A G is for giraffe handprint is a cute way to introduce or reinforce the letter G for preschoolers or even toddlers. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool Preschool for more ideas and my Free Africa Lapbook for Kids Who Love Hands-on History.
Too, I have more ideas on my page Free Africa Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning | Free Continent & Country Reports.
Giraffes are fascinating animals with unique features that capture children’s curiosity. This simple craft opens the door to learning about wildlife, habitats, and the unique creatures in nature.
Their size and markings make them an easily recognizable animal for young children and a fun one to study on its own or as part of a larger Africa unit study.
You can also use it to focus on the letter G. The letter G comes to life with this adorable giraffe handprint craft. Using a painted hand and arm to form a giraffe’s long neck and head is a perfect way to combine letter recognition, art, and animal science into one engaging homeschool lesson.
Beyond the handprint craft, I have loaded you down with facts, hands-on resources, books, videos, and other resources to make it a fun and memorable lesson.
BOOKS ABOUT GIRAFFES FOR KIDS
First, look at these books about giraffes.
We use living books as much as possible and then add reference books too.
5 Giraffe Books
Grab one or two of these books to add to your learning day or for a fun giraffe unit study.
Explore the African savanna with giraffes in this exciting reader. Packed with beautiful and engaging photos, kids will learn all about these amazing animals. This level 1 reader is carefully leveled for an early independent reading or read aloud experience, perfect to encourage the scientists and explorers of tomorrow!
Gerald the giraffe longs to dance, but his legs are too skinny and his neck is too long. At the Jungle Dance, the warthogs waltz, the chimps cha-cha, and the lions tango. "Giraffes can't dance," they all jeer when it's Gerald's turn to prance. But with some sound advice from a wise cricket, Gerald starts swaying to his own sweet tune.
Julia Rothman's series of Anatomy books are beloved by children and adults alike. In Wildlife Anatomy, Rothman captures the excitement and distinctive attributes of wild animals around the world. The book is packed with hundreds of her charming, original illustrations, detailing the unique features of animals of the rainforest, desert, grasslands, oceans, and much more. From lions, bears, and zebras to monkeys, mongoose, bats, elephants, giraffes, hippos, and much more, Rothman's visual guide covers all the key features, right down to the anatomy of a lion's claw and a wild horse's hoof. All the illustrations are accompanied by labels, intriguing facts, and identifying details, such as: When is a Panther Not a Panther? and What Makes Aardvarks So Odd? Rothman's characteristic combination of curiosity and an artist's eye makes this wildlife treasury rich and full, and promises new discoveries every time it's opened.
Featuring rhythmic verse and iconic illustrations, A Giraffe and a Half will leave every reader, young and old, laughing until the very end. Beloved for over fifty years, this classic captures Silverstein’s signature humor and style.
If you had a giraffe and he stretched another half, you would have a giraffe and a half. But what happens if you glue a rose to the tip of his nose? Or if you used a chair to comb his hair? Join this giraffe on a rollicking and ridiculous journey that will charm readers from beginning to end.
G is for Giraffe is truly an adventure! Beautifully hand drawn pictures, and melodic expressions that rhyme, celebrate and teach little ones on their journey to learning, and they’ll make some friends along the way too! Each hand drawn illustration draws on each child’s imagination on a soaring adventure that helps children truly recognize the alphabetical letters in everyday life, and beyond. They will be whisked away to meet the smallest of creatures, to birds that fly in the sky. The children learn from a vast array of colors and characters that are pure sunshine, while sewn together with explanations of what characters are up to during this journey. Animals from all over the world are only part of the magic for this adventure, while celebrating classic Americana and a love for everyday life. G is for Giraffe is a wonderful introduction to learning with lyrical words that read out loud like music.
Then, look at these giraffe facts.
7 GIRAFFE FACTS FOR KIDS
- Giraffes are the tallest land animals in the world at 15’ to 18’ tall.
- Their necks alone can be up to 6 feet long.
- A giraffe’s tongue is dark purple and can be 18–20 inches long.
- They live in Africa, mostly in grasslands and open savannas.
- Giraffes eat leaves, buds, and fruit, especially from acacia trees.
- Each giraffe has unique spots, just like human fingerprints.
- Despite their incredibly long necks, giraffes have the same number of neck bones as humans…just seven.
WHERE DO GIRAFFES LIVE
- Africa
- Warm climate
- Open grasslands and savannas
- Tall trees for browsing leaves
- Space to roam and spot predators
Take a look at a map of Africa and locate countries where giraffes live, such as Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.
Watch Savannah Animals to learn more about the habitat and the animals that live there, including our topic of the day, giraffes.
WHAT DO GIRAFFES EAT
Giraffes are herbivores, meaning they eat only plants. Their long necks and tongues allow them to reach food that other animals can’t, this an excellent example of animal adaptation and a great opportunity to explain the concept to children.
Some of their favorite foods are…
- Flowers and fruit
- Leaves from tall trees
- Acacia leaves (even with thorns!)
And look at these hands-on ideas for doing a quick giraffe unit study.
GIRAFFE QUICK STUDY HANDS-ON IDEAS
I’ve added a few subject ideas here.
MATH IDEAS FOR LEARNING ABOUT GIRAFFES
- Use a measuring tape to measure your child’s height and compare it to a giraffe’s.
- Count giraffe spots on the craft we are making below.
- Create your own Giraffe Number Sorter from this idea.
- Sort animals by height, use printed paper animals or plastic toys.
LANGUAGE ARTS IDEAS FOR STUDYING GIRAFFES
- Introduce simple vocabulary to build language skills- giraffe, graze, grassland, gentle, giant, habitat, and herbivore. Have your child say each word, trace the letter G, or find objects around the house that start with G.
- Make a Safari Themed Sensory Bin and have your child identify the beginning letters of each animal. Include letter tiles and have them match them to the animal to extend it.
ART ACTIVITIES FOR LEARNING ABOUT STUDYING GIRAFFES
- Paint giraffe spots using cotton swabs.
- Make a giraffe paper plate project.
- Create a giraffe collage with yellow and brown paper.
- 10 Fun Toilet Paper Roll Activities & How To Make A Paper Roll Giraffe & Free Template
- Draw a savanna background with trees and grass.
SCIENCE ACTIVITIES FOR STUDYING GIRAFFES
- Talk about why giraffes don’t need to drink water often because they get most of their hydration from their food, which is lucky for them since it is awkward for their long neck and legs to squat down to water.
- Add plastic giraffes to your science shelf along with books to investigate.
- Compare giraffes to other long-necked animals.
- Crazy Cool Giraffe Science Experiment.
Finally, look at how to make this adorable giraffe craft.
G IS FOR GIRAFFE HANDPRINT
How cute is this craft that not only includes a sweet little handprint but a whole tiny forearm to create a long-neck giraffe?
You will need:
- Sturdy paper
- Yellow craft paint
- Brown craft paint
- Google eyes
- Black marker
Paint your child’s hand and forearm yellow, up to the elbow.
Press onto the paper vertically to create the neck and head, tilting the hand as far to the side as it will go.
It’s okay that the head is tilted upwards, as you can see, we are going to add some leaves for him to reach up to and munch on.
Paint or use fingers to create a few branches coming from the side of the page, and allow them to dry.
When the yellow head and neck are dry, you can add ears and the ossicones (horns).
And then spots, we used a round paintbrush to stamp them on.
Once the branches have dried us fingerprints to make leaves all over the branches for your giraffe to enjoy.
Attach a Google eye with glue.
Allow the rest of the paint to dry.
