P is for Party Time!

We decided for week 8 to hold an end of term party which involved the children coming dressed as their favourite animal (thank you to the parents who helped with this). As there was not a specific animal focus this week, we decided to focus on a range of animals.

A fabulous book that incorporates music and movement is 'The Animal Boogie' illustrated by Debbie Harter. The music video is also available at;

The children had lots of fun guessing which animal came next in the story and mimicking the movement of animals like the elephant and the leopard. We played the music video on an Apple TV using an iPad so that the children could see what to do.

We met a critically endangered lizard called the Fijian Crested Iguana and also a baby snake, both of which the children were allowed to touch. Upon returning to the Alphabet Zoop room, we made the cutest little pet rocks with smooth rocks purchased from Bunnings, rainbow coloured wool for hair (one even sported a comb-over), joggle eyes and pencils for the face and oval shaped felt for the feet. As well as taking home their pet rocks, the children were also given a homemade frog-in-a-pond to take as well.

One of the mums had suggested in the previous weeks to have an Alphabet Zoop picnic which was attended by most of our participants. Our very organised mums made their way to a shady spot in the zoo with a picnic rug and lunch and looked to be having a fabulous time.

Our hope is that some long-lasting friendships have been formed between the children and parents alike...and ultimately that the children discovered the wonders of nature and its animals! Thank you to all of the children and adults who attended the first Alphabet Zoop program held at Melbourne Zoo. We had a great time...we hope you did too!