The Safari Describe It and Find It activity which can be found in the Safari Themed Adult Input Planning Pack is a lovely game for groups of children to play and learn about safari animals. Provide this Safari Themed Bingo and Lotto Game Pack . Encourage children to take turns when playing the matching games and to talk about what animals they find. Circle time game – pass a bag around the circle and encourage the children to talk about what they would need to take with them on a safari trip. Talk about endangered animals and charities that raise money to help look after animals around the world. Have a fundraising day where children could dress up in animal themed clothes or sell animal-themed gifts. Favourite animals – talk about favourite animals. Would we see any of these on safari? Why do you like them?

Encourage independence using these Safari Animals Self Registration Labels. These could be used to show attendance or completion of activities. Encourage children to take turns to play this Safari Animals Pattern Matching game. Hide these Safari Display Posters around the setting and encourage children to work together to find them. They could tick the animals they find on this African Animal Spotting Sheet.

Have these Safari Animal Role-Play Masks with props like binoculars and safari costumes available. Encourage the children to work together in groups to act out stories and scenarios. Set up a role-play African Safari area (see EAD). Hide safari themed soft toys around the outdoor area. Encourage the children to work as a team to find them.

We have a pack version of this plan that also contains all relevant resources and can be downloaded here.

The ‘If I Were an Animal’ activity which can be found in the Safari Themed Adult Input Planning Pack is a lovely rhyme about different safari animals and their characteristics. Use these Safari Display Photo Cut-Outs to introduce different safari animals and items. Encourage children to talk about what they can see, and share their own ideas and understanding. Look at this Safari Video PowerPoint with the children. Talk about the different animals that might be seen on an African safari and encourage the children to share their ideas. Play a listening game where one child is blindfolded in the middle of a circle. The children in the circle take it in turns to say, “It's only me, the safari lion/meerkat/snake/elephant,” in an appropriate squeaky or gruff voice. The blindfolded child guesses who was speaking/where in the room the child was. Play a listening and attention game with the children. Place a number of small world safari animals on a tray and cover with a blanket. Ask the children to guess how many are there, then double-check by counting. Remove one of the objects, can they say which one has been removed? Encourage children to listen to these Safari Simple Sentence Cards and find the matching card.

Have these Safari Animal Role-Play Masks and props like binoculars and safari costumes available. Encourage the children to work together in groups to act out stories and scenarios. In the listening area, have an audio copy of a safari-themed book, along with a hard copy and related props. Set up a small world version safari scene. This Small World Background might come in handy. Also have these Stick Puppets available in the small world area. Hide these Safari Themed Story Stones in a shallow tray of sand. Encourage children to uncover the stones and talk about what they find. Create a small world safari scene in the sand tray with small world safari animals, some plastic trees, toy cars and small world people. Create a specially decorated chair with the children. This then becomes a special storytelling chair for the children to retell the story to each other.

Hide a selection of safari small world animals or these Safari Animal Posters around the outside area. Provide children with these African Animal Spotting Sheets on clipboards and pencils, then encourage them to go on a role-play safari to find the animals and tick them once spotted. They could use binoculars too for extra fun! Create a safari soundtrack featuring the noises of a range of safari animals. Play the sounds for the children and encourage them to identify the safari animal. For example; a lion roaring, an elephant trumpeting and a snake hissing.

We have a pack version of this plan that also contains all relevant resources and can be downloaded here.

The Safari Animal Masks activity which can be found in the Safari Themed Adult Input Planning Pack encourages children to make masks of safari animals – great for use in role-play activities. Encourage children to decorate and make these Safari Animal Cone Characters. Look at this Safari Video PowerPoint with the children. Encourage them to move like different safari animals. Children could draw around these Safari Animals Shadow Puppet Templates onto black paper. These could be cut out and displayed on a colourful background to create a lovely safari sunset display. Encourage children to explore tearing different colours of paper into strips or shapes to decorate some safari animal pictures. They could tear stripes for a zebra, spots for a leopard or patches for a giraffe. Children may like to try these safari-themed Finger Gym activities to develop their fine motor skills:

o Cheetah’s Spots o Lion’s Mane

Use these Playdough Mats to encourage children to shape and mould safari-themed models. These Safari Sunset Playdough Mats could also be provided with this Silhouette Playdough Recipe to create some safari animal silhouettes. Children could use animal-shaped cutters or make models of safari animals to create a lovely safari sunset scene. Provide these Safari Themed Cutting Skills Activity Sheets for children to use. Encourage them to cut out the animal pictures and use them to make maps, scenes and pictures. Have these Pencil Control Activity Sheets in the writing area. Have some safari and animal outfits available in the role-play area - if they have buttons and zips all the better! Children could explore how to curl strips of paper or pipe cleaners by wrapping them around a pencil to create a curly mane for a lion. Make some paper chain snakes. Provide some strips of paper to make interlocking rings and make snakes of different lengths.

Create a hippo wash! Provide some small world hippos, some mud and some soapy water. Encourage the children to help clean the muddy hippos! They could use sponges, scrubbing brushes and pump soap dispensers. Children could create some long snakes using beads and laces. Snake faces could be painted onto large beads or cotton reels and then beads or cotton reels could be threaded onto the rest of the string to create snakes.

Listen to some tracks from the ‘Carnival of the Animals’ by Camille Saint-Saëns. Encourage the children to listen to the music and create movements to match the music and the animals. Children could use some bucket stilts to be elephants or tall giraffes.

We have a pack version of this plan that also contains all relevant resources and can be downloaded here.

The ‘What’s in the Box’ activity which can be found in the Safari Themed Adult Input Planning Pack is a lovely phonics game using initial sounds to identify safari animals. Work with the children to write a list of the animals seen on a role-play safari. These ‘On Safari I Saw…’ Writing Frames could be useful. Support children to complete these Safari Themed Read and Draw Sheets. These Safari Word Cards could be used to introduce animal names and to complete the Read and Draw Sheets. Encourage children to read topic words and complete these Safari Word and Picture Matching Sheets. Use the Safari Word Cards to practise blending and segmenting words. Demonstrate writing a postcard describing all the things seen on safari. This Postcard Template could be used as a prompt for children to write their own postcards and draw a safari picture on the front. Provide these Safari Animal Photos to encourage children to use descriptive language. These Writing Frames could also be provided to encourage children to write their ideas.these Safari Simple Sentence Cards.

In the writing area, have these Word Mats and Page Borders available. You could also have safari-animal shaped paper/booklets available for the children to use. These Safari Animal Writing Frames can also be put in the writing area. A great way to introduce descriptive words! In the reading area, put a selection of safari-themed books. This Safari Book List has a range of fiction and non-fiction suggestions. Put these Alphabet on Safari Animals posters around the setting. Encourage children to find and read the letter sound on each animal. Encourage children to read safari animal names and learn new vocabulary using these Safari Words Read and Colour Activity Sheets.

Have these African Animal Spotter Sheets on clipboards alongside some hidden safari toys or pictures. These Page Borders could also be provided. Create a reading den outside using blankets and cushions, covered with sheets or tarpaulin. Have a selection of safari stories and non-fiction books available for the children to use. Hide a selection of these Safari Display Letters around the outside area. Challenge children to find and identify them.

We have a pack version of this plan that also contains all relevant resources and can be downloaded here.

The ‘Leopard Spots Counting Game’ which can be found in the Safari Themed Adult Input Planning Pack is a lovely way to practise counting and addition skills during a safari topic. Hide a selection of these Numbered Safari Animals around the setting. Play ordering games, missing number games, matching and counting games etc. Make a collection of small world safari animals. These could then be used for a variety of counting, addition and subtraction activities. Play this Safari Roll and Colour game with the children. Encourage them to roll some dice, work out the total and colour the matching numbered animal. Support children to read and colour these Safari Themed Colour by Number sheets. Encourage children to explore height using this Giraffe Height Chart. Encourage them to measure how tall they are and compare heights with their friends. They could also compare their heights to those of familiar safari animals with this Safari Themed Height Chart. Make a class pictogram of favourite safari animals. Encourage children to draw a picture of their favourite safari animal and stick them onto a simple

Have a selection of laminated Safari Themed Size Ordering Pictures. Start with three of each and encourage the children to sort them into hoops – all of the small creatures in one hoop, the medium sized in another hoop, etc. Have this Safari Themed Number Peg Matching Activity available for the children to use. Encourage children to count the safari animals and attach the correct numbered peg to each section of the wheel. Encourage children to draw and count stripes and spots on these Zebra and Leopard counting and colouring sheets. Provide large copies of these Leopard Fingerprint Counting Activity sheets. Challenge children to add the correct number of fingerprint spots onto each leopard.

Hide a selection of these Numbered Safari Animals around an outside area. Challenge children to find them and sequence them on a washing line. Encourage them to think about which numbers are still hidden, what number comes next, what is the largest number, etc. Create an elephant number line using these Elephant Number Line Number Cards. Encourage children to line the elephants up in a long line with the numbers in the correct order. Odd and even numbers can also be discussed using the different colours on the elephants.

We have a pack version of this plan that also contains all relevant resources and can be downloaded here.

The ‘We’re Going on Safari’ activity which can be found in the Safari Themed Adult Input Planning Pack is a lovely role-play activity describing the different animals that might be seen on a safari trip. Share these Safari Animal Fact Files with the children. Talk about different animals that live in Africa. Encourage the children to share their own ideas and understanding with the group. Use this ‘Safari Animals ‘What’s Behind the Binoculars?’ PowerPoint Game with the children. Encourage them to talk about what they can see and to identify the safari animals shown. Use a large world map poster or a globe to look at where Africa is. Map websites or CD-ROMs could also be used to explore Africa. Discuss passports and make some role-play passports to take on safari. These Passport Templates could be useful. Take the children to a zoo or safari park to see some real safari animals. Take photographs and talk about these back at your setting. Children could take turns to play this Safari Animal Pattern Matching game. Turn over the animal cards and match them to the correct pattern.knowledge to complete this Guess the African Animal Activity PowerPoint.

Have a selection of child-friendly ICT equipment available for children to record themselves retelling a safari story. In the listening area, have an audio copy of a safari-themed story, along with a hard copy and related props. The children can explore operating the CD player independently. Use a paint/drawing program on the IWB for children to draw pictures of safari scenes and animals. Provide this Safari Park Map Cut and Stick Activity and encourage the children to make their own map. Encourage them to talk about the animals on their map and where they are. Provide this Safari Themed Shadow Matching Activity Sheet for children to use. Encourage them to talk about the shapes and sizes of the different safari animals and to match each to the correct shadow. Provide a Bee-Bot with this Bee-Bot Safari Mat and a Lion Bee-Bot Jacket. Encourage the children to make the Bee-Bot lion move around the mat and reach different locations.

Use binoculars to look for hidden safari animal toys or pictures. Use these African Animals Cut-Outs to make stick puppets. Then, create a safari small world area using a grassy or muddy area outside, along with pebbles and a mini pond. Encourage children to use a digital camera to record their findings on a role-play safari activity – What animals can they find? Stick some large sheets of paper over a table and provide some pens or crayons and some small Safari Animal Pictures. Encourage children to create their own safari park map or safari landscape.

We have a pack version of this plan that also contains all relevant resources and can be downloaded here.

The following are creative adult led activities, perfect for using during a safari topic. They can be found in this Safari Themed Adult Input Planning Pack:o Painting Animal Patternso Safari Binoculars Use percussion instruments to make sounds to represent different safari animals. Encourage the children to think about which instruments would be best for the smallest/largest animals and how they should be played (quiet/loud, slow/fast). Explore ways of moving to demonstrate the different safari animals. For example, lions prowling, rhinos charging around, flamingos standing on one leg, cheetahs running, hippos rolling in mud and snakes slithering. Use this Safari Songs and Rhymes Pack with the children to encourage them to sing a variety of safari-themed songs. Encourage children to explore colour mixing to create colours and shades to paint safari animal pictures. Colours could also be mixed together to create a gradient effect for a safari sunset display. Create some handprint safari animals using different colours of paint.

Provide these Safari Animal Colouring Sheets for children to decorate using a variety of materials and techniques. Have a range of junk modelling available for children to create their own safari animals. Cardboard tubes make great giraffes and plastic milk bottles could be cut and decorated to look like elephants! Have a variety of building materials in the construction area for children to build their own safari parks and animals. In the painting area, put these Safari Animals Posters on display to encourage the children to paint themed paintings. Set up an African Safari Role Play area with safari hats and costumes, animal masks, binoculars, animal photos and small world toys, animal checklists and non-fiction books or fact cards. Provide a variety of different printing materials for children to use to create different patterns on safari animal paintings. For example, plastic forks can be dragged through wet paint to create the effect of a lion’s mane, bubble wrap can create the effect of snake scales and pom-poms held in a peg and dipped into paint can be used to create spots on a leopard.

Make some safari hats to use in safari role-play games. Cut the middle out of a paper plate, place a paper bowl into the hole and paint or cover with paper. Holes could be punched into the rim to enable a string to be tied on to secure the hat. Cardboard tubes could be used to make some role-play binoculars. Decorate some large cardboard boxes to be role-play safari vehicles. Have an animal parade with children wearing costumes or masks of their favourite safari animals. Encourage them to move like the different animals.

We have a pack version of this plan that also contains all relevant resources and can be downloaded here.

Use percussion instruments to make sounds to represent different safari animals.

Safari Songs and Rhymes Pack .

Provide some small world safari animals like flamingos, hippos and crocodiles. The hippos could need a bath after rolling in the mud so children could clean them!

Use these Playdough Mats to encourage children to shape and mould safari themed models.

Safari Sunset Playdough Mats could also be provided with this Silhouette Playdough Recipe.

Use a paint/drawing program on the IWB for children to draw pictures of safari scenes and animals.

Provide a Bee-Bot with this Bee-Bot Safari Mat and a Lion Bee-Bot Jacket.

‘Safari Animals ‘What’s Behind the Binoculars?’ PowerPoint Game.

Numbered Safari Animals . Safari Roll and Colour . Safari Themed Colour by Number . Safari Themed Number Peg Matching

Activity. Giraffe Height Chart . Number Line Elephant Cards . Zebra and Leopard Counting and Colouring

Sheets. Leopard Fingerprint Counting Activity .

Safari Animal Cone Characters . Safari Animals Shadow Puppet Templates .

Safari Themed Story Stones . Create a small world safari scene in the sand

tray with small world safari animals, some plastic trees, toy cars and small world people.

Set up an African Safari Role Play area with safari hats and costumes, animal masks, binoculars, animal photos and small world toys, animal checklists and non-fiction books or fact cards.

Safari Animal Role Play Masks .

Safari Display Letters . Alphabet on Safari Animals . Safari Themed Read and Draw Sheets . Safari Word Cards . Safari Word and Picture Matching Sheets . Safari Words Read and Colour Activity

Sheets. Safari Book List . Safari Simple Sentence Cards .

Safari Animal Fact Files . Safari Display Photo Cut-Outs . Safari Animal Pattern Matching . Safari Park Map Cut and Stick Activity . Safari Video PowerPoint . African Animal Spotting Sheets . Safari Themed Bingo and Lotto Game Pack . Safari Themed Shadow Matching Activity

Sheet. Passport Templates .PowerPoint.

Junk model materials and construction toys to make model animals, safari vehicles or safari parks.

Safari Animals Posters . Explore colour mixing to create colours and

shades for painting.

Set up a small world version safari scene. This Small World Background might come in handy. Also have these Stick Puppets available in the small world area.

In the writing area have these Word Mats and Page Borders available.

You could also have safari animal shaped paper/booklets available for the children to use.

Safari Animal Writing Frames .

Safari Themed Cutting Skills Activity Sheets.

Pencil Control Sheets . We All Went on Safari Pencil Control Path

Activity Sheets’. Children may like to try these safari themed

Finger Gym activities to develop their fine motor skills:o Cheetah’s Spots o Lion’s Mane

o Zebra’s Stripes

We have a pack version of this plan that also contains all relevant resources and can be downloaded here.