a personal favorite of mine and may be guilty of singing it randomly. I think it’s cute! 

We skipped the Lion Roar Experiment but we talked about why lions roar and practiced our own lion roar.

This month, our Friendship Trait is “patient”. We talk about being patient often. My group has learned that being patient means “waiting quietly”. I like that a lot. Kids can learn to wait quietly. Although it’s not easy to apply at times, it’s good to practice and talk about being patient.

Playing the Lion  Zebra game was a fun way to learn about patience and practice number recognition. We learned that lions are very patient. They lay and wait for a good animal to chase. Unfortunately, lions have to eat too, so that means they might chase a zebra. The kids each have two lion cards with numbers on them.  I chose a zebra card and showed it to the group. I asked, “Which lion is hungry for this zebra?” Whoever had the matching lion card could run over and get the zebra card and returned back to his spot. The other children must wait patiently for their numbers. This game was a hit!

Next, we made lion masks. Painted the plates brown and then glued on curled paper strips for the lion’s mane. Just a simple craft for pretending to be a lion!

Although I don’t have photos to include of the activity, we also read the story “Why Am I Small?” story. These participation stories are great for working on listening comprehension skills. There are comprehension questions at the end of the story to ask.