The battle against screen time is a constant struggle with my kindergartener so when I find an activity that he loves and keeps him engaged for a long time I feel like Ive won the lottery. This build your own zoo pretend play hit all the right notes for him. I intended it to be for both kids but my daughter was not so excited about his vision for the zoo so we read zoo animal books while he crafted his very own zoo. I loved how involved he was from start to finish and that I could work in some writing practice ( every little bit helps) that didnt feel like practice at all. Gather your materials. You will need some craft paper ( get it at the dollar store and save!) , blocks, animal toys/ puzzle pieces , crayons, some painters tape and scissors. Start by cutting a large piece of craft paper and taping it ( using the painters tape ) to the floor. Only do this on hard surfaces or the paper will rip and tear when you try to write and draw on it. Talk about the design for a zoo. My son and I have made up worlds we tell stories about all the time ( Mine is called Mommyland original eh?) and we decided to base the layout on the zoo from his imagination. I drew the outline as he explained it to me but the rest was up to him. Next sort the animals and build their enclosures. He started with snakes. These stretchy snakes are adored in our house for some odd reason . He wrote the sign, the built the house and arranged the snakes. It took a lot of patience to arrange them just so. Arctic animals were next. Starting with the sign then building the structure and adding the animals. Africa and the petting zoo were next followed by the whales. No he didnt write those words , after a few he asked if I could do it and I did to keep the momentum of the play going. The goal wasnt to force him to write it was to play so I was happy to help. I think the most interesting observation for me watching my son do this was how he really wanted a specific design. I loved seeing him sit back like this to take it all in. Books Check out our favorite books about the zoo here! I like to include books with activities to deepen the learning and extend the interest in the topic. The post Build Your Own Zoo Pretend Play appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.