Have you ever noticed how fascinated children can be when you read them a story? It turns out that there is a scientific reason for that – reading books to your kids can actually be incredibly beneficial for their development!

Keep reading to find some creative activities that are perfect for both classroom and home learning! Zoo Books For Kids What’s really important, and what’s capturing people’s imagination in Life of Pi, is that the animals aren’t just there as eye candy — they have a really integral role in the plot and in the psychological narrative of the piece, so you can really engage with them as characters. That’s the kind of theatre with puppetry that becomes really interesting She told The Telegraph: "Shout out has to be given to Warhorse - three of us in this team were in Warhorse. It helped put puppetry in the realm of a character that the audience can relate to. NB: It’s interesting how people see them as quite realistic, despite the fact that they’re fragmented, they’re battered, not all parts of the animals exist.Take the white tiger’s muzzle and glue it in between the tiger’s eyes. Optional: Use the hole punch to cut out two circles from the white paper. Glue these to the tiger’s eyes. You can also use a white out pen to draw in the whites or leave them off altogether. When you operate in a team, you get to the point where you think everybody else’s ideas are better,” Caldwell says. “You think everyone else is doing it because, somehow, it’s happening between you.” Place the tiger's ears and glue them to the top corners of the tiger's face. Glue the pink inner ears to the middle of the outer ears. Making crafts with your kids offers a whole world of benefits beyond simply passing the time. Crafting teaches children important life skills such as problem-solving, communication, and teamwork – all while having fun and making something special together!

He points to the independent movement of each of the tiger’s joints, secured by bungee rope to the spine, making it elastic and responsive. “As it rises, you can see one piece going against another,” he says. “You can really identify the movement. If this was all one thing, half of that movement would be lost. You wouldn’t get the language of the muscle.” It took a team of eight to build the puppets and a week for the puppeteers to get used to them. The project could have gone badly wrong. On its voyage to the stage, a hallucinatory tale of 227 days at sea could easily have drifted off course. “I had no idea how to do it,” says designer Tim Hatley. “And that’s what appealed.” FC: Yes, we always think about what the puppet’s narrative function is — and top of the list for the tiger is that it has to be scary. Puppets aren’t traditionally scary in England. So we thought about its anatomy, and that’s why we needed someone inside the puppet: they move much faster than if they’re outside it. The audience has to believe that the tiger could be on you from across the room in a second. Elephant Paper Bag Puppet Craft– This elephant paper bag puppet craft is perfect for learning and playtime. They’ll have so much fun putting together the different pieces – trunk, ears, eyes – and creating a sweet puppet. Then, once complete, your little wildlife explorers can use their puppets to craft imaginative stories! When Pi Patel is stranded aboard a lifeboat, he is left only with a hyena, zebra, orangutang and 450-pound tiger for company. The show is based on the best-selling 2001 novel. Picture: Johan PerssonAkash adds: “Each team has a different tiger. We have the same scenes, intentions and objectives, but each tiger is different. I’m a tiger that’s more dominant, more ferocious. You’ll have another tiger that’s more cautious.” FC: You tend to get a core team of puppeteers — on Life of Pi we have six — and then actors with some puppetry skills, and inevitably some who have none. We have a week at the beginning of rehearsals just doing puppetry training: it takes that long for even our highly skilled core team to get their heads and bodies around the puppets. You don’t want to teach puppetry technique — going over how to sit, lie, jump — while also creating the show. Paper Plate Koala– Do your kids love koalas? Then they’ll love this paper plate koala craft! Watch your little ones get creative with paint, scissors, and glue to make their unique koala friend. Include this craft in your next zoo animal learning unit for a fun and educational experience!