G is for Gorilla is a fun opportunity to learn not only the letter sound but incorporate a fun much loved zoo animal unit. Also, I have more alphabet letter fun on my page How to Homeschool Preschool and my page Free Africa Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning | Free Continent & Country Reports.
While this can be a heavy zoology-based unit study there are still plenty of great ideas for math, art, geography, language arts, and more.
Throughout I have bundled it all here for you to make it easy to pick and choose your favorite activities.
Gorillas are exclusively native to Africa.
This provides a solid lesson in geography where you can search the map for Africa, locate the Congo on the map, and locate where each of the two different species of gorilla call home.
For your lessons you might want to invest in a fun set of figures if you don’t already have some.
This adorable little gorilla family can be used in many ways, dramatic play, sensory bins, with playdough, and more.
More How to Homeschool Preschool Letter of the Week Activities
- Alphabet Letter A is for Apple Craft for Preschool | Fun Apple Study
- Letter O is for Owl Preschool Craft | Fun Great Horned Owl Study
- Alphabet Letter H Handprint Craft For Fun Preschool Horse Study
- How To Make An Alphabet Teeth Cleaning Activity | 5 Preschool Letter T Crafts
- Alphabet Letter R is for Rainbow Craft for Preschool | Fun Rain Mobile
- Alphabet Letter M is for Monkey Handprint Preschool Fun Monkey Study
- Alphabet Letter G is for Gorilla Fun Paper Plate Preschool Mask
- W Is For Winter Craft Easy Snowman Oobleck Activity
- Letter E Is For Eagle Easy Preschool Eagle Study
- Alphabet Letter N Is For Nest Handprint & Fun Nests Preschool Craft
- B is for Bird Craft | Free Preschool Bluebird Study
- X is for X Ray Craft | Unique Crayon Resist Skeleton
Language Arts Focus Day 1
Letter/Sound Recognition- Fill in this cute Letter G Animal Alphabet Dots Printable with do a dot markers or round stickers.
Book- Gorilla does a great job introducing the concept of empathy and sorting out feelings in a cute story about a gorilla and a little girl who dreams of seeing gorillas in real life.
Craft/Activity- Dramatic play is an important part of a child’s social and emotional development, this activity Zoo Animals – Dramatic Play Activity allow them to become zookeepers, create cages, and care for animals through pretend play.
Song/Fingerplay- ABC Mouse does letter songs and learning so well, I found this very catchy little song on YouTube to go over letter sounds and recognition The Letter G Song.
Snack- Keep it simple with single ingredients snacks that start with G, here are ideas for 5 Snacks For Kids That Start With G.
Science Focus Day 2
Science comes into play learning about gorillas, rain forests, and even other zoo creatures your child might spot there.
As a matter of fact, if you are able this would be a great time for a field trip to the zoo to see these animals in person.
Letter/Sound Recognition- Grab whatever letter tiles you have and spell out gorilla. At the top of a piece of construction paper write out G-O-R-I-L-L-A, spreading it out so there is enough space for the tiles to fit under each letter.
Give your child the pile of letters and let them match it below your written example. As they match each one, tell them the name of the letter if they don’t already know it.
This is not about learning to spell a big word like gorilla but more about learning to recognize letters and that letters put together create a word.
Book- Goodnight Gorilla is a classic sweet board book centered around a sneaky gorilla and an unsuspecting zookeeper.
While it doesn’t have a lot of words it tells a silly story through very expressive illustrations.
Craft/Activity- This Goodnight Gorilla: A STEAM Activity for Preschoolers was too good to pass up for our science activity, especially since it went so well with our book choice today.
Song/Fingerplay- Raffi songs are fantastic for kids with his warm voice and simple folk lyrics that tell stories, check out The Gorilla Song.
Snack- These Chocolate Banana Oat Pancakes look delicious and are a great portrayal of the key figure in our lessons.
Math Focus Day 3
You need not overthink math at this age, it is simply recognizing numbers and learning to add and subtract small amounts.
Grab items from around your house and count, like the gorillas in their plastic toys or banana bunches at the grocery store. Gather leaves into two piles and introduce concepts like more/fewer.
Letter/Sound Recognition- Shaving Cream Writing- Yep, it is as simple as it sounds.
Spread a thin layer of unscented shaving cream on a shallow tray and let your little one write with their finger.
I recommend printing and laminating your letters so they can be used over and over.
Remember to practice the sound the letter makes as they draw it with their finger.
Book- One Gorilla A Counting Book, I think the illustrations here are just darling and are perfect for simple math.
Craft/Activity- For preschool I especially like to avoid worksheets, but they also have their place.
I think a color by number like this is great for building fine motor skills and in preschool it is phenomenal for number recognition as they find and color a1-6 repeatedly. Repetition is a great teaching tool in preschool.
Song/Fingerplay- Cute and catchy you might have the Baby Gorilla Song stuck in your head before the week is out, it is to the tune of a familiar favorite-Baby Shark.
Snack- Make ‘Gorilla Goodies’ by creating a trail mix of whatever dry ingredients you have on hand, no need to run to the store for special ingredients.
Mix up pretzels, marshmallows, raisins, dry cereal, nuts, cookie pieces, candy, etc.
History/Geography Focus Day 4
Take a look at a map and find Africa, locate where gorillas live around the Congo. Incorporate social studies by talking about zoos and zookeepers and what they provide to communities.
Letter/Sound Recognition- Reinforce the letter sound and name by pre-writing with their finger on a salt tray. If you have a preschooler who loves to lick their finger, use vanilla or chocolate pudding.
Book- Ivan: A Gorilla’s True Story
Craft/Activity- This Simple and Fun Wildlife Craft Mountain Gorilla Layered Art Project may just need a little extra help from you but is completely doable by a preschooler.
Song/Fingerplay- I found The Mountain Gorilla Song that sings about a specific type of gorilla and can be used to talk about the two different species, eastern and western.
Snack-Simply because kids find poop so funny, Gorilla Poops, would make a nice addition to your study. Make them in different sizes and turn it into a lesson on larger/smaller.
Books for Learning About G is for Gorilla
G is for Gorilla Preschool Unit Study Theme
Bring learning to life for your preschooler with these G is for Gorilla books and resources.
Gorilla Family: Set of four gorilla animal toys with two adults and two kids.
Hannah loves gorillas and longs to see a real one. Unfortunately, her father is always too busy — or too tired — to take her to the zoo.
Good night, Gorilla. Good night, Elephant. It's bedtime at the zoo, and all the animals are going to sleep. Or are they? Who's that short, furry guy with the key in his hand and the mischievous grin? Good night, Giraffe. Good night, Hyena. Sneak along behind the zookeeper's back, and see who gets the last laugh in this riotous good-night romp.
Here is a list of the things I love.One gorilla.Two butterflies among my flowers--and one gorilla.Tree budgerigars in my house--and one gorilla.
All the wild gorillas live in Africa. They are peaceful and intelligent, and live in family groups called troops. Here are descriptions of the physical characteristics of these primates as well as information about how they live, including how they eat, raise their young, and adapt to their environment. Gibbons's trademark style features kid-friendly explanations and visually presented facts.
The real-life inspiration for The One and Only Ivan. A gorilla captured as a baby, Ivan was brought to a Tacoma, Washington mall to attract shoppers. Gradually, public pressure built until a better way of life for Ivan was found at Zoo Atlanta. From the Congo to America, and from a local business attraction to a national symbol of animal welfare, Ivan the Shopping Mall Gorilla traveled an astonishing distance in miles and in impact. In a spare, powerful text and evocative illustrations, Newbery medalist Katherine Applegate and artist G. Brian Karas present the extraordinary real story of this special gorilla.
As beloved Little Gorilla grows up, he discovers that love grows with him. Perfect for bedtime or snuggle-time, this warm and timeless classic reassures readers that as they grow and change, they are always loved. Just about everybody in the great green forest loves Little Gorilla. His mother loves him. His father loves him. Even Big Boa Constrictor loves him. But Little Gorilla begins to grow . . . and Grow . . . and GROW. And then, when Little Gorilla isn’t so little anymore—everyone still loves him! A soothing, rhythmic text and expressive illustration create a heartwarming story about the security and constancy of love.
Discusses the habits of gorillas, giant apes of frightening appearance but gentle behavior, long misunderstood by their human close relatives.
G Is for Gorilla Gulp (With Teaching Tips for Letter G)
What goes together better than peanut butter, cocoa, and bananas? We can’t think of a better combination—and we think your little monkeys will be nodding between gulps of chocolatey goodness!
Language Arts Focus Day 5
Letter/Sound Recognition- Take a small gorilla toy or something like a pencil to use as a pointer and go through books, newspapers, pictures on the wall or anywhere else and locate all the Gg’s that you can.
Place the toy or pointer over it
Book- Gorillas by Gail Gibbons is great as a science reference because her books are so engaging for younger (and older children as well) with bright photographs and plenty of information to take in.
Craft/Activity- Make our fun Gorilla Mask while you talk about the characteristics of the gorilla, it’s fun for dramatic play and pretend.
Song/Fingerplay- Another fun and catchy song that is fun to dance too is The Letter G, Gimme G song, introducing movement adds another layer of fun making what they learn stick.
Snack- G is for Gorilla Gulp Shake is a great snack to practice letter sounds as you pronounce g-g-gorilla and g-g-g-gulp.
Fun Paper Plate Preschool Mask
You will need:
- 3 paper plates
- Black craft paint
- Grey craft paint
- Ribbon or yarn
- Scissors
- Glue sticks
- Paint brushes
- Black marker
First, flip one plate upside down and let your child paint the entire backside of the plate black, set aside to dry.
Flip a second plate and paint the center a gray color, let it dry.
Take the third plate and paint the center black.
Once all the paint is dry cut ears and a little lock of hair from the center of the black plate.
And cut a gorilla face from the gray, the center of their face is kind of a squished heart shape.
You want the gray portion to be just a little smaller than the center of the main black plate.
Measure/Eyeball the eye holes with your child’s head.
Make it about 1 ½” apart should be great for a preschooler’s face.
And make them a little oversized to give them plenty of visibility.
Cut out of the whole black plate.
Lay the gray face under the eye holes and trace with a pencil then cut them out.
Draw features on the face like nostrils, mouth, and some little wrinkles.
Glue the gray face piece to the black plate and then the ears and hair tuft.
Finally punch holes on either side of the mask.
And tie the ribbon or yarn through to create a tie to hold on the mask.