Keep reading for some fun preschool activities based on Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae. These activities are part of our Storytime Club, which includes activities inspired by 12 books to keep your little one learning ALL year long! To learn more about our Storytime Club, click here!
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GIRAFFES CAN’T DANCE ACTIVITIES
One of my favorite books to teach about staying true to yourself is Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees. Have you read it before?
This book tells the cutest story about Gerald the Giraffe, who really wants to dance…but with his long legs and knobby knees, he’s super awkward and clumsy. The other animals tease him, which makes Gerald feel very sad. But with the help of a wise cricket, Gerald learns that it’s okay to be different…you just have to dance to the beat of your own drum!
This book is great because it has such a positive message for kids…be yourself and embrace your individuality! It also has great rhymes and colorful, bold illustrations that your little one will love!
Click on the picture to learn more about this fun book!
Check out these fun activities to bring this story to life for your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten littles. These are great to use at home with your own kiddos or in your early childhood classroom. If you’re interested, all the printables can be found here.
Click here to check out the song I sing before reading this book!
LITERACY: HARD G VS. SOFT G
In preschool and kindergarten, we teach kids that letter Gg represents the hard /g/ sound, just like in the words gorilla and game.
But your little one might wondering…why does giraffe sound like /j/ if it’s spelled with letter Gg?!
This activity is the perfect way to introduce this tricky concept to your little one! I’ve included an anchor chart to help you understand the difference, too.
Your little one will sort the pictures based on the sound they hear at the beginning of the word, which helps them develop phonemic awareness. There is also an optional recording sheet where they can write the words to get some handwriting practice in, too.
Another option is to have them complete the cut & paste activity to sort words that begin with hard g and words that begin with soft g. Since this is a more advanced skill, you can just focus on the sounds for now, not necessarily the spelling rule.
MATH: SHAPE SPINNER & GRAPH
Learning about 2D shapes is an important kindergarten readiness skill, and this activity is a fun, hands-on way to do just that!
First, review 2D shapes using these 2D shape cards. Your little one can tell you how many sides each shape has and write the number on the line. These cards are also great to hide in a sensory bin or tape around the room for a scavenger hunt!
Then it’s time to PLAY! Your little one will choose a Gerald spinner, spin it using a spinner like this (or a paperclip and a pencil to make a DIY spinner), and then name the shape it lands on. Then have them color in the corresponding section on the bar graph. Keep going until one shape is the winner!
FINE MOTOR: PLAY DOUGH 2D SHAPES
Let’s keep the 2D shape fun going with these play dough mats! After you laminate them (or put them in dry-erase pouches), your little one can use play dough to create each shape and trace the name of the shape with a dry-erase marker. (Inside the activity pack, I’ve also included a recipe for homemade play dough if you prefer using that!)
GROSS MOTOR: DANCE YOUR WAY ACROSS THE ROOM
Let’s get your little one up and moving, just like Gerald!
This unique gross motor game combines math and movement. Your little one will pick a shoe number, and then they’ll have to figure out how to dance across the room in that many steps.
For example, if they pick a 2, they might take 2 giant leaps across the room…but if they pick a 10, they might do 10 tiny ballerina steps across the room. They’ll have to use their creative thinking and problem-solving skills to figure it out!
CRAFT: GIRAFFE HANDPRINT
Handprint crafts are my favorite crafts by far! Seeing how much my kids’ handprints change over the years is so bittersweet. I don’t ever want to forget how tiny their hands were at each age!
This handprint giraffe was inspired by Jessica over at Mrs. Plemons’ Kindergarten and is the perfect way to tie in a memorable craft with Giraffes Can’t Dance. Your little one can make their very own Gerald!
SNACK: GIRAFFE COOKIES
And now for my favorite part…the snack! This giraffe cookie inspired by The Devilish Dish goes along perfectly with Giraffes Can’t Dance. Not only is it fun to make, but it tastes great, too! You could also make these monkey cookies since there are monkeys in the story, too!
Looking for more animal activities? Check out my A Day at the Zoo activity pack!
READING RESPONSE: JOURNAL WRITING & BOOKMARK
To wrap up this unit, you can have your little one write and draw about their favorite part of Giraffes Can’t Dance. I’ve also included a bookmark that your little one can keep forever to remember this story and the main message: Be True to Yourself!
GIRAFFES CAN’T DANCE ACTIVITY PACK
All of the activities in this post can be found in my Giraffes Can’t Dance Activity Pack, which can be found in my shop here!
Have you read Giraffes Can’t Dance yet? Do you have any fun activities that would be great to add to our list? Comment below or find me on Instagram [@littleslovelearningblog] and let me know!
love these ideas? pin for later!
To check out more book-inspired activities, head over to our Storytime Club!
Happy Learning!
