Welcome to the Wednesday #TeachECE series! Each week throughout the year, we partner with other early childhood professionals to offer tips, activities, and suggested play ideas for your own kids at home or in the classroom. Winter weather can be challenging for staff and students. We try to get our kids outside twice a day, but when the weather doesn’t cooperate, indoor large motor games are a must to get little bodies MOVING! Come “Walk in the Jungle” with us and explore music and movement, listening skills, and a sequencing activity designed just for your own preschoolers!
Walkin’ In the Jungle Large Motor Music and Movement Game for Preschool!
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If your own preschoolers have not been introduced to “Walking in the Jungle” on the Animals CD by Super Simple Songs, you’ll want to try it! Our own kids ask for it almost daily and it’s a great song to get kids moving their bodies and listening! The song includes large motor movements: walking, stomping, jumping, and skipping (for preschoolers, skipping often looks like gallops or sliding as they learn to skip). In each verse, the children must LISTEN to the sound an animal makes and guess which animal the sound belongs to before it is revealed. Our kids now SHOUT the names of the animals as they now know which animal comes next in the song. Whether it is a frog, monkey, toucan, or a tiger, the kids delight in knowing what sound each of the animals makes! The song introduces walking forward while counting, stopping, and then stepping backwards, too. Play the song through once for your children and ask them to just LISTEN to the words, sounds, and what movements are included. Play the song again and ask the kids to try each of the movements within the song.
Sequencing Cards to Accompany Walking in the Jungle by Super Simple Songs
Materials needed:
- Crafts Sticks or Straws – 4 per child
- One set of Walking in the Jungle Sequencing Cards per student
- Scissors
- Tape or Poster Putty (poster putty works well with 3’s as they can tear off tiny pieces to adhere the cards to the craft sticks)
Print one set of the sequencing cards for each of the children. Laminate the cards for durability or if laminating supplies are not available, clear contact paper works well, too. Have the kids tape each of the sequencing cards to a craft stick or a straw. Play the song, Walking In the Jungle, and invite the kids to LISTEN and hold up the animal card that corresponds to the SOUND that animal makes as it is introduced in the song. Keep the cards and invite the children to sequence the cards without the music by the MOVEMENT that corresponds to each animal: WALKING=FROG; STOMPING=MONKEY; JUMPING=TOUCAN; and SKIPPING=TIGER. You might also wish to print two copies of the cards for a simple animal matching game.
Your kids might also enjoy: ZOO and FARM ANIMAL ACTIVITIES for PRESCHOOL!
Be sure to check out other LARGE MOTOR Activities from the Early Childhood Educational Team below!
Great Day for Up Reading Game from Growing Book by Book
Beginning Sound Movement Game from Mom Inspired Life
Beginning Letter Sounds Tunnel Gross Motor Game from Capri +3
Move Like an Insect Gross Motor Activity from Life Over C’s
Bug Shapes (Bugs Fun Kids Math Games) from Learning 2 Walk
UNO Movement Game for Kids from Still Playing School
Oh, I can’t wait to check out that song. My kids are loving moving to music so this is perfect.
The sequencing cards are adorable! This looks like such a fun activity which works the brain and the body!