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Wild Kratts


My 4 year old LOVES Wild Kratts on PBS Kids. I wanted to make his obsession with this cartoon to become educational. He was playing Wild Kratts after watching the show on a daily basis so I decided to make him a costume with some accessories. I was able to find some printables on PBS's website. I printed them and laminated them. The Creature Power Suit is made out of felt. It is a vest that can go on over anything that he is wearing. He can change his creature power and there is a pocket in the suit where he can keep the other "powers."
I wanted to take it a step further by making his play educational. I printed out a paper with 4 boxes; Animal, diet, animal type, and habitat. After he plays we do a debriefing in the HQ- Headquarters. We discuss the animal and some of the traits. Since he is not writing yet, I printed out cards that fit into the boxes. This helps him by being able to choose from a group of options. 
He was a "Whale" in his Creature Power Suit so he placed the card on the board. Then he picked the cards that matched the traits of a whale. He is able to define the traits as well as identify them. He really is interested in animals and I attribute a lot of his interest on the show Wild Kratts. I feel that the best way to help our children learn is to take what interest they have.  Because of, dare I say, a TV show my 4 year old can now articulate whether an animal is herbivore, carnivore or omnivore. He can describe the habitat and tell what class of animal it is. 

Little Brother got involved in all the fun too! I took their interest in a TV show and created Structured Play. This is what Structured Play is all about and your child should not be the wiser. All they know is they are having fun!




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