Activity Instructions

Part A: Discussion

Step 1.

Begin having a chat with your child/ren around some or all of the following questions:

I wonder if we live on earth?
I wonder what types of plants live on earth?
I wonder what types of animals live on earth?
I wonder what types of animals live where we are? I wonder if we have seen animals in the park or at home?

Asking ‘I wonder’ questions can help support oral language development in children. Find out more here and here.

Step 2.

You could share some of the Animal Flashcards with your child/ren and talk about whether you have seen any of these animals where you live.

Part B: Activity

Step 1.

Still looking at the images of animals, time invite your child/ren to act out the movements of each of these animals. You could prompt your child/ren with the following:

I wonder how this animal moves?
I wonder what it is doing?
I wonder where it is going?

Step 2.

You could then bring these movements to tell the story of the animals over one day. For example:

Steps of the story	Suggested actions for each step
The sun is coming up and the birds are the first to wake - welcome to the dawn chorus!	Move like birds waking up, spreading and stretching and flapping their wings and singing up the sun
The kangaroos and wallabies sniff the air and can smell some good grass for breakfast	Rub your eyes, scratch your tummies and sniff the air
The koala peers out from sleepy eyes and spots some juicy green leaves dotted with dew	Lazily open your eyes and peer around you before reaching for some leaves
The birds continue their busy work of the day	Birds are flying around, collecting seeds, eating bugs, drinking from flowers, and chatting to each other
The insects are also busy	Some are flying, some are crawling, some are sliding and slithering
The snakes and lizards slither and creep out into the sunshine to warm up	The reptiles slide, slither, creep and scuttle around before lying down for a snooze
The kangaroos and wallabies settle in for an afternoon nap	After some bouncing and hopping smoosh down some grass to make it flat like a bed before lying down for a nap
The sun is close to setting and all the animals are having a final snack and chatter	Everyone is busy!
The animals settle into their nests, hives, burrows and shelters for sleep	Sleepy eyes, yawning and curling up
But not all the animals are sleeping. It’s time for the nocturnal animals to wake up and start feeding and interacting	Possums are scurrying through trees, wombats are bumbling around, bats are flitting around looking for moths and other nighttime insects, owls are silently watching
It has been a busy night and all the nocturnal animals are tired and getting ready for bed	Mime the possum getting ready for bed
The sun is coming up and the birds are the first to wake - welcome to the dawn chorus!	Move like birds waking up, spreading and stretching and flapping their wings and singing up the sun

You could also incorporate costumes into your story or introduce other elements, such as talking about what your child/ren are doing at different times of the day and how this relates to what the animals are doing.

Take it further

Your child/ren may have their own ideas about how to extend this activity with the themes explored in this activity, or you could consider the following:

Share a Creation story with child/ren that features animals - explain which Country this story comes from and use this map to explain where this Country is, including where it is in relation to where you are. You can find a list of suggested resources here.
Talk to your child/ren about how you can care for the animals in your yard. For example, could you:
- Place dishes of water in the yard (for small reptiles, birds and insects) and remember to add in fresh water regularly. You should also add a stick or stone to help the smaller animals or insects climb out if they fall in.
- Create a garden (either in pots or the ground) to attract butterflies and birds. If you have access to a native nursery nearby, you could also consider finding some local bush tucker plants.
- Install nesting boxes for local birds and possums.
Explore other Caring for Country Learn@Home activities.

Caring for Country: Earth (home learning)

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Summary

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