My Heart Is Like a Zoo Activities and Crafts

Hearts are a very versatile shape, so versatile in fact that they can be used to construct all different kinds of animal pictures. This is what Michael Hall has done in his wonderful book My Heart Is Like a Zoo. Children will love searching for and counting the hearts used to illustrate each animal in the book. They’ll also love making their own animals out of hearts. In addition, this collection of learning materials includes a fun felt song, language and math games, and a movement activity to further extend concepts introduced by the book.

Book: My Heart Is Like a Zoo

My Heart is Like a Zoo Book and activities for preschool and kindergarten

Preschool Activities:

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Heart Rhymes

Show children how to make a heart with their hands by reciting the following rhyme:

Make a Heart
Original Author Unknown

I part my hands together,
this is how I start;
I curve my fingers right around
and I can make a heart!

Heart Circle Game

Children sit in a circle. Pass a red heart with blue and white spots around the circle.

I made this little heart
Of red and white and blue.
I made this little heart
Especially for you (Let child that holds the heart and say a name of a child in the circle and bring the heart to him/her.)

Repeat

My Heart is Like a Zoo Animals Felt Song (Activity, patterns, and song available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library)

Preschool Activities:
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Make some heart animals. Sing the following song, placing each animal on the board as it is named. Give children time to count the hearts that make up each animal. If desired, write the rhyme on chart paper and point to the words as children follow along.

Heart Animal Song
KidsSoup Inc.
(Tune: I'm a Little Teapot (first half)

I'm a playful penguin, silly as can be.
How many hearts do you see? (6)

continue... (Song and printables available inside our KidsSoup Resource Library)

Heart Animals Preschool and Kindergarten Emergent Reader

Sight Words: my, has, number words
Words: animal, hearts,

preschool and kindergarten sight words and numbers emergent reader

Preschool Activities:

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My Heart is like a Zoo Activities and Games

Build a Heart Animal Matching and Sequencing Activity

Children build different heart animals by looking at the step-by-step sequencing cards and build the animals to match the steps.

Build a heart animal matching game and sequencing activity

Preschool Activities:

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Heart Fish 11-19 Base Ten Activity and Worksheet

Children place 10 conversation heart candies on the fish's body. Then, they pick a fish card and add the additional conversation hearts on the fish's tail to show the matching number.