Growing up with pets is a privilege among young children. Having pets at home provides the opportunity to learn empathy and care. It naturally cultivates a nurturing sense among children.
Check out these ten best pet activities for the little ones that will develop a deep appreciation for these amazing animals.
Reading books about different types of pets encourages children to develop loving and caring relationships with other animals. For children thinking about getting one, it may help narrow their choices for the perfect pet.Â
It is a great way to expose them to the responsibilities required of pet owners. Children will improve their comprehension and critical thinking skills as they read these books.Â
It is an excellent tool for helping children build literacy skills and understand the story structure. These books can be placed in reading centers for pet unit study.Â
As they read books, children will learn to relate to the characters’ experiences of having pets and introduce them to different social-emotional skills.Â
The site’s list features fiction and non-fiction books for children to enjoy. Some of these books highlight the different animals that can be pets in real life. Children will have fun reading any of these books.Â
For this activity, you will need:Â
- Any book on pets on the listÂ
For more information on this activity, go to EducationOutside.org.Â
Pets come in different needs, shapes, and sizes, but they all need a special place to keep them safe from possible dangers. This matching activity teaches children the different types of homes pets could be kept in.Â
Children will improve their critical thinking skills by determining which home is perfect for a particular animal. Naming these homes will increase their vocabulary.Â
Using velcro dots to stick and pull off the cards will help improve children’s fine motor and coordination skills. This is great for centers and a fantastic activity after a science lesson on the pet’s needs, food, and behavior.Â
This free printable can be downloaded from the site. Print and cut these out. The site suggests laminating the pieces for durability. Attach velcro dots to the back of the animal cards and on the matching mat.Â
Have the children find each animal’s house and stick the animal cards to match.Â
For this activity, you will need:Â
- Printed matching activityÂ
- Velcro dotsÂ
For more information on this activity, go to TotSchooling.net. You might also want to check out more matching activity pages we rounded up for you and your little ones!
Pretending as a veterinarian allows children to explore the need for pets for periodic medical attention. This printable is perfect for pretend play areas where children can explore a future career in animal care.Â
This activity sheet provides excellent practice to help develop literacy, fine motor, and comprehension skills. Conducting routine check-ups on pets will help improve children’s oral language skills.Â
Naming the pictures on the printable will help increase children’s vocabulary.Â
Download and print the free animal check-up sheet from the site. Attach this on a clipboard and give the children the marker. Guide the children on the process of completing the form, such as identifying the type of pet and its feeling.Â
Have the children circle their answers. Discuss different procedures done during visits to clinics. Have them circle the procedures that apply to the visiting pet.Â
Extend this activity by asking children to write the name of the pet and its owner.Â
For this activity, you will need:Â
- Printed animal check-up sheetÂ
- Marker
- ClipboardÂ
For more information on this activity, go to NoTimeForFlashcards.com.
Brain breaks are essential in every preschool class. It provides respite from feeling overwhelmed due to the various activities in class. Place this in calming areas to help children recalibrate and destress themselves.Â
The movements listed on the cubes will help enhance children’s gross motor skills and coordination. It will also provide awareness of the actions pets do. Discuss other movements of pet animals with a lesson in Science.Â
Include this activity in an obstacle course for a fun gross motor challenge.Â
Download and print the free action cards that come in colored and black and white. Cut these and insert them in the differentiated instruction cube. A die-shaped printable is also available if the recommended cubes are unavailable.Â
Have the children roll the cube and let them do the printed action. Some of the actions included are “Wiggle like a snake,” “Hop like a bunny,” “Meow like a cat,” “Flap like a bird,” and “Swim like a fish.”Â
For this activity, you will need:Â
- Printed action cards
- Differentiated instruction cubeÂ
- ScissorsÂ
For more information on this activity, go to LifeOverCs.com.Â
Songs, poems, and fingerplays are essential for children to learn different skills. Songs teach rhythm and melody. It also helps children improve their auditory skills. These tell a story that children can relate to and help improve their comprehension.Â
Poems teach rhymes and increase children’s vocabulary. Fingerplays teach combining movements with words. It also helps build children’s finger and hand strength and dexterity.Â
There are nine types of pet-themed songs, poems, and fingerplays to choose from on the site. Some pets mentioned are cats, dogs, rabbits, chickens, and ducklings. These are wonderful for circle time.Â
Provide a large printed copy of the chosen activity. Teach children the words and sounds. Demonstrate the hand and finger movements. Do this slowly and repeatedly until they become familiar with them.Â
If possible, provide pictures or cue cards on the movements as a prompt for children to enable them to follow with fewer struggles.Â
For this activity, you will need:Â
- Printed copy of the song, poem, or fingerplay
For more information on this activity, go to ChildFun.com.Â
There are many advantages to having a rock as a pet. It is a great way to introduce caring for a pet for children who may be considering getting one. It is also perfect for children who cannot afford a pet in their house for medical reasons.Â
Knowing and providing for their pet’s needs is an excellent social-emotional skill to learn. Creating pet rocks will provide a wonderful sensory experience for children while helping them develop creativity.Â
Collecting rocks is a great activity during a nature walk. Children can discuss their pet rocks during the show and tell to help them develop their oral language skills.Â
Use rocks that are clean and have no sharp edges. Place the rocks on paper towels or cardboard to prevent mess. Have the children paint the rocks with their preferred colors. Let the first coat dry before adding another color.Â
Once it dries, let them glue the googly eyes on it.Â
For this activity, you will need:Â
- RocksÂ
- Acrylic paintÂ
- Paintbrush
- Paper towels or cardboard
- Googly eyes
- Craft glueÂ
For more information on this activity, go to LivingWellMom.com.
This math activity teaches children counting skills, such as one-on-one correspondence and counting the dots on the die. This sensory activity is perfect for centers and as an early finisher’s task.Â
Use this for pet-themed lessons. Use different colors of pipe cleaners to help with color recognition. Add other pet animal illustrations as an alternative, such as dogs, mice, and rabbits, to demonstrate that other animals have whiskers too.Â
Draw a cat’s face on paper or have children make their own. Cut the pipe cleaners in half and provide a die for children to use.Â
Place the cat on a tray. Let the children roll the die and ask them to count the number it landed on. Have the children place the correct number of pipe cleaners as the cat’s whiskers.Â
Extend this activity by letting children write the number symbol every time they roll the die to help with number recognition.Â
For this activity, you will need:Â
- PaperÂ
- MarkerÂ
- Pipe cleanerÂ
- DieÂ
- Craft tray
- ScissorsÂ
For more information on this activity, go to EngagingLittles.com.
Puppets are fantastic for storytelling to help develop children’s oral language skills and are a great way to express themselves confidently. These allow children to work on their creativity while building fine motor skills.Â
The site suggests adding a cardboard box as a theater for children to have their puppet shows. This craft is perfect for centers and calming areas. Use these puppets in retelling their favorite pet-themed stories to work on comprehension.Â
Have children decide the pet animal that they want for their puppet. Provide suggestions by showing them pictures or videos. They can also make them based on their pets at home.Â
Next, have them draw the animal on construction paper. Let them cut this out. Have the children add facial features and decorate them with embellishments. Let them glue googly eyes and attach them to a craft stick.Â
Extend this activity by letting them name and describe their pets.
For this activity, you will need:Â
- Craft sticksÂ
- Googly eyesÂ
- ScissorsÂ
- Construction paperÂ
- Markers
- GlueÂ
- Sticky tape
- EmbellishmentsÂ
For more information on this activity, go to ToddlerApproved.com.
Create an excellent sensory activity using these colorful fish to excite the young ones. This fishing and sorting activity teaches children color recognition, visual discrimination, and critical thinking skills.Â
Scooping these from the water will help strengthen children’s hand muscles and improve their hand-eye coordination skills. This is perfect as an outdoor activity but can also be done in the bathtub, as the site suggests.Â
Place the fish in a clean bin and add little water. Place the sorting bowls inside the bin. Provide children with fish nets and let them scoop the fish. Next, have them place the fish in the matching color bowl until nothing is left in the bin.Â
Extend this activity by reading the book “One Fish, Two Fish, Blue Fish, Red Fish” by Dr. Seuss.Â
Make this activity more challenging for older children by placing the sorting bowls a few feet away from the bin.Â
For this activity, you will need:Â
- Color sorting bowlsÂ
- Plastic toy fish
- Aquarium fish netsÂ
- Large binÂ
- WaterÂ
For more information on this activity, go to Teaching2And3YearOlds.com.Â
Learn more about animal footprints through this process of art with stamping technique. Coupled with a science lesson, this craft will help explain how footprints help track and identify animals.Â
Children will need to press the toy animals to create prints. Doing this will help strengthen their hand muscles and improve their fine motor skills. This activity is perfect with the book “Footprints in the Snow” by Mei Matsuoka.Â
Provide black construction papers and plastic pet animal toys for children. Pour some white paint into small containers. Have the children dip the animal’s feet in the paint and tap on the side of the container to remove the excess paint.Â
Next, let them press the toy animal on the black paper to create footprints. Have them do this repeatedly using different animals. Let them tell the story behind the footprints. This is a beautiful activity to develop oral language skills and imagination.Â
For this activity, you will need:Â
- Construction paperÂ
- PaintÂ
- Pet animal toysÂ
- Small containersÂ
For more information on this activity, go to Fun-A-Day.com.
ConclusionÂ
Pets are a great topic to discuss in preschool. Help children discover the joy of having a pet, whether real or not, with these fantastic activities that will surely delight little ones. These activities are an excellent addition to any pet-themed lesson.Â
Thank you for reading. Come back and read our other activity articles soon.
