Posted On: 2024-04-23 10:34 AM
What brings more joy than being a little child again, imitating all the childish words and phrases with long vowels and modest coyness among a group of other kids? Innovating ways to make learning fun for the kids has never been that hard of a task until you are in a dilemma of finding the best ways in which you can keep them engaged. Pictures. Things that move and have an animating effect on the child’s mind. As a kid, one is not much interested in letters and meaning as one is keen on the perception of auditory and visual senses. As a little one is starting out, employing the use of Animal Shaped Cookies or the popular Animal Crackers can be a good way to bring to light the various animals and birds that shape the ecosystem and form a major part of their own survival too.
The animal shaped cookies, primarily termed treats, first began to be produced in England in the late 19th century. Soon, the idea became very popular and increasingly in demand in America too, as traders and business merchants exported it. The idea, in itself, became so commercialized that even every other baker in the U.S. started baking their own animal shaped cookies. Stauffer’s Biscuit Company came up with the idea and took their inspiration from the circus theme of Barnum and Bailey Circus, later termed “Barnum’s Animals”. Since 1902, a total of 53 different animals have been introduced.
Children are always fascinated by one thing or the other. Imagine what their first reactions would be upon discovering a fellow earthling abounding the Earth which looks like a LION? Introduce them to the jungle out there. Ask them if they have seen a dog and birds, as these are only the common things a child can see that would pass off as their understanding. Take them in a group and first show them the animals that generally exist, for example, the lion, the duck, the sheep, the tiger, the bear and others. Children, as a matter of fact, love cookies. How would an infant’s realization playfully concert in his mind when he/she gets to know that they can actually EAT the animals?
Children can shift their attention at times towards something else. As getting to know about the animals is interesting but sometimes boring for the kids to know, you can always try different methods since you are engaging animal crackers in your explanation. Some of the ways in which you can do that are:
● Hold contests: Keep the jar of animal shaped cookies before them. Devise a game for them to play in which they will have to guess which animal it is by looking at a particular trait significant to the animal. The winners can have the cookies with the animals they guessed correctly.
● Employ phrases and interesting animal traits: Children will jump at the idea of animals and their special traits once they get to know about them. Tell them who’s the king of the jungle, and also, who’s the fastest land runner in the world; tell them about crocodile tears. Ask them what trait they would like to possess when they grow up, and give them the same animal cookie. See their reaction. Do they hesitate to eat it?
● Use them in the activity of sports: In children’s activities, use the animal shaped cookies as rewards.