June is National Zoo and Aquarium Month.
My family visits the National Zoo and Aquarium every June as a Father's Day tradition. Little did we know that we were also celebrating along with them!
Now for my confession, I am the guy who reads all of the signs at the zoo! I don't just take my kids to see the animals. I want them to discover.
As Jack Hanna once said:
"The world is the true classroom. The most rewarding and important type of learning is through experience, seeing something with our own eyes."Zoos and aquariums offer that opportunity and zookeepers, thoughtfully, put information on those signs to add to that experience. But why stop there? The learning can continue before and after a zoo or aquarium trip with discussion, recaps - verbal, pictoral or written and of course, reading! Here are a few books that complement a zoo visit:
- Where's Walrus? - Set in a zoo, this wordless picture book can set you off on many adventures! Let your child help you tell the story based on their zoo experience and laugh along as Walrus takes an adventure into the city!
- 1,2 at the Zoo, 1,2,3 in the Sea and Little Scholastic: Zoo - You can COUNT on these animals to captivate your little learner after seeing them in real life. With pop-ups, folds and other interactive elements, these books add life into teaching early concepts.
- 101 Animal Secrets - Take this book along with you and look up facts along the way!
- What if You Had Animal Hair? - This book is just cool! After seeing a porcupine in real life, it lets kids imagine just what it would be like to be one.
- 3-D Thrillers - With Sharks, Snakes and Big Cats, each of these books come with 3-D glasses. It's the closest to the real thing you can get outside a zoo or aquarium.
- Books by Nic Bishop - These are some of the most beautifully photographed animal picture books I have seen!
- Scholastic Discover More books: Brilliantly edited for three separate levels of readers, these non-fiction books also have an online component. With titles like Animal Babies, Sharks and Ocean & Sea, there are tons of options to keep any zoo or aquarium adventure going!
