Creatures that Crawl

• Supports home learning

Activities in this article:

1. Patchwork tortoises
2. Caterpillar name-card game
3. Hedgehog garden
4. Mexican crawling lizards
5. Pom pom snails

The term ‘creatures that crawl’, those that move slowly and low to the ground, covers a range of animals and bugs – from bats and lizards to bees and flies and even some fish! The activities in this article, although aimed primarily at covering the Expressive Arts and Design Early Learning Goals, can be used to cover multiple areas of the curriculum. For example, they are great for incorporating into Physical Development sessions, where children can imagine themselves crawling, creeping bugs and animals.

A good topic to have fun with, all activities in this article are suitable for children of two years and upwards.

Patchwork tortoises

The well-loved picture book Elmer the Patchwork Elephant is great for pre-schoolers with its message of being proud of who you are and what makes you unique. It is a good book to use for covering the Understanding the World criteria.

This simple craft uses the Elmer patchwork idea and can be used as a follow-up activity to a circle-time reading of Elmer. Swap elephants for tortoises so that it aligns with the creatures that crawl theme.

This activity is also perfect for colour recognition practice, with children telling you the names of the colours they are using, talking about their favourite colours and matching one colour with another, etc.

In keeping with the theme, it would be good to share some pictures of tortoises so the children can see what a real tortoise looks like. You could also check out the following picture books that contain some lovely stories and photographs:

• The Tortoise and the Hare by Bernadette Watts, North-South Books
• Tortoise – Pet Expert: Understanding and Caring for Your Pet by Lance Jepson, Magnet & Steel Publishing Ltd
• Tricky Tortoise (African Animal Tales) by Mwenye Hadithi, Hodder Children’s Books

You will need:

• 1 small paper bowl per tortoise
• Scrap card
• Coloured paper
• PVA glue and spreaders
• Stapler
• Googly eyes
• Felt-tipped pen