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Berry Busy Zoo - from Making Make-Believe

Plastic berry baskets make realistic play cages for mini-zoo clay animals. Remember to leave the gates unlocked so the animals can frolic on the butcher paper zoo grounds!

Materials:

fun clay recipe
large sheet of butcher paper or craft paper (open sheets of newspaper are a good substitute)
paints and brushes, optional
toothpicks
berry baskets
labels, stick-on style
markers
paper
tape
cardboard
scissors
small boxes - milk cartons, containers

Steps:

1. Model zoo animals of any kind from the cornstarch clay (Funclay). Dry overnight until hard. Paint if desired, then dry again. Suggestions for zoo animals are: alligator • baboon • bear • bison • chimpanzee • elephant • giraffe • gorilla • kangaroo • lion • seal • tiger

2. Spread the butcher paper out on the floor or a table. Think about zoos, real or imaginary. Begin to plan the layout of the cages and the zoo grounds. Think about including one or more of the following: monkey island • penguin pools • seal pools

3. Draw pathways connecting the areas where the cages will go. Draw the places for other areas like pools, shops, playground, or grazing fields.

4. Place the berry baskets on the zoo design for cages. Make doors by cutting open a wall of the basket with scissors so doors will open and close. Add flags, if desired, with plain labels sandwiched over toothpicks and attached to the cages. Labels also make great stick-on signs.

5. Place the animals in the cages.

6. Make other buildings or things for the zoo from cardboard, scrap paper, boxes, containers, tape, and glue.

7. Play and pretend in the Berry Busy Zoo.

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