I bought this set because we love animals! Zoos really are the best, aren't they? And what better way to combine zoology and math than to use animal counters? Not sure if these should be called 'jungle animals' I think they fit more as 'African Animals' because they are a mix of Safari animals and Jungle animals. But that's just me being picky. So this set comes in a round plastic container- just like the one pictured. There are lions, tigers, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, wildebeest, gazelles, elephants, ostriches, and gorillas. I thought that they would come in an even amount of numbers (5 giraffe, 5 cheetah, 5 elephants, etc.). I was wrong. They came in sporadic numbers. (6 giraffes, 7 tigers, 4 ostriches, etc.). Not really a big deal, but if you're looking for even amounts of each animal- then this set probably won't work (unless you buy two sets and create them into even animal groups). I bought these because I believe in interactive learning. As a child math was probably my toughest subject. And a lot of the kids I work with also seem to struggle with basic math skills. I use this set with elementary aged children. Starting at a preschool age all the way to fourth grade. The animals are very durable- a plastic rubber like material. They can be thrown, stepped on, smashed, bent, and pretty much tortured and will still stand up- a great feature when working with kids (when they get frustrated- they can just throw the animals! haha). They are all really well painted- they have realistic colors and great detail. I'd say they're comparable to the small plastic animals you'd buy in a tube at a zoo or museum. The only weird thing was that the gorilla had red eyes (why?). It came off kind of creepy. But other than that all the animals were cute. 90% of them could stand on their own. A few of them had poor balance and would tip over easily- mostly the ostriches. But hey- we just said they were laying down. So how did I use this product? Here are a few ideas for each age group. Preschool -Animal Identification: Ask the children what each animal is, what sound they make, to mimic how they walk, etc. -Singe-Digit Counting: You can count each individual species or even two species together. Kindergarten -Alphabet Identification: What letter does each animal start with. "E for Elephant" "G for Giraffe and Gorilla" -Double Digit Counting: Count all the species together. Or count the species 'standing up' or 'laying down' First Grade -Basic Addition: Print a 'safari' on a piece of paper. Put two animals on the sheet and then tell your child that four more walked into the safari. How many are there now? You can do this with any basic addition numbers (1+2, 5+4, etc.). -Basic Subtraction: On the safari sheet start with ten animals and then have four walk away. How many are left? Once again you can do this with almost any basic subtraction (9-2, 5-4, etc.). Tip: You can also get creative with it. Have some of the animals lay down- ask how many are standing- which shows subtraction of the ones standing. Have a few stand back up, ask how many are standing again (shows addition to the standing animals). Just let your ideas go wild. Second Grade -Double Digit Addition: You can repeat the same lesson as with the first graders, only with more animals. -Double Digit Subtraction: You can repeat the same lesson as with the first graders, only with more animals. -Animal Groups: Discuss how some animals live together while others live alone. Wildebeest, giraffes, elephants, and lions all live in really large groups. But tigers and cheetahs like to live alone. Third Grade -Basic Multiplication: For an example I'll use the equation 3x4. Have your child make 10 sets of 3 animals each (3 lions, 3 gazelle, 3 gazelle, 3 elephants, 3 lions, 3 cheetahs, etc.- up to ten sets). Four the equation 3x4 they will need to add together 4 of their sets. So have them make 4 sets into one large set. Then have them count those animals all together (which would equal 12- which is the answer to 3x4). Then they get to visually see how 3x4 is the combination of four sets of three animals. You can do this with any equation totaling less than 60 (because there are only 60 animals in this set). -Basic Division: For an example I will do 12/4. So to start have your child create a group of 12 animals. Now tell them to divide those animals into four equal groups. Eventually they will figure out that the four equal groups have 3 animals each. This will visually show them when they divide 12 by 4- they get 3 (in each group). The answer is 3. Once again this can be done with any equation involving numbers under 60 (there are only sixty animals in the set). -Food Chain: Discuss what each animal eats. Show how the cheetah, tiger, and lions can hunt many different animals (gazelle, wildebeest). Talk about what animals eat grass. You could print off a picture of different items (meat, grass, leaves, etc.) and then have the kids place the correct animals on what they eat. Fourth Grade -Geographical Locations: Talk about where each animals lives. Print off a picture of grasslands, a watering hole, and a jungle and then have the child place the correct animal in their 'habitat'. Lions, cheetahs gazelle, and wildebeest like to live in grasslands. Then you can explain why. Gazelle and wildebeest need to live there to eat the grass. And lions and cheetahs live there to eat the gazelle and wildebeest. -Countries: You can talk about what animals live in what countries. Elephants live in both Asia and Africa. Ostriches live in Australia. You could print out a map and have the child identify what country each animal lives in (showing them both map location skills and zoology)
