The classic songs and rhymes for kids are so important for babies and toddlers. Today I’m sharing a simple animal sound song that your toddler will love!
I’ve teamed up with Malia of Playdough to Plato to share a series of eight rhymes and songs – with printable finger puppets! I’ll be honest and admit that today’s rhyme doesn’t actually rhyme. 🙂 But no problem – it’s catchy and fun, and it includes animal sounds, which is always a hit with little kids!
After I assembled the puppets, I sang the song with my two-year-old. He caught on fast! His baby sister was fascinated.
Start with all your fingers bent. Then lift each finger as you sing about a different animal. You could also keep all your fingers up and move a particular puppet as you sing that verse.
Lyrics for “The Animals at the Zoo”
(sing to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus”
The bear at the zoo goes “Grr, grr, grr,”
“Grr, grr, grr. Grr, grr, grr.”
The bear at the zoo goes “Grr, grr, grrr,”
All day long.
The monkey at the zoo goes “Ooo, ooo, ooo…”
The hippo at the zoo goes “Splash, splash, splash…”
The lion at the zoo goes “Raar, raar, raar…”
The elephant at the zoo goes “Stomp, stomp, stomp…”
I had to get a little creative with the hippo and elephant sounds. 🙂
Alternate lyrics:
Of course, if you’re not using finger puppets, you can sing about whatever animal you want. Here are some other verse ideas:
The snake at the zoo goes “Hiss, hiss, hiss…”
The seal at the zoo goes “Aar, aar, aar…” (sung in a seal barking kind of way, of course)
The giraffe at the zoo goes…Hmm. I don’t think a giraffe makes a sound, but maybe you can think of something!
Hear the tune:
Here’s my quick amateur video so you can hear the song. Apologies for the big messy playroom. I couldn’t get my toddler alone, my husband ready with the camera, and the room picked up all at the same time. 😉
Get your free finger puppets!
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Caitlyn
I love this idea! Would you mind if I recreated the printable with animals at our local zoo (we don’t have hippos or elephants) and posted about it, linking to your blog for the original printout and the original idea?
Anna Geiger
No problem at all, Caitlyn! If you are looking for clip art, Teachers Pay Teachers is a great place to find quality images.