Copying animal sounds with your kiddo is a great way to bond with your child, practice language, and enjoy being goofy. We all know the animal sounds for a dog, cat, and cow but often animal books and puzzles have a few animals that make you scratch your head.
Today I’m going to give some suggestions for those confusing animals. Some of these animals will have sounds, some with have actions, and some will have both. The goal is to get your toddler copying you while being as silly as possible.
Giraffe: Stick out your tongue and move side to side.
Penguin: Put your arms to your side and say “waddle waddle waddle”.
Zebra: Make a clicking sound with your tongue like a zebra galloping.
Turtle: Like a turtle hiding his head, move your shoulders up and down and say “uhoh, uhoh, uhoh!”
Bunny: Jump and say “hop, hop, hop!”
Shark: “Chomp chomp chomp!” Bonus points if you use your arms to dramatically act out a shark’s mouth chomping.
Crab: Pretend your hands are a crab’s pinchers and say “pinch, pinch, pinch” or you also can touch the picture of the crab and say “ow!” as if the crab just pinched you.
Fish: You have a few options to try out: You can make a fishy face (suck your cheeks in to the center of your mouth) or simply say “blub blub blub”.
Bugs: Exclaim “Ewww!” or “Aahhhh!”or “Yucky!”
Kangaroo: Jump and say “bounce bounce bouce” or “jump jump jump”
Panda: Hug yourself and say “awwww”.
Seal: Clap your hands and say “ar-ar-ar”.
Bat: Make a squeal or squeaking sound.
I realize that there are more animals, but feel free to improvise. Most of these I have made up on the spot while playing with babies and toddlers and continue to use regularly. Remember, the goal is to have your toddler to copy you and so even if you need to guess about what that animal says or does, it’s totally ok. The sillier the better!