INSPIRATION CORNER
Reptile rapscallions
The Alliance’s Melanie Pilcher goes on a cold-blooded deep-dive for inspiration to celebrate World Reptile Day and learn all about these scaly creatures
Melanie is responsible for resources that support best practice in all matters relating to the EYFS.
World Reptile Day – marked for Saturday 21 October in 2024 – isn’t necessarily an obvious choice for early learning opportunities. In fact, many adults fear reptiles and pass this fear on to little ones without getting to know the range of creatures under this umbrella.
But, with so much to learn about this fascinating group of animals, it’s worth finding unique ways to open children’s eyes to the awe and wonder of the natural world, while respecting the different ways animals survive in the wild. And introducing children to reptiles at an early age can help to overcome the fear that we often harbour later down the line!
Reptiles are often overlooked in favour of creatures that are considered to have a wider appeal because they are ‘cute’ and ‘cuddly’. But, just as all humans are important and wonderful in their individual ways, so are all animals – and reptiles deserve their own time in the sun (pun intended!).
World Reptile Day aims to celebrate the diversity of reptiles and highlight the need to protect them. In Britain, we have six native species of reptiles, most of which are sadly endangered. However, if you’re lucky, you may spot any one of these between March and October:
Common lizard -brownish-grey, often with rows of darker spots or stripes down the back and sides. Males have bright yellow or orange undersides with spots, while females have paler, plain bellies. They can be found in grassland, woodland, heath and moorland, and coastal areas.
Slow worm – legless lizards can be found in heath and grassland or a garden (often spotted during Forest School sessions). It is smaller than a snake and has smooth, golden-grey skin. Males are paler in colour and sometimes have blue spots. Females are larger, with dark sides and a dark stripe down the back.
Adder – the UK’s only venomous snake is of little danger to humans: an adder bite can be painful, but is only dangerous to the young, ill or old. If bitten, medical attention should be sought immediately. The adder is a greyish colour, with a dark distinct zig-zag pattern down its back, and a red eye. Males are more silvery grey, while females are light or reddish-brown.
Sand lizard – extremely rare, can be found on heathland and sand dunes. Females are a sandy-brown colour, with rows of dark blotches along the back; males have green flanks that are at their brightest during the breeding season, making them easy to spot.
Grass snake - the grass snake is usually greenish in colour, with a yellow and black collar, pale belly, and dark markings down the sides. Females are bigger than males. They can be found in grasslands or gardens, particularly if there is a pond nearby.
Smooth snake – also very rare, can be found in the same habitats as sand lizards. Similar to the adder, the smooth snake can be distinguished by its slender body, round pupil and less well-formed dark pattern on its back. It is usually grey or dark brown in colour.
For more information, visit bit.ly/Wildlife-reptiles.
There are some reptiles that children are likely to be more familiar with than our native species, such as crocodiles, alligators, turtles and tortoises, which appear in many children’s stories:
The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl
The Crocodile Under the Bed by Judith Kerr
Goldilocks and the Three Crocodiles by Michael Rosen
See You Later, Alligator by Imagine That
That’s Not My Turtle by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells
The Hare and the Tortoise various retellings
George the Grumpy Tortoise by Catherine Bensley
Communication and language
From the youngest age, children are learning how to form sounds by observing and copying adults’ mouth shapes and tongue placement. ‘S’ is one of the tricky ones for a child to master. Of all the letters in the alphabet, s sounds and looks most like the creature it’s used to represent. Sharing a board book with a baby and making the sounds of animals such as a snake “sssssss” supports early language development.
Personal, social and emotional development
Encourage children to consider the plight of many of our native reptiles who are increasingly rare because their habitats are being destroyed. How can you make your outdoors more welcoming, for example – minibeast hotels (for reptile food supply), a compost heap, flat stones (for basking on), or a shallow pond.
Preschoolers can explore emotions by looking at features that make them feel unsafe such as big, sharp teeth and claws, and comparing them to expressions or features that are friendly and welcoming.
Older children can increase their vocabulary with new words to describe the features of reptiles or practise sound patterns with a poem:
Slithery, slidery, scaly old snake, Surely your body must be a mistake. Your eye, mouth and tongue wisely stay on your head.
It seems that your body is all tail instead!
by Denise Rodgers
Physical development
It is not possible to have many real-life experiences involving reptiles. Contact with our native species should only ever involve observing at a respectful distance. However, some businesses offer animal experiences where children can have close encounters.
Educators must be mindful of their own behaviour during such sessions – you may not like snakes or lizards but try not to make a big deal of it! Your reactions will influence how children react.
Expressive arts and design
Mark making as the precursor to writing enables children to develop skills to control and manipulate writing implements. Fine and gross motor skills need plenty of practice, so opportunities to form patterns such as squiggles that replicate snakes, straight lines that look like spines, or circles for tortoises are invaluable and help to further reinforce children’s experience and understanding of what a reptile is.
Snakes are great for expressive arts and design:
- Children can refine their scissor control as they cut spiral snakes that can be hung from a jungle-themed display.
- Snake shapes can be achieved when children roll salt dough, clay or plasticine.
- Make snake puppets from socks.
- String together kitchen roll inserts that have been painted or decorated with collage to make a huge snake that children can dance with (like a Chinese dragon).
- Ask children to share ideas for how to create snake shapes with different mediums.
- Explore reptile skin texture with printing techniques:
- Coil bubble wrap around a rolling pin and roll it onto a tray with paint. Make sure the whole surface of the bubble wrap is covered then roll-out on to paper.
- Use square sponges and paint to create tortoiseshell patterns.
Enjoy World Reptile Day – see you later, alligator!
Under 5 magazine
The magazine of the Early Years Alliance