There is a fascination with giraffes going on in this house. It is held by J, the youngest giggly girl. She has had this interest for almost a year now and every time we go to the zoo, she stands and stares at the giraffes.
So, we did a mini study of giraffes. No major projects; just fun and facts.
One of our favorite books is Giraffe And A Half by Shel Silverstein. We read this multiple times. J is a beginning reader and was able to read quite a bit of the book by herself. This was really exciting for me.
We checked out some non-fiction giraffe books from the library.
J decided she wanted to make a giraffe out of marshmallows so she and her dad tackled that project. I understand that a lot of marshmallows didn’t make it into the final product (J was quite sticky!) and that the project was fun. J chose small marshmallows, large marshmallows, and chocolate chips. Dad pulled out the sucker sticks and toothpicks. After some trial and error, here is their final project.
The other project that J wanted to do was to make a magnet playset to go with the book Giraffe and a Half. So, I tried my hand at drawing and she did all the coloring and decorating. We did these on cardstock and taped old magnets to the back. (We just cut up advertising magnets that we get sent in the mail. I keep them in the back of a drawer for just such a day as this.) She then played with them on a magnetic whiteboard that we have, reading the book as we went along. She even turned it into a memory game, making me guess the next thing that was added to the giraffe. If I missed, we had to start over. This was actually really good because she was reading the book for this activity.
I have made the drawing into PDFs that you can print for your child to color. Then your child can recreate Giraffe and a Half, too.
This post is linked up with ABC Blogging over at Ben and Me.
Tagged: ABC blogging, animals, books, craft, homeschool, J, play, science
At Home 
[…] we did a mini study of giraffes. No major projects; just fun and facts. Read more. . […]
I miss those younger days. Such cute ideas. I love the marshmallow giraffe!
Thanks for linking up with #abcblogging. We’ve featured this post as one of this weeks favorites! http://benandme.com/2014/06/abc-blogging-favorites-letters-g-h.html
I am trying to treasure these days and enjoy the hands-on learning. These activities were J’s choice, with no guidance from me (though I did help her with drawing the pieces for the play set). Thank you for featuring this post on you #abcblogging series.
[…] and companions D – donuts E – experiments F – fresh fruit popsicles G – Giraffe H – Hueco Indians I – in the rain J – J’s jewel box K – kids craft […]
I find giraffes fascinating too! Very fun activities!
Giraffes were a fun exploration for us for a couple of years. Lots of interesting things about them.
[…] marshmallows and toothpicks and skewers to make your own giraffe while listening to the story A Giraffe and a Half by Shel […]
[…] to TeachGrainger, Ginastera – Composer ABC’s by Lori at At Home: Where Life HappensG is for Giraffe by Lori at At Home: Where Life HappensGiraffe Party by Lori at At Home: Where Life HappensG- Middle […]
[…] marshmallows and toothpicks and skewers to make your own giraffe while listening to the story A Giraffe and a Half by Shel […]
[…] marshmallows and toothpicks and skewers to make your own giraffe whereas listening to the story A Giraffe and a Half by Shel […]
[…] marshmallows and toothpicks and skewers to make your own giraffe while listening to the story A Giraffe and a Half by Shel […]