I use stuffed toy animals as visual aids to bring my stories to life in school visits.
Whether pointing out different characteristics and adaptations, or teaching about animal habitats, having a plushy toy for kids to look at heightens their imagination, enhances their interpretation of the story, and their connection to the natural world.
As we share the story, our minds leap between what’s real and what’s imagined. I use the toy to show how the loon’s legs are positioned at the very back of their bodies, and how that makes them powerful swimmers but really unbalanced when they walk on land! I trace the path a fish would take down the heron’s s-shaped neck, after telling them that herons swallow their prey whole. And then we laugh about the relative sizes of the animals, when all lined up together. In this make-believe world, the goose is bigger than the black bear. The moose is smaller than the loon. I like to wrap the goose’s wing around the bear, as if they are good pals. Fact and fiction co-exist, just like in my story.
Invariably, kids of all ages love seeing, asking about, and touching the toy animals I use as I tell the story of Ben’s journey down the river. Often, kids tell me they have the same toy at home. Or, they ask me where I got the animals, because they’d like one just like it. Once, I had a class line up so they could tap each animal on the head to say goodbye. It’s a simple and accessible doorway into the story, into an appreciation of the natural world, and into their hearts.
Stuffed animals! With students at the Arnprior Public Library.
In case you’re curious, here’s the inside scoop on my northern river ecosystem animal collection:
The fish belongs to my cats, Avocado and Tomato. It’s a cat toy that flops back and forth when they bat it, mimicking a fish’s movements. I took out the battery, but it still has a bit of cat nip inside it… My cats love to dig it out of my bag when I’m getting ready to go on a visit!
The beaver and the moose are from the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Adopt an Animal program, which helps support research and programs designed to help species at risk.
The loon and the Canada goose are Folkmanis puppets, which are so detailed that I can easily point out the white chin strap on the Canada goose and show the leg placement on the loon.
The black bear and the owl belong to my sons, Sam and Ben. They’re much bigger now, and told me they wouldn’t miss them if I borrowed them…
The great blue heron was particularly difficult to find! Eventually I gave up my search and I knitted one myself, even though I realized it would look really out of place. Then my best friend found one and gifted it to me. Since then, my uncle’s good friend has gifted me another! Yay for herons 🙂
My siege of herons
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