Let’s Learn About Snakes
Help your little one to learn all about snakes with these fun ideas. Just as long as they keep the real snakes outside. 😉
Background about Snakes
They Use Their Tongues to Smell
Unlike most animals preschoolers know and love, snakes use their tongues to gather smells from the air and push them up to the roof of their mouths. Instead of using their noses, they use a special organ called the Jacobson’s organ to smell.
Snakes are Reptiles
Animals need to have a few different things to be called reptiles. These things are:
*lay hard-shelled (or leathery) eggs
*be cold-blooded
*have scaly skin
*have a spine
They Range in Size
Snakes can be as tiny as a pencil or as long as a bus or anywhere in between. Much like dogs, the snake’s size depends on the type of snake.
Snakes Have Important Jobs
Although they may seem scary, snakes are essential for our ecosystem and environment. One of their favorite snacks is mice, so they keep the rodent population at bay.
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Common Questions Kids Have about Snakes
Will snakes hurt me?
Well, this is a loaded question if there has ever been one. 😂
When dealing with animals and wildlife, the general rule of thumb is to leave them alone, and they will (generally) leave you alone.
That said, yes, snakes can bite if they feel threatened.
Some snakes have venom that requires going to the hospital for antivenom.
If snakes don’t have hands, how do they eat or walk?
It does seem a bit bizarre that an animal can move or eat without hands. It’s good they have figured out how to bypass this inconvenience.
Snakes slither back and forth on their bellies to move.
To eat, they eat their prey whole. They don’t chew like you and I do. To fit the whole prey animal in their mouths, they can unhinge their jaws to stretch open their mouths.
Do snakes get cold because they don’t have fur?
Yes! Snakes are cold-blooded, relying on the sun (or sunny rocks) to maintain their body temperature.
Do mama snakes stay with their babies?
Snake babies are hatched knowing how to survive alone. They don’t need their mom to teach them how to hunt or to live.
Snakes have instincts, which are feelings inside their bodies about what is right to do to help them find food.
Ideas for Teaching Kids about Snakes
Read Books about Snakes
One of our favorite ways to learn about something is to curl up with some books and learn together.
A nice mix of picture books that are fiction and nonfiction works wonderfully!
Noodle Snake Craft
Work on some fine motor skills with your preschooler by stringing pasta onto a piece of yarn.
See complete directions by clicking here.
Clay Snakes
Roll out some snakes using air-dry clay. Twist and turn them to look like they are slithering across the table.
Letter S Snake Craft
Print and go with this Letter S craft. Help your little one remember the sound of the letter S by turning the letter S into a snake.
Check here for more instructions (and where to grab the freebie).
Snake Obstacle Course
Set up a simple obstacle course and challenge your preschooler to slither like a snake through the obstacle course.
Measure that Snake!
Choose a few different types of snakes to study. Find out the typical length of a grown-up snake of those species. Cut out yarn or a string of that length so your little one can visualize the length.
Let your preschooler help to measure and cut the yarn snake to size.
You may want to print pictures of the snakes to help them connect.
Camoflauge Snake Hunt
Hide construction paper snakes around the house. Pick spots where the snakes blend in (camouflage).
Have your preschooler go around searching for the camouflaged snakes.
You may want to number the snakes to help ensure they are all found (and to work on number identification).
Paper Loop Snake Craft
Items Needed
*construction paper cut into strips and a piece for the head
*glue stick
*scissors
*marker
How to Make a Paper Loop Snake Craft
1. Fold the piece of paper for the head in half. Cut out a snake head. Place the wider part (the back of the head) on the fold, and taper it farther away from the fold you get.
2. Draw eyes and nose slits on the top piece of the snake head.
3. Begin looping the strips of paper to make a paper chain.
4. To do this, connect the ends of one strip together by putting a strip of glue on one end and overlapping the other end on top of it.
5. Slip a second strip inside the loop that was made.
6. Connect the ends of the second strip as above.
7. Continue to make a paper chain following a pattern, if you are making a pattern, until the desired length is reached.
8. Add the paper snake head to one of the ends using glue.
Snakes for Preschoolers
Learning about snakes will be fun and hands-on when you try some of these ideas. Hopefully, by knowing a bit more about snakes, little ones (and grown-ups) won’t be *as* scared when they spot one in the wild or at the zoo.
