INTRODUCTION – DAY 1 1. WARM UP – GUESS MY ANIMAL · INTRODUCTION – DAY 5 Our final lesson...

Children’s Book Network | Read At Home Activities

This week, we're focusing our READ AT HOME activities on the environment. Each day, we'll be sharing with you a warmup to get you energised and ready for the day, a story to read aloud, a book review related to the topic for the day, and an activity. On Friday, we'll be sharing something extra special with you - a book on Audible to listen to and inspire you to become custodians of your environment!

INTRODUCTION – DAY 1

Day one of our environmental theme, focuses on the King of the African animals – the lion!

1. WARM UP – GUESS MY ANIMAL

This is like a game of charades. You are going to act out animals for your family to guess.

1. Write these, and any other African animals you can think of, on slips of paper.

a. Lion

b. Giraffe

c. Tortoise

d. Hippo

e. Porcupine

f. Eagle

g. Cheetah

h. Dolphin

i. Monkey

j. Bird

k. Worm

l. Bee

2. Fold them up, and place them in a bowl.

3. Have your family get involved in this next part.

4. Draw a slip of folded paper out of the bowl, and then act out the animal you have chosen.

Think outside the box here:

a. Think about how the animal moves – move across the room like your animal


b. Think about what it looks like – can you show the porcupine’s quills? Touch the

point of one of your quills, and show that it poked you, for example. Show how

long your neck is if you are a giraffe.

5. The rules are as follows:

a. No talking or words

b. No sounds or noises

c. Only actions and movements with your body

6. No one at home who wants to play? Why not video call a friend, your grandparents or

family and have them play along!

2. BOOK REVIEW – WHO IS KING?

We all know that lions are considered to be the Kings of the African savannah. But, are they

really? It sounds as though Mr Lion has some fierce competition! Read the book review on

the magical ‘Who is king?’ here:

https://www.childrensbook.co.za/books/who-king

3. READ ALOUD – THE LION AND THE MONKEY

Read 'The lion and the monkey' - another Nali'bali story about trust and gratitude.

'The lion and the monkey lived in a thick jungle. The lion roamed the jungle floor, while the monkey lived in the treetops. One day the lion saw some meat on top of a banana leaf on the jungle floor. “There’s a free and easy meal for me,” he thought.

The lion moved towards the middle of the banana leaf, but as he sunk his teeth into the meat, the ground gave way beneath him. Together with the meat and the banana leaf, he fell into a deep pit.'

Read more by clicking the PDF link below, or clicking this link.


https://www.childrensbook.co.za/news/2020/04/13/lion-and-monkey

4. ACTIVITY – LION MASK

Often called the ‘King of the jungle’, most lions actually live in the savannah or grasslands of

Africa. Just one population of wild forest-dwelling lions remains, in Gir Forest National Park

in India.

Either way, lions truly are ‘the Kings’ of their ecosystems, being the top of the food chain and

the largest of the African cats. Here are some facts about lions:

• Male lions can weigh up to 190kgs, while female lions can be up to 130kgs.

• Lions usually live in groups of 10 or 15 animals called prides.

• An adult male’s roar can be heard up to 8km away.

• A female lion needs 5kg of meat a day. A male needs 7kg or more a day.

• Lions go on the hunt for food mostly from dusk till dawn. Female lions do 85-90% of the

prides hunting, whilst the male lions patrol the territory and protect the pride.

Activity

Using a paper plate, scrap paper, glue – anything you might need - create your lion mask, just

like the ones our CBN children created here:



WESSA’s EnviroKids magazine is our inspiration for today’s lesson! Please visit EnviroKids

wonderful website for more: http://wessa.org.za/envirokids-magazine/

We use information and READ ALOUD content from this specific edition of EnviroKids:

https://cld.bz/OeCAP5y/10-11/

All credit for content and images goes to WESSA and EnviroKids. Copyright on all content

belongs to WESSA and the individual contributors.

ISSN 1995-6703

Reg. No. 05/04658/08

Official quarterly publication of the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA (incorporated

association, not for gain). Registered NPO 000-716

Magazines are a wonderful resource to read. They are generally packed full of beautiful

images, interesting information, and many different pieces of writing from different writers.

There are many different magazines out there that generally focus on a specific theme or

topic. If you’re interested in birds, for example, there are many bird magazines out there that

will have articles written al about birds, where to find them, how to become a birder, and so

on.

In times like this, we are very lucky to have many magazines available to us online, like

EnviroKids. Enjoy this lesson, and we encourage you to page through this, and all the other,

EnviroKids magazines!


1. WARM UP – WILD YOGA

EnviroKids has put together some ‘wild yoga’ for you to do at home! Try these yoga positions:


2. BOOK REVIEW – MISTER SENGI'S VERY BIG FRIEND

Read our book review on Mister Sengi’s very big friend – a charming tail about an elephant

shrew who adventures far and wide to meet a real elephant!

https://www.childrensbook.co.za/books/mister-sengis-very-big-friend

3. READ ALOUD – ENVIROKIDS: NATURE IN OUR LIVES

Read pages 4 and 5 of EnviroKids: https://cld.bz/OeCAP5y/6-7/

This article talks about all of the ways in which we depend on nature for food, water, energy,

and happiness. Enjoy it, and think about all of the things are you are grateful for which nature

supplies.

4. ACTIVITY – SCAVENGER HUNT

Just like Sengi trekked through the bushveld, it’s now your turn to trek through your garden

for a scavenger hunt!

1. Find each of the items below, and trace, draw or take photographs of them.

2. Create a feature wall out of your scavenger

hunt art – stick your art up in a square shape

on a wall somewhere visible to everyone in

your home, to brighten up their days!


All credit for ‘Wild Yoga’ and ‘Nature in our lives’ articles, go to WESSA:

We use information and READ ALOUD content from this specific edition of EnviroKids:

https://cld.bz/OeCAP5y/10-11/

All credit for content and images goes to WESSA and EnviroKids. Copyright on all content

belongs to WESSA and the individual contributors.

ISSN 1995-6703

Reg. No. 05/04658/08

Official quarterly publication of the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA (incorporated

association, not for gain). Registered NPO 000-716



Today, we’re focusing on oceans. Did you know that oceans hold about 96.5% of all of Earth’s

water? Bursting with wildlife and teeming with mysteries to be solved, we’ve still only

explored a tiny fraction of our oceans. Here are the top ten facts we found most interesting

when researching this topic:

1. Around 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans.

2. The largest ocean on Earth is the Pacific Ocean, covering around 30% of the Earth’s

surface.

3. The name “Pacific Ocean” comes from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, which means

“peaceful sea”.

4. The deepest known area of the Earth’s oceans is known as the Mariana Trench. It’s

deepest point measures 11km.

5. The world’s oceans are home to incredible creatures that are masters of disguise!

Camouflage and specialised behaviour enable certain sea creatures to stay clear of

danger!

6. The longest mountain range in the world is found under water. Stretching over 56,000km,

the Mid-Oceanic Ridge is a mountain chain that runs along the centre of the ocean basins.

7. About 70% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by the oceans.

8. The sea is home to the world’s largest living structure – the Great Barrier Reef. Measuring

around 2,600km, it can even be seen from the Moon!

9. We have only explored about 5% of the world’s oceans. There’s a lot more to be

discovered!

10. The sea can be described as the planet’s mega museum. There are more artefacts and

remnants of history in the ocean than in all of the world’s museums combined!

Reference: https://www.natgeokids.com/za/discover/geography/general-geography/ocean-facts/


1. WARM UP – SWIMMING ON LAND

Why not grab your beach towel, lay it down on a carpet, or outside in the sunshine, and

practise your land swimming!

1. Lie on your stomach and practise doing breaststroke.

2. Stay on your tummy, stretching your arms straight above your head and pointing your

toes. Keeping your arms straight and strong and your legs straight with your toes pointed,

kick your legs and move your arms alternating one up, one down – just like how you’d kick

and thrash your arms to stay afloat in a swimming pool!

3. Now, repeat step 2, but this time on your back.

4. Part of being a good swimmer is breathing properly. Staying on your back with your arms

at your sides and your legs stretched out straight, breathe in and out slowly:

a. Breathe in for the count of four, and out for the count of six

b. Breathe in for the count of four, hold your breath for the count of two, and breathe

out for the count of six

c. Do this a few times, but do it carefully and in a controlled manner.

d. Once you’ve done that, enjoy lying on your back breathing normally.

2. BOOK REVIEW – BEN AND THE WHALES

Read our book review on Ben and the whales. There is something wondrous and majestic about standing on a seaside cliff and watching the whales. https://www.childrensbook.co.za/books/ben-and-whales


3. READ ALOUD – A FISH AND A GIFT

Read A fish and a gift. This is a wonderful take about Yusuf, who waits on the beach while his father goes out fishing. Click here to read: https://www.childrensbook.co.za/news/2020/04/15/fish-and-gift

We’d like to thank Book Dash for sharing their incredible books with us. Visit their website

for more: https://bookdash.org

A fish and a gift

Liesl Jobson

Jesse Breytenbach

Andy Thesen

Every child should own a hundred books by the age of five. To that end, Book Dash gathers

creative professionals who volunteer to create new, African storybooks that anyone can

freely translate and distribute. To find out more,

and to download beautiful, print-ready books, visit: www.bookdash.org

A Fish and a Gift

Illustrated by Jesse Breytenbach

Written by Liesl Jobson

Designed by Andy Thesen

with the help of the Book Dash participants at Cape Town on 28 June 2014

Thanks to John Hishin for the photographs of the Muizenberg treknet fishermen that sparked

this story.

ISBN: 978-0-9922357-8-9

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licence

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

4. ACTIVITY – CREATE A SEA CREATURE

Create a sea creature out of materials you’ve collected from around your home.


1. Walk through your garden and collect items you think might be useful for creating a sea

creature.

2. Rummage through your recycling for empty bottles, paper, toilet rolls, plastic bags, egg

cartons and so on – anything you think could be useful in creating your critter.

3. Using any other craft materials you have lying around, start piecing your sea creature

together. Perhaps you have salt dough or playdough that you could mould into creatures?

4. Here are a few examples to inspire you:

5. Perhaps you could display your sea creatures creatively:

• Stick a small sea creature to an unused magnet

• Cut open and decorate an old box to create an ‘under the sea’ scene to display your

creatures

• Why not collect stones and rocks from around your garden, and paint sea creatures

onto them – use them as paper weights or decorations for your home

• Create a sea creature mobile


o Create a series of small sea animals that you can then hang from string to

create a mobile

All images: Pinterest


INTRODUCTION – DAY 5 In today’s activities, we’re taking to the stars! Activities, the book review and the read aloud story are all exploring space in one way or another. To get you started, here are ten facts from Nat Geo Kids that we just had to share with you!

1. One million Earths could fit inside the sun – and the sun is considered an average-size star.

2. For years it was believed that Earth was the only planet in our solar system with liquid

water. More recently, NASA revealed its strongest evidence yet that there is intermittent

running water on Mars, too!

3. Comets are leftovers from the creation of our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago –

they consist of sand, ice and carbon dioxide.

4. You wouldn’t be able to walk on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or Neptune because they have

no solid surface!

5. If you could fly a plane to Pluto, the trip would take more than 800 years!

6. Space junk is any human-made object orbiting Earth that no longer serves a useful

purpose. Scientists estimate there are about 500,000 pieces of space junk today, including

fragments from rockets and satellites, and everyday items like spanners dropped during

construction of the International Space Station!

7. An asteroid about the size of a car enters Earth’s atmosphere roughly once a year – but it

burns up before it reaches us. Phew!

8. The highest mountain known to man is on an asteroid called Vesta. Measuring a whopping

22km in height, it is three times as tall as Mount Everest!

9. There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. That’s

at least a billion trillion!

10. The sunset on Mars appears blue.

Reference: https://www.natgeokids.com/za/discover/science/space/ten-facts-about-space/


1. WARM UP – STAR JUMPS AND OTHER EXERCISES

Find a flat spot in your garden or an open space in your home, and join in on a little morning

exercise!

1. Star jumps x 10 a. Start off down in a crouched position with your feet at hip width and your

arms by your sides. From this position jump up explosively as high as you can. b. As soon as your feet leave the ground, open your legs out to the sides and lift

your arms up and out to the sides at the same time. c. At the highest point of your jump, your feet and hands should represent 4 of

the 5 points of a star, with your head being the other point. d. As you start to lower back to the ground, bring your legs and arms in, so that

you land with your feet under your hips and your arms by your sides. Absorb the impact of the landing by bending your knees and leaning forwards as you lower down into the crouch position again ready for your next star jump.

2. Running on the spot – to the count of 30

3. Lunges x 10

4. Squats x 10

And repeat! … If you have the energy J

2. BOOK REVIEW – THE AFRICAN ORCHESTRA

Read our book review on The African Orchestra. This brilliant new picture book is not a story. Instead, it is an exploration of the sounds of Africa through verse text and glorious illustrations. https://www.childrensbook.co.za/books/african-orchestra

3. READ ALOUD – A FISH AND A GIFT

Nandi doesn’t want to go to sleep. No way! She wants to go on an adventure. Join Nandi as she lets her imagination run wild and free. Click here to read this lovely tale: https://www.childrensbook.co.za/news/2020/04/15/i-dont-want-go-sleep


We’d like to thank Book Dash for sharing their incredible books with us. Visit their website

for more: https://bookdash.org

I don’t want to go to sleep!

Illustrated by Subi Bosa Written by Sarah McGregor Designed by Alexia Greeff Edited by Anna Stroud

with the help of the Book Dash participants in Johannesburg on 27 October 2018. ISBN: 978-1-928442-79-0

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licence (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/).

4. ACTIVITY – DRAW YOUR DREAMS

Using Nandi’s as inspiration from the book you’ve just read ‘I don’t want to go to sleep’, draw

your own dream! Perhaps you’ve dreamt of going to space, just like Nandi did. Recreate your

dream on a piece of paper, as big or small as you like, using any materials you like – recycled

materials, paint, pencils, glitter, glue, paper. Have fun with this!



Our final lesson plan for the environmental theme for the week explores what makes our

environment special. From a myriad of different animals, to plants which bring joy, to

appreciating where our food comes from, the environment gives us many reasons to fall in

love! And we should respect it for that, every day.

1. WARM UP – FOLLOW THE LEADER

This warm up requires at least two of you to play along. The more, the merrier!

1. Stand in a line and love around your house or garden.

2. The person at the front of the garden should move like some kind of animal – an elephant

stomping down the passage with his trunk swinging in front of him, a bumblebee with her

wings flapping furiously at her sides, or a springbok pronking in the garden! Be creative

and have fun!

3. Take turns to have a new leader (and creature) at the front of your line.

2. BOOK REVIEW – A CHILD’S GARDEN

What an incredible, hard-hitting book A child’s garden is. It is a story of hope, all inspired by

a plant that appears amid rubble, and no one can stop more plants from sprouting and giving

joy to children. Read the book review here:

https://www.childrensbook.co.za/books/childs-garden

3. READ ALOUD – I DREAMED OF A LION THAT TALKED

This magnificent poem was written by Children’s Book Network Director and Founder, Lesley

Beake. Read the poem below, or click the link here to read it online:

https://www.childrensbook.co.za/news/2014/09/26/i-dreamed-lion-talked

I dreamed of a lion that talked.

And what did he tell you? What did he say?


He spoke of flat, wide plains, where porcupines dug holes under the moon,

where people told their stories while stars burned bright.

I dreamed of a zebra, who ran through my dreams while I slept

And where did she run to? Where did she run?

She ran over grass, grasslands where hot yellow sun burned

And people slept in the shade and played with their babies under the heat of the day.

I dreamed of a porcupine firing his arrows into my mind.

And what did they tell you? What did they say?

They spoke of great rivers that flow to the sea.

And people who danced in the droplets that flew from their feet and shone in their hair.

I dreamed of a jackal that slipped like a shadow in moonlight over my eyes.

And what did you see there? What did you see?

I saw smooth silver hills of sand piled up high.

And people who gathered by firelight and were not afraid.

I dreamed of a kudu who spoke to my heart.

And what did she tell you? What did she say?

She said this was my place, my Africa now.

And she touched my soul with the music of her words.


4. ACTIVITIES

Write a poem

Using Lesley’s poem as inspiration, write your own poem about the beauty of the

environment. Here are two options:

• Option 1: Write your own poem from scratch

• Option 2: Use the template below as a way to start your poem

o I dreamed of a (insert animal) that (insert what the animal did, where you saw

it)

And what did (it say/you see/you feel)? What did (it say/you see/you feel)

Two lines explaining what the animal said, what you saw, what you felt

Reuse materials around your home

We should love and respect our environment in order to ensure that the environment is

protected and conserved for the future. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Turn old boxes into recycling bins. Use crayons, markers or pain to label them – glass,

paper and cans – along with beautiful drawings or cut-out pictures.

• Make magical seed bombs! Cut up old newspapers, separate into bowls and soak in a little

bit of water and food colouring. Blitz each bowl in a blender individually. Add flower seeds

and roll into balls. You will love planting the colourful seeds and watching their sprouts

grow.

• Regrow your food scraps in those cut-off 2L bottles. This teaches an important lesson on

cutting down on food waste, sustainability and saving money. Leafy scraps are especially

easy to grow – lettuce, spring onion, celery and lemongrass. Do your own research online

for each of the different veggies.

Compiled by: Lisa Witherden

INTRODUCTION – DAY 1 1. WARM UP – GUESS MY ANIMAL · INTRODUCTION – DAY 5 Our final lesson...

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