This is a cute story told with few words.  As the zookeeper puts the animals to bed, something fishy is going on.  Children will delight in the silliness of the story.  This book is almost wordless and children will delight in retelling it over and over.

Materials

• 1-2 flashlights.
• A liquor store sized box with a hole cut out on one side big enough for a child to shine a flashlight in and see.
• Animal cards
• Old keys (ask at a place that makes them)
• Several bath or dishtowels
• Zookeeper maze, 1 per child

Vocabulary

Before Reading the Story

Look at the cover of the book.  Can the children tell what time it is?  Ask them what the gorilla is holding?  What do they think the story might be about? Introduce the book.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Reading the Story

As you read the story, stop on each page and ask a question about the illustration.  What is the gorilla taking out of the zookeeper’s pocket?  What do you think the gorilla will do when the zookeeper says goodnight to the elephant?  Where are all the animals going?  What do the two eyes say in the picture?  What do you think the zookeeper’s wife will do?  Look who is still following the zookeeper’s wife, what do you think will happen next?  Look at the banana, whom do you think ate it?

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they thought the gorilla was being good or naughty, why?  (He let all the animals out so they could play.  He sneaked. My Mom would be mad. Me and my sister sneak to watch t.v. when we sleep)  What happens when you disobey your parents?  Why do you think your parents, and teachers, make rules? (To be safe, to be mean, to make me go to bed).

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare, and contrast objects, events, and experiences.

Put the pictures of the animals where the children can see them.  Cover them up with a cloth and take one away.  Can the children remember which animal is missing?  After you have done this several times, challenge then to recall the order in which the animals appeared in the story.  What was the mouse carrying throughout the story?

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults. AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Discovery

Provide flashlights for the children to use today.  Bring in a box and cut a hole in it.  The children can take turns putting something under the box and then using the flashlight to look through the hole and see what is inside.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

For older children start with the flashlight totally disassembled.  Can they figure out how to put it back together so they can shine the light into the box?

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the finger play, The Mouse.

Here is a mouse with ears so funny,            Make a peace sign with fingers

And here is a hole in the ground.                On other hand make a circle

When a noise he hears,                               

He pricks up his ears                                    Pop up fingers of peace sign hand

And he runs to his hole in the ground.       Put peace sign into circle hand

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Play Monkey See, Monkey Do. 

Start in a large circle and sing or chant the following. he children can take turns choosing an action that the other children imitate. Make sure you have plenty of room as it seems jumping, twirling, and running in place are popular actions.

When I clap, clap, clap, my hands,               Choose an action for the children to copy

The monkeys clap, clap, clap, their hands.   Children copy action

Monkeys see and monkeys do                    

Monkeys do the same as you.                      Switch out a child’s name for next round

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multi-step directions. AND Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical fitness.

Blocks

The story takes place in a zoo.  Challenge the children to make a zoo.  Where do the animals go, where can the people walk?  Put any book you may have depicting a zoo in the center for the children to use as a guideline to their building.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Community; begins to express and understand concepts and language of geography in the context of the classroom, home, and community.

Art

Roll play dough out into pretend bananas and give the children plastic knives to practice cutting.  Can they cut in slices?  Can they cut the long way?  Can they cut it in half? Can they cut 4 pieces?

Physical Health Development/Health Status & Practices; shows growing independence in hygiene, nutrition, and personal care when eating, dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth, and toileting. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways?

Put dark paper and light colored paints at the easel today and let the children paint night time pictures.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Sand and Water

Add hard plastic baby dolls and water to the table.  Tell the children since the story took place at night that you thought it would be good to bath the babies before bedtime.  Give the children several dish towels or bath towels to dry the babies.

Creative Arts/Dramatic PLay; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex. AND Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games, outdoor play, and other forms of exercise that enhance physical fitness.

Library and Writing

This story is available on YouTube.

Literacy/Book KNowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading related activities, such as asking to have a favorite book read,; choosing to look at books; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home; going to the library; and engaging in pretend-reading with other children.

Give children a copy of the Zookeeper maze and a pencil.  Are they able to follow the maze and get the zookeeper to the bed without going over the lines?

Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and materials, such as pencils, crayons, and computers.

Dramatic Play

Add stuffed animals to the center today and encourage the children to prepare the animals for night.  Add several naptime blankets so they can tuck the animals in.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people such as genders, race, special needs, culture, language, and family structures.

Math and Manipulatives

If you can get old keys, they are great for sorting and counting.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increased abilities to combine, separate, and name “how many” concrete objects. AND Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; begins to determine whether two or not two shapes are the same size and shape.

Make two sets of the animal eyes cards and put them out for the children to match.  You can use this like a Memory Game.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Outdoors Play

Play follow the leader with a twist.  Have the children line up behind you and follow you as quietly as possible around the playground.  Go around the tree, behind the sandbox, under the cover, etc.  At intervals say “Do I hear a noise”?  This is the signal for the children to freeze and you to turn around.  If all are frozen still, turn back around and continue.  If someone is still moving when you turn around, they go to a designated area and wait until the next freeze cycle.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Transitions

As the children move to the next activity tell them to move so quietly that no one can hear them.  (My children used to like to do this as we passed by the offices on the way to the playground).

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Resources