My kids had a wonderful time with our “Raccoon” themed day from Mother Goose Time.
We started our day with a simple finger rhyme at breakfast, which gave us some practice counting down from five.
Rhyme
Put up five fingers and recite the rhyme together.
Insert the name of a child to jump up each time to try to “scare” a raccoon.
Start each verse with one less raccoon.
Five Raccoons
Five raccoons at our campsite
Looking for food in the middle of the night.
Jamie woke up and scared one away,
But the others just hid and decided to stay.
Raccoon Thief
One of our favorite ways to pass the time when we have the kids out to eat is to gather all the items on the table and then while the kids aren’t looking or close their eyes, make one disappear.
Then the kids have to guess which item is missing.
Raccoon thief is a simple take on that game that has the added bonus of helping them learn the names of some 3-D shapes.
Supplies
- 3D shapes
- cube cards of 3D shapes
Discuss
What items might a raccoon steal from your campsite?
The kids were all pretty sure the raccoon was going to take off with food.
Explore
Set out the 3-D shapes and other blocks. Invite children to freely play and build with them.
Play
Place the 3-D shapes on the tray.
Invite children to study them and review the name of each together.
Encourage children to cover their eyes as you remove one of the shapes.
Ask a child, “Which shape did the raccoon steal?”
Hold up the Cube Cards when asking children, until they guess the correct one.
Raccoon Mask
All three kids enjoyed making raccoon masks.
As a simple modifier for my youngest, we had him rip up pieces of black paper instead of using the scissors.
My eldest was thrilled to be able to make knots with the elastic to complete her mask.
Supplies
- mask
- elastic
- black paper
- tape
- glue
- scissors
Discuss
Who do you know that wears a mask?
Iron Man and Spiderman were top contenders.
Explore
Set out the masks and invite children to explore looking at things through them.
Is it easier or harder to see when looking through the mask?
Create
Invite each child to cut or tear the black paper and collage designs on the mask.
Tear ears, if desired, to add to the top of the mask.
Attach the elastic and tie the mask to fit each child’s head.
Play
Invite children to wear their masks and play a game of Hide and Seek in the dark (dimly lit room).
Scavenger Hunt
Supplies
Scavenger hunt labels were provided by Mother Goose Time
Discuss
Where does a raccoon find its food?
Explore
Name a color and encourage children to pretend to be raccoons and go scavenge for objects of that color in the room.
Play
Display the labels.
Go outside and work together to gather and count the items.
Once all the items have been filled, invited children to use them to build a raccoon hideaway.
To see more great preschool activities from Mother Goose Time, check out our posts on Facebook and Instagram!
Best,
