Snake Themed Play

by Christina Reif · July 14, 2015

At the beginning of the summer, I sat down with my kids (and the ones I babysit once a week) and asked them to help me compile a list of things they wanted to learn about during the summer. They came up with all sorts of things. from outer space, to cooking chicken, to dog houses and skeletons. And snakes were on that list, too! So for today, I did some snake themed play.

What We Did

Animal Movement Game

I started off the playdate with a fun way to get moving. This is a very simple game, but kids love it. I use it all the time in Puggles. To play, I yell out an animal, and then the kids act like that animal.

I started with snake, naturally, and then we explored other animals, too, such as frogs, lions, eagles, fish, elephants, and kangaroos.

Learning About Venomous Snakes

Once upon a time, I used to want a snake. In fact, I was promised a snake once we moved to Texas, but somehow, that promise was never fulfilled (ahem, Daddy!). But, now, I’m grateful. I don’t need a snake. But since I was at one time in to them, I remembered a rhyme I learned for telling if a snake is venomous or not.

Red to Yellow, Kill a Fellow
Red to Black, Venom Lack

I drew some very simple snakes, showing the kids the patterns on the snake, and helping them identify which one is venomous or not.

Snake Bracelet

To make this bracelet, I used a small section of a paper towel roll. I was able to do four bracelets comfortably from one tube. I drew a snake in pencil, wrapping around the tube about three times.

Then I cut it out.

The kids then decorated it as they wanted. I found taping them down helped them be able to decorate it.

They could add a yarn tongue if they wanted.

Then, they got to wear them!

Bubble Snakes

This was a really fun activity that was easy to throw together with stuff I had around the house. You can make these with an old plastic bottle, but since I didn’t have four of those laying around (for the four kids to blow with), I used paper cups. The cups worked alright, but they didn’t last very long. Plastic would be better.

To make these I cut a small hole in the bottom of the paper cup. Then I covered the large opening with a section of old sock. I attached it to the cup with a rubber band. (I really thought I took a picture of the cups by themselves, but apparently I didn’t. You can check out the pictures below to see what I mean in action.) Then to make the snake, you dip the sock portion in a mix of water and dish detergent (I did about 70% water, 30% soap, but you don’t have to be exact). Then you blow through the opening on the other side, and out come some small little bubbles.