Babe Movie: Educational Activities and Games for 2 to 5 Year Olds

Let's face it, kids love movies, but it's been proven that they should watch no more than 2 hours of TV a day. So why not combine their love of a movie and activities that will help them learn and grow? Following are suggestions for the movie Babe released in 1995. These activities would also work well for preschool classes and party games for this age group.

Watch the movie

Let your kids watch the show while you prepare the activities for the rest of the day or attend to other responsibilities.

Rhyme Activity

Teach your child this rhyme.

I had a little pig and fed him in a trough (pretend to pour food into a trough)

He got so fat his tail dropped off (Hold out your arms in a circle to show how fat the pig got)

So I got me a hammer and I got me a nail (pretend to hold up a hammer and nail)

And I made my piggie a brand new tail. (pretend to hammer the tail back on)

Read a Book

There are a lot of incredible books available to go along with the movie Babe. Pick one you think your child would enjoy and involve them while you are reading. Ask them questions about the pictures and story. Following are a few suggestions of books to read.

* Pig, Pigger, Piggest by Rick Walton and Jimmy Holder

* If You Give a Pig a Pancake Big Book (If You Give...) by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond

* The Three Little Pigs (Reading Railroad Books) by James Marshall

* Pigs (Classic Munsch) by Robert N. Munsch and Michael Martchenko

Piggy Bank Craft

You will need a paper plate, pink paint, pink paper, a black marker, five paper cups, and a empty Kleenex box or a similar sized box with a slit cut in one side. Have your child paint the plate, cups and box pink. When it dries, glue four of the cups to the bottom of the box (the opening should be the top). Glue the paper plate to the front of the box (this is the head). Glue the last paper cup to the plate (this is the snout). Add ears, and a tail made out of pink paper. Use the marker to add a face. Talk to your child about saving money and how piggy banks help people do this. Give them a few coins to put in their new bank.

Snack Time

Make a trail mix and put it in a small box. Talk to your child about how pigs eat from something called a trough that looks a lot like a box. Enjoy your snack.