Ms. Molly and her family took a walk one day and found some interesting imprints in the ground. They wondered who or what had made them. What do you think?
Head outside
Look for imprints and tracks. Who or what do you think made them?
Can you make an imprint? Step in some mud, soft dirt, or sand and see what happens. Did you leave a mark? What did it look like?
Can you find natural materials to press into the dirt to leave an impression? What do the impressions look like? Try pressing down hard and soft. What do you notice? Can you create a picture or design?
Can you make marks in the ground with a stick? Can you make lines, circles, squiggles, letters, your name?
Playing with imprints
Playdough/Salt Dough
Here is a quick and easy make-at-home playdough recipe and a salt dough recipe
Gather some materials and tools that you think will make interesting imprints (some ideas - potato masher, fork, lego block, chopstick, pizza cutter, pinecone, shell, stick). Press them into play dough or salt dough. What happens?
Can you use them to make a design?
See if someone can guess what you used to make the different marks
If you used salt dough you can let your design dry and decorate it later
Impressions in foil, styrofoam and cardboard
Use a pen, pencil or point to make marks in a foil or styrofoam tray. If you have paint, try rolling or painting it on the tray and pressing the design onto paper. Dot markers, paint sticks and even markers work too!
Making Tracks - sand, flour, powdered sugar
Put the powder in a cookie sheet, tray, or shallow box and smooth it out
You can roll a car across it, press it with your fingers, create a design.
When your canvas is full, wipe it smooth and start over. If you like what you have created and want to remember it or share it with others, take a photo or draw a picture.
Making trails in water
In the book the ducks make a trail in the water. Can you make a trail in water?
Fill a container with water. Move your fingers, a toy boat, and other objects across the surface of the water. What happens?
The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
In the story below the Gruffalo's child follows tracks and footprints through the woods on a midnight adventure. See if you can guess who left the tracks.