MiniBeast day with Animal-Tastic
My name is Sarah and I am an animal lady. I work for Animal-Tastic and visit schools, nurseries and care homes, teaching people about animals.
Today I am going to help you learn a lot about four minibeasts that move in different ways. We will then draw each of the animals to make a minibeast booklet and talk with our grown ups about all the amazing facts we have learned.
We will also be making one of the minibeasts in the extension activity.
Colin the Cockroach
Today we are going to learn about mini beasts.
What is a mini beast?
We are going to meet Colin the cockroach.
Children will learn all about cockroaches, why they have hooks on their legs and why they have antennae. We will look at how they feel and how they move.
This supports children’s understanding of the world. After the video print off the activity sheet and draw Colin together with your child. Talk about all the new things that you have learned together.
Millie the Millipede
Do you remember what we did in the last activity?
How many legs does Colin have?
We are now going to meet Millie the Millipede.
How many legs do you think she has? Can you find out with your grown up?
Children will learn all about cockroaches, why they have hooks on their legs and why they have antennae. We will look at how they feel and how they move.
This supports children’s understanding of the world. After the video print off the activity sheet and draw Colin together with your child. Talk about all the new things that you have learned together.
Dwaine the Scorpion
Now we are going to meet my scorpion friend Dwaine.
This encourages children with their knowledge and understanding of different creatures. It also teaches them about how animals can display warning signals to other animals to leave them alone. After watching the video print off the activity sheet and draw Dwaine. Talk about all the new things you have learned together.
Mee-Shell the Giant Snail
Now we are going to meet one of my snails and her name is Mee-shell.
What is the hard object on her back and why is she so slimy?
Talk with your child about the differences between the creatures. Some are big and some are small. Some animals are extremely cute and others are not.
This supports children’s understanding of the world they live in and supports their communication skills and language differences. After watching the video print off the activity sheet and draw Mee-Shell. Talk about all the new things you have learned together.
Extension
Snail Stacker - We are going to make a snail stacker. You will need some coloured card, sticky tape or glue, a pencil and scissors.
This activity will help the children learn to count and use the snail stacker to work out how items fit together. This helps with children’s creativity and number skills and counting.