Introducing my free printable Animal Movement Dice!
Moving or making sounds like an animal is something our family does daily. If it’s not my husband jumping around scratching himself like a monkey, it’s me imitating any animal noise I hear outside.
Not only does animal imitation teach your kids more about wildlife, it also serves as a great way to spend time laughing and playing as a family. Kids love animals! They also love to put their imagination to use, making this the perfect activity for nature-minded kids.
The Dice: see how it works
If you’re not a crazy animal-mad person like me, it might be harder for you to draw out your inner animal. So, here’s a free downloadable Animal Movement Dice for you and your kids to enjoy.
Check out how much fun we had!
Animal Movement dice instructions:
-
- Print the template on thicker than average paper (100% recycled paper if possible).
- Cut the template out
- Bend all the tabs and lines to make construction easier
- Glue it together to make the wildlife dice.
Wildlife dice game instructions:
- Â Decide on whether you will imitate movement, sound, or both.
- Let your child throw the dice.
- Imitate the animal it falls on.
Animal Movement and Sounds
Animal |
Movement |
Sound |
Wombat |
On all fours (arms and legs) and hustle around the room. Wombats also LOVE to dig! | A wombat’s vocalization sounds like the grinding of teeth. Ch, ch, ch, ch! |
Cricket |
Move around fast and jump every now and then. | If you can flick your tongue and make it vibrate with a sound coming through it that very similar to the sound a cricket makes if you can’t make that sound you just say ‘chirp, chirp’. |
Kookaburra |
You can imitate a flying cockatoo by putting your arms out and flapping. | They have a call that sounds like a laugh. Coo, coo, cah, cah, cah. |
Koala |
This one is easy! You can yawn and fall asleep (remember they sleep in a tree, so no curling up on the floor) or you can also pretend to climb the tree or eat gum leaves. | This is a hard one. Koalas bellow. The best way to describe it is that they sound like a grunting pig. The experts make a koala sound by breathing in, not out. Give it a try! You can now learn here! |
Crocodile |
Hands flat together, out in front of you and clap. Move from side to side, imitating the fluid movements they make as they swim through the water. | Snap, snap, snap! |
Kangaroo |
Hop high and hop proud with two paws out in front of you. | Kangaroos don’t make much noise, except when they are cranky with another kangaroo. It almost sounds like a humpf! The only other sound they tend to make sounds like grinding their teeth. A skippy-like flick of the tongue will suffice. |
Update: You can now learn to bellow like a koala too. Try it!
I hope you love this animal wildlife dice as much as we do!
Here’s some Top Wildlife Songs to extend on moving like animals!
This is darling! We parents are so lucky to have you, Penny!
Thanks Susan. There is more to come, I promise. 🙂
Very cool ! Making a Hmmmm sound for an emu ? Grunting like a pig for a koala ?
Who would’ve thought ! Looks like I’d be getting more of an education from this game than my boys 🙂
Hi Penny! Thank you for your great resources. We have recently used the wildlife dice (which I have just blogged about) and am now printing the Bilby mask. My three year old is being an Emu everywhere, yes we are getting some very interesting looks! Thanks again, I cannot wait to see what you publish next.
Thanks so much Kylie. I’m so happy that your little boy loves it. The photos on your site are just adorable! I love the emu impression. How fantastic is he! Thanks so much for mentioning me o your website. I’m hoping I have a bit more time to look around this afternoon. It looks great.
Love this! I may have to borrow this idea and take it outside with my kiddos this week. They will go crazy for this. Thanks so much for connecting with me on Facebook. So glad to have your site as another resource for great activities for my girls. Pinned this, facebooked it and tweeted it!! Love it!
Thanks so much for dropping by Abbie. How do I find you to follow you on Pinterest?
Love the audio of the koala. Learning the sounds of animals is harder than learning a foreign language. Makes me appreciate them all the more.
I love it!
Hi Penny, thank you so much for this great post and the lovely freebie. I came by your blog via Pinterest, and have included your wildlife movement dice game in my weekly round-up of great pins. If you’d like to have a look, here is the link: http://littlegreenteacher.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/pins-of-week-area-game-animal-movement.html
Hello! I´ve just found your website, it´s amazing and loveable! Thank you very much for sharing your ideas. It´s great to encourage kids to love nature. Congratulations and greetings from Mexico
Penny!
I didn’t know you had an amazing parenting project on the go! This is amazing! Are those your girls??? They are so grown up. Where does the time go?
Hey Trace!
Didn’t you know about my blog? I’ve had it for a while now. I’m curious how you found it!
Yep, that’s my girls! They are so big now. How are you and your little family going. Any news?