Hippos

 


Learn a little about hippos and enjoy our collection of printable hippos activities (crafts coming soon) - including colouring pages, jigsaws, worksheets, posters and more!

Hippos at Activity Village

Learn about Hippos

The hippo - or hippopotamus - is one of the larger African animals. They live near water because they need to be able to sink under the water to keep them cool and hydrated and protect them from the sun. If there isn't enough water, they will happily wallow in the mud instead! A hippo is never happier than when submerged in a gently moving river.

Although they look big and cumbersome, they can move surprisingly quickly on land. They most of the day in water, but they can't swim! Instead they bob off the bottom, or walk along the bottom of the river on their toes!

Hippos in water

Hippos might look cute but they are extremely dangerous and aggressive. Their canine teeth can reach 20 inches long (50 cm) so you wouldn't want to get bitten by one! They can kill people, but usually fight amongst themselves.

Hippos live in large groups, from 10 to 100 or even 200! Each group has a dominant male and there are often clashes between the other males in the group.

Fun Facts about Hippos:

  • The word "hippopotamus" comes from the Greek and means "river horse".
  • The plural of hippopotamus is hippopotamuses - which is a fun word to say out loud!
  • Hippos can breathe for up to 5 minutes at a time under water. They can sleep under water, too, as they have an automatic reflex that bobs them up to the surface to take a breath without waking up!
  • The dominant male marks his territory by flinging his dung (poo) far and wide with his tail!

Our Hippo Activities

Complete the Hippo Puzzle

Complete the Hippo Puzzle

Younger children will love this complete the picture activity featuring a very happy looking hippo. Nice simple outlines make it easy to complete the top image by copying the one below.

Hippo Acrostic Poem

Hippo Acrostic Poem Printable

Our lovely hippo acrostic poem printable will help children feel pride in their poem work when they see it presented nicely. We have four versions, some of which make great writing frames too.  

Hippo Colouring Page

Hippo Colouring Page

Get children practicing their pencil skills with our gorgeous, happy, hippo colouring page.

Hippo Counting Jigsaw

Hippo Counting Jigsaw

This hippo counting jigsaw is a fun way to help children practise counting skills. Print the jigsaw on to card, cut into strips and ask children to arrange the strips into the correct order.

Hippo Dot To Dot

Hippo Dot To Dot

Here is a simple hippo dot to dot that even the youngest children can complete. Follow the numbers 1 to 10 to complete the hippo's body.

Hippo Finger Tracing

Hippo Finger Tracing

Help children get a feel for letters by having them trace over the letters that spell "hippo" on this worksheet. They can then try and copy the shapes in a sand tray, perhaps.  

Hippo Grid Copy

Hippo Grid Copy

This hippo has a really simple outline, making it an excellent introduction to our grid copy puzzles. Copy the picture on the left onto the grid on the right, square by square.

Hippo Handwriting Worksheet

Hippo Handwriting Worksheet

Practising letter formation by writing words makes it more fun. With simple letters and a border of cute hippos, this hippo handwriting worksheet will appeal to even the most reluctant writer.

Hippo Lacing Card

Hippo Lacing Card

This hippo lacing card has a nice easy outline making it perfect for young children to try. Lacing is a great way to increase fine motor skills which are so important when learning to write. Instructions to make the card are printed on the page.

Hippo Lacing Card 2

Hippo Lacing Card 2

How cute is this hippo lacing card? With a simple shape making it easy to follow the outline this hippo lacing card is the perfect lacing card to start with. 

Hippo Lacing Card 3

Hippo Lacing Card 3

Print out this lacing card of a lovely hippo, then punch holes around the edges and either sew or lace with a shoelace or wool. Laminate for extra strength and if you wish to reuse.

Hippo Love Colouring Card

Hippo Love Colouring Card

Send a card that's a little different by colouring in this adorable cuddly hippo surrounded by hearts.

Hippo Mask

Hippo Mask

This cute printable hippo mask is a fun addition to any costume box, perfect for African animal themed plays and make believe.

Hippo Poster

Hippo Poster

I would have loved to frame this hippo poster and put it up in my children's bedroom when they were small! It will look cute on any nursery or classroom wall.

Hippo Spelling Jigsaw

Hippo Spelling Jigsaw

Print this hippo spelling jigsaw on to card and cut out along the dotted lines. For a rainy day project, choose our black and white version and colour the picture first.

Hippo Story Paper

Hippo Story Paper

This hippo is so cute he is sure to inspire children to come up with a character for him to write about! Our hippo story paper comes in two versions, lined or with handwriting lines for younger children.

Hippo Template

Hippo Template

Isn't this hippo template lovely? He makes a great writing frame, and he also looks lovely cut out of scrapbook or coloured paper.

Hippo Tracing Page

Hippo Tracing Page

The cuteness factor of this hippo will have even the most reluctant writer reaching for their pencil to trace the dotted lines on our hippo tracing page.

Hippo Tracing Page 2

Hippo Tracing Page 2

Trace the lines to create this lovely hippo face – I think the kids will enjoy it! Younger children can trace between the lines; older children should trace on them.

Hippo Word Tracing

Hippo Word Tracing

Chilren can practise their pencil control by tracing over the letters and then colouring in the hippo on this hippo word tracing worksheet.

Hippo Writing Page

Hippo Writing Page

This hippo writing page is designed to get children writing reports. However it could be used for story writing or many other projects. We have a colour or a black and white version to chose from.

Hippo Writing Paper

Hippo Writing Paper

With a choice of lined, handwriting or blank versions, this hippo writing paper has so many uses. I think it would be lovely for a chatty letter as that hippo looks just like they are chatting away to me!  

Hippopotamus Notebooking Page

Hippopotamus Notebooking Page

Children can write up their research into these surprisingly dangerous creatures on one of our hippopotamus writing pages. We have two to chose from; one with space for a diagram and one all lined. The photo is of a parent and baby pygmy hippopotamus.  

Hippopotamus Worksheet

Hippopotamus Worksheet

Perfect for encouraging research skills, our hippopotamus worksheet asks children to find out some facts about these African mammals.

Hippos Scene Card

Hippos Scene Card

If you need a card in a hurry, this hippos scene card is a sweet scene of a baby hippo looking up adoringly! Use it for parents, for animal lovers or for anybody...

Hippos Scene Colouring Card

Hippos Scene Colouring Card

There is a sweetness about the little hippos scene on this colouring card that will surely make it appreciated by any receiver! Fun for the kids to colour, too.  

Hippos Scene Colouring Page

Hippos Scene Colouring Page

Featuring a mother and baby hippo at the watering hole, this cute hippos scene colouring page will have children reaching for the crayons.  

Hippos Scene Poster

Hippos Scene Poster

This bright and colourful hippos scene poster would look lovely on a nursery or classroom wall. You could also use it as a discussion prompt to encourage children to talk about what they can see.

Hippos Scene Story Paper

Hippos Scene Story Paper

Describe the scene or write a picture on our hippos scene story paper. Chose from lined or handwriting lines to suit the child.

Learn to Draw a Hippo

Learn to Draw a Hippo

The simple shapes in our learn to draw a hippo tutorial make this one a good learn to draw tutorial for young children to start with. 

Pygmy hippos
Pygmy hippos

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