The purpose of the Animals Award is to introduce Eager Beavers to a few of the amazing creatures God created. The focus of this award is on the animals that live in the zoo. Although my local zoo is home to a family of beavers, we focused more on exotic animals. (Which might include the beaver, if you aren’t in North America!) Since Eager Beavers love baby animals, I included them wherever I could in this award. My Eager Beavers love anything cute.
Story: ZooBorns! When I’m Big
Fulfills Requirement # 1
ZooBorns! When I’m Big by Andrew Bleiman and Chris Eastland was a big hit with our Eager Beavers! I was concerned it would be a bit too long (this one is super easy to shorten if your beavers get squirmy). However, parents assured me that the kids loved this book. It is full of full color photos of baby and adult animals. All of the adorable babies charmed our young kids. There are a number of ZooBorn books. I don’t think all of the ZooBorn books are a good fit for Eager Beavers, but my library has so many available, it was easy to find several that are a good fit. This one is my favorite.
Craft: Color, Cut, and Paste Safari
Fulfills Requirements # 2 & 3
I tried to make the cutting part of this craft nice and simple. Just straight lines! The concept is simple. Color the animals. Cut them out. (Kids should be doing their own cutting here – in most cases.) Glue to the scene. Easy. Our Eager Beavers didn’t quite agree with my vision! (I adore those strongly opinionated kids.) They chose to cut the animals out instead of the simple squares. Either option is fine. And I’m glad to see them using every opportunity to challenge their skills. (If you do this craft, I’d love to hear what your beavers choose to do – it’s fun to see all the different ways kids personalize the same craft.)
Are all of the color prints in this award making you and your printer cry? There is a black and white option in the printable pack for both the animals and the background for you.
Have some littles hanging with your Eager Beavers? Me too. I created a sticker version for them. There is a cut file for Silhouette users. You could also just print on label paper and cut with a paper trimmer. (Kids will likely need some help pulling the sticker off of the backing with this option.) Or, just hand their parent the scissors.
Game: Animal Shadows
Animal Shadows is a game from the Eager Beaver Leader’s Guide (page 141). Basically, the teacher shows the kids a picture of an animal and acts out one of their behaviors. The beavers copy you. For detailed actions, please check your leader’s guide. I have pictures for the five animals in the the manual. They are in the printable pack at the end of this post.
Activity: Who Am I?
Fulfills Requirement # 5
Do your kids like guessing games? Each animal has five clues. Before the fifth clue, I expect most of your beavers will know the animal, but just in case they are struggling, you can show them the shadow of the animal for a final hint. Once they’ve made their guesses, open the “booklet” to see the answer. Each inside picture is a photograph of a baby and adult animal. There are ten animal cards. If you have time, and your kids are into them, do all ten. But, if you are running short on time, just focus on the cards with three stars at the top of the hints. Complete three (of four) starred cards to fulfill the requirement.
To create cards, I printed them double sided on card stock, and folded them in half with the picture on the inside. Card stock will help protect the “secret” until you are ready to show the picture to them. Show the question mark side to the kids while you read the back.
Craft: Play Dough Animals
Fulfills Requirement # 4
Grab some play dough and let the kids start creating! They should create their one of their favorite zoo animals. We pulled our little play-doh containers out of the cupboard this time, but if you’d prefer to make your own play dough, this is my favorite recipe. (Please skip the essential oils for Adventurers.)
Story: Dear Zoo
I love Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell. It is a classic toddler book for a reason! This silly book won’t be fulfilling any requirements for this award, but it will add delight to your meeting if you need a little bit of time-filler at the end.
ZooBorns! Honorable Mentions
- ZigZag Zooborns! Zoo Baby Colors and Patterns
- ZooBorns! Zoo Babies From Around the World
- Welcome to the World, ZooBorns!
- Splish, Splash, ZooBorns!
- Hello, Mommy ZooBorns!
Printables and Cut Files
Thanks for reading all the way to the end! I hope you found something useful here. If you have any questions, let me know. I’d love to help. You’ve been reading my thoughts, and now I’d love to read yours. What is your favorite zoo animal? Tell me in the comments. Mine is the elephant, but those giraffes are pretty amazing too!