Do you have a kid who likes to line things up? Try this animal line-up activity and invite them to make their meticulous sets into parades. This quick and easy activity ideas is perfect for imaginary play and fine motor skills to develop.
Why let kids make an animal line-up?
I came up with this idea for my daughter.
She likes precision.
She likes order.
She likes her toys to be meticulously lined up and the patience it takes for her to create her (often) elaborate set ups is something for the ages.
With a growing collection of small sized animal toys (ranging from fancy to Paw Patrols to Hatchimals), she had a ball with this massive animal line-up. I knew that I could capture her love of tiny toys and lining them up with the help of some painter’s tape.
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Remember – activities don’t need to be fancy
There’s a rumor floating around early childhood that children need complicated activity.
That they need elaborate “Pinterest-worthy” projects to pass the time.
They don’t.
Kids need play, and when play stalls out: they need quick and easy set-ups that can work as a sort of catalyst into play.
Play begets play.
RELATED: Looking for other wildly unfancy activities to try with kids? This list has the best, realistic, easy play ideas for kids.
The supplies
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Couple of notes: Painter’s tape is not safe for hardwood floors so check your space before you use it.
Also speaking of painter’s tape, I buy painter’s tape in bulk and it’s super cheap that way. You can also use any other colorful tape you own (painter’s tape is my most used tape from my master list of supplies).
You can use any toys you have for this activity. Maybe is a traffic jam. Maybe it’s a train track. Maybe it’s a stuffy parade.
The set-up
I used painter’s tape to make my animal line-up.
I taped off various lines on our carpet and had my daughter (4.5) begin gathering her animals. We grabbed a bunch of small toys that aren’t always played together. These are toys that are in other rooms from each other and don’t mingle frequently.
Having the toys grouped together this “new” way was a major catalyst to her play.
RELATED: Is your child struggling with independent play? Check out my article on how to help kids develop their play skills.
How making an animal line-up helped
After a morning of sometimes butting heads with her brother, this was the perfect quiet and solo activity for my 4 year old.
She’s not just mindlessly lining up animals on strips of tape. Trust me – she’s doing so much more.
She’s talking to the animals, telling stories with them, making their lives and part of her life, and inviting them to be real.
This activity became her independent play.
I set up an activity. She turned it into something even better: play.
About an hour later… her little brother wanted to play with the animal line-up.
So he grabbed out his trucks and started using the animal line-up tape as a road way. I’m not surprised: I set up a similar activity for him last summer. His very own “traffic jam.”
He used the tape to drive up and down the family room – again, this was an activity transitioning into so much more. Play. The highest form of learning and work that a child can do.
What do kids learn when playing with an animal line-up?
This activity is rich with learning and opportunities to develop skills. I love looking at everything a child is learning in a moment of play. It looks so simple (play), but it’s so complex:
- Imaginary play skills: developing story lines to anchor play
- Fine motor skills: working on placement with small hand movements
- Cross the mid-line: grabbing toys and placing them take stability and control
- Motor planning: deciding how to place toys and carefully doing so
- Math skills: noticing sizes of objects in comparison to others
Remember: we don’t need to justify fun with what a child is learning, but it’s important to see how much more they’re learning in a play moment like this than with a workbook or flashcard.
Frequently Asked Question
Depends on the child more than the age. My oldest would never like an activity like this, so I’ve never made it for him. My daughter started making set-ups of animals around age two. In this post, she’s 4 and my son was 3 (and lining up his trucks). Consider the child more than their age.
Try using cars or blocks for this activity. Stuffed animals also work really well.
Well, that’s an activity too!! But rather than assuming the worst from kids, I like to give them the benefit of the doubt. I also give boundaries and tell them when they’ll get to do something: “we are going to use the tape for a while and then I will let you know when you can pull it up.” Knowing they’ll get to do something is the key. Head them off at the pass. Don’t play from behind.
Susie Allison, M. Ed
Owner, Creator
Susie Allison is the creator of Busy Toddler and has more than 2 million followers on Instagram. A former teacher and early childhood education advocate, Susie’s parenting book “Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting” is available on Amazon.
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