BONE PRINTS
Purchase a box of large dog bone snacks. Set the bones, shallow bowls of paint, and colorful construction paper on a table. Allow the students to dip the bones into the paint and press them on their papers to make designs. Talk about why dogs enjoy the snacks and why the snacks are beneficial (source of vitamins, helps clean the teeth). You may also wish to explain that people often use these snacks as treats when they train dogs as well as other animals.
PAW PRINTS
Have the students help you make paw stamps. You may make them by carving potatoes with spoons, molding clay into paw shapes, or cutting corrugated cardboard and gluing it to another piece of cardboard. Allow the students to dip their stamps into shallow bowls of tempera paint and press onto paper.
STUFFED DOG PUPPIES
Cut pair of dog shapes from a variety of colors of paper. Allow each student to choose color. Allow them to color and add collars, dog jackets, etc. Staple or glue edges of dog shapes together leaving small opening. Stuff with wadded up newspapers--staple shut. Hang these from ceiling or use as wall display. Let students name their dog.
BAG PUPPIES
Make puppies from brown lunch bags. Let the child draw the face on the bag and glue on ears.
YARN DOG
Materials:
Colored rug yarn or thick 8 ply knitting wool
Paper
White Glue
Dog Photos or Pictures
Cardboard
What to Do: Trace a good, clear picture of a dog, the larger the better, onto the cardboard. Cut the yarn or wool into 1" or 2" strands. Use an egg carton to separate the colors & to make selecting and handling of the yarn easier. The child then glues the yarn strands onto the dog outline to make hair & a tail. Draw a mouth & eyes & define the ears & the tail. Finally invent an appropriate name for the dog.
3D DOGHOUSE
Make a three dimensional picture by making a dog house out of craft sticks, a dog from furry material, a cord leash, water bowl from wall paper, a real dog bone, etc.
DOG TAGS
Have the children choose dog names for themselves. Write the name on bone-shaped construction paper. Have children decorate their bones. String macaroni, add tags, and let them wear them.
Walking Fido
Fold a large sheet of paper long like a hot dog bun (not short like a taco) and trace a dog shape on it (head, body, tail and two legs). Cut out the dog shape and fold open. The dog will stand up on four legs (the back is the fold of paper). Decorate and tie yarn around the neck and take Fido for a walk.
Games & Activities
Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone?
They sit in a semicircle with one child sitting in a chair facing away from the group. Place a toy bone, or beanbag under the chair. One child is chosen to go "steal the bone". All of the children then sit with their hands behind their backs and say, "Doggie, doggie, where's your bone? Someone stole it from your home!" The "Doggie" then turns around and tries to guess who has the bone.
HOW DO DOGS EAT?
Put a favorite snack, cupcake, etc. on a paper plate on the floor. Have children get down on their hands and knees and try to eat without using their hands. What about water? Can they drink out of a cereal bowl filled with water?
Buy new dog dishes and have the kids decorate them with stickers. They can use them for cereal bowls at home or just to hold trinkets.
HAND PRINT DOGS
Paint each student's palm the color they choose for their dog. Press hands on paper. When dry, allow students to use crayons, markers, paint or paper shapes to add the dog's face, tail, markings, etc. Encourage the students to draw backgrounds on their pictures showing the animal's environments, where they sleep, what they eat, etc.
DOG PARTS
Talk with the students about body parts. Explain that dogs have body parts too. Have the student name all the body parts they can of a dog. Use a display to put labels on.
KENNEL CLUB
Decorate the front door with a discreet Kennel Club sign. Inside, set up a table as the groomer's salon. Hang a sign to that effect and place a mirror on the table. Fill the playroom with doghouses made from large cardboard boxes--one for each kid, with his name over a simple cutout door. (Wait until the kids arrive if you think they'll choose special puppy names.)
Quick & Easy
-Make Clifford the big red dog. Use a triangle shaped piece of red paper. Fold down the ends to become ears. Put a black nose on the pointed end and add some eyes and whisker freckles.
-Have the children discuss the different types of dogs there are: big & small, fluffy and smooth, etc.
-Have the children write an ad for what type of puppy they are and what kind of owner they are looking for.
-Discuss the things needed to take care of puppies.
-Let children glue pieces of yarn on a precut out shape of a dog.
-Let them sponge paint paw prints on a piece of paper.
-Let the children put on a pretend dog show, showing all the kind of tricks they know.
-Discuss the many useful jobs dogs have: police dog, seeing eye dog, sled dog, rescue dog, guard dog, etc.
OBEDIENCE SCHOOL
Based on Simon Says, preface the commands with "the trainer says" Use appropriate dog tricks or behaviors such as: lie down, beg for a treat, roll over, speak (woof), scratch your ear, wag your tail, show your tongue and pant.
Have someone from the blind association to bring a guide dog in and to talk to the class about the dog and what he does, how he is trained, etc.
MATCH THE DOG GAME
Have dog cut outs with different numbers of dots on them. Have dog house cut outs with corresponding numbers written on them. The children count the dots on each dog and match it to the dog house with the corresponding number.
SNACK IDEA
Use cookie cutters to cut toast into bone shapes for "doggy snacks"
CAT COSTUMES
Cut construction paper into strips and a variety of triangular and circular shapes. Invite each child to glue two ear shapes to a strip to make an ear headband. Carefully staple the finished headbands around each child's head. Help children use washable markers or eyebrow pencils to draw whiskers on their faces. Use safety pins to attach yarn tails to their clothing.
CALICO CATS
Supply your students with large textured, striped, and patterned wallpaper pieces to make calico cats. Cut out of large construction paper a cat silhouette. Have each child place the cat on the wallpaper of their choice and trace around the cat shape. Glue eyes, nose, whiskers and a tail with construction paper, yarn, or curling ribbon.
CAT HANDPRINT
Use a wallpaper sample book to let the children cut out a rug for their cat to sit on. Then put their handprint upright on the "rug" (fingers together, thumb outstretched a little becomes the tail). Use the top of a liquid detergent cap to make a circle at the top of the handprint (to become the cat's head). Add facial features, whiskers, etc.
KITTY CAT YARN DESIGN
Give each child a sheet of dark construction paper and several pieces of yarn in a variety of colors and sizes. Invite children to dip the yarn in the glue and place the yarn on the colored paper to make creative designs.
KITTEN BASKETS
Give each child a small cardboard box and a cat shape cut from posterboard or calendars to fit inside the box. Set out materials such as construction paper scraps, felt tip markers, cat stickers, cotton balls, fabric pieces and glue. Then let the children decorate their cardboard boxes and line them with soft materials to make sleeping baskets for their kittens.
KITTY COLLAGE
Let Children find and cut or tear out pictures of cats from greeting cards and magazines. Paste their cats on pieces of constructions paper.
CAT PRINTS
Make paw prints using a raw potato cut to resemble paw prints and tempera paints. These prints can also be scattered around for a "follow the paw" obstacle course game or hide a stuffed cat somewhere and the children have to follow the prints to find the cat.
CAT PUPPETS
Make sock puppet cats using felt for ears and quilting or heavy thread for whiskers. Use marker pens for eyes and any other decorations.
CAT COLLARS
String cut up straws and a bell for children to wear.
ADOPT A CAT!
Using faux fur from a craft/fabric store have children/adult cut out cat shapes, children can glue on button eyes and have a pet of their own. Use yarn and a piece of fancy paper to make a license/nametag. Write out adoption papers with child's name, cat's name and date of adoption.
GAMES AND ACTIVITIES
CAT PUZZLES
Cut large cat shapes out of posterboard. Cover the shapes with clear self-stick paper and cut each one into several large interlocking puzzle pieces. This activity is perfect for small fingers. For older children, increase the difficulty by cutting each puzzle into smaller pieces.
YARN BALLS
Set up baskets at varying distances from a masking tape line on the floor. Toss yarn balls into the baskets.
COPY CAT
Have one child be the cat and clap a rhythm for the group. The other children listen and then be the copycats. They clap the same rhythm as he cat did. Another child now becomes the cat and creates a rhythm for the copycats to imitate.
CAT AND MOUSE
Cut and glue together a simple cat shape from black paper. Cover a coffee can- the mouse hole- with another piece of black paper. Make up enough small mice out of felt by cutting them out in teardrop shapes. Add a pompon and length of yarn for the tail. Glue sequins on for eyes or draw them on with markers. Next, turn a coffee can on its side and place it on top of a table. Place a dozen crackers leading up to the mouse hole. Have each child choose a mouse and the teacher picks the cat. Then let each child roll the die and move his or her mouse or cat that number of crackers. Let play continue, encouraging the children to try to move their mice into the mouse hole before the cat gets there. Game ends when the cat reaches the mouse hole or when all mice have safely entered.
FILE FOLDER GAMES
Make about 10 sets of cats and kitten pairs. Each pair should be a different color. For example a cat and kitten that are red and a cat and kitten that are blue, etc. Glue the cats to the file folder and laminate for durability. Have the children match the same color kitten to it's mommy cat.
CAT STRETCHES
1. Have your children get on their hands and knees.
2. Tell them to slowly "walk" their arms out in front of them, one at time, until arms and upper body are fully extended.
3. Have them stretch like cats by leaning each shoulder one way, then the other.
CAT SOUNDS
Discuss the different sounds that cats make and what their sounds tell us about them. Imitate the sounds a cat makes when happy, contented, angry, frightened, hungry. Stress the differences in cat's moods and why it is important not to tease an angry or frightened cat. Act out cats as they might behave in these various moods. Point out that lions and tigers are members of the cat family. Ask the children. "How would you like to meet an angry lion? How would you feel if you met a hungry tiger?"
KITTEN CARE
Materials needed: cat bed or cat furniture/cubby, collar and bell, catnip ball, rubber mouse, brush, canned food.
What to do:
Introduce pet care items explaining or demonstrating how each item is used and allow the children to examine the items.
Including the items above, have the children set up a cat care area using stuffed animals brought from home. The children will pretend to care for their kittens.
HELPING SPECIAL CATS
Plan a field trip to the local SPCA and take bags of kitten food and bags of litter to be donated.
STORYTIME KITTIES
Let children act out the story THREE LITTLE KITTENS. Let all children pretend to be kittens and crawl to the play area.
CAT TREASURE HUNT
Have a 'treasure hunt' where the children have to search for things to do with cats (e.g. Jingle balls, Catnip mouse, etc). Thread a string through them all and make a Cat mobile.
KITTY WARM MILD
Heat a panful of milk, until is just warm. Pour a small amount into a bowl for each child. Invite children to sprinkle nutmeg and cinnamon over the warm milk. Have the children in lap up the milk with a spoon.
RAINBOW BIRDS
Materials:
Newspaper, scissors, 1 paper plate, paints, paint brushes,glitter (optional), Stickers (optional), white glue,1 six inch piece of pipe cleaner, tape, 2 cut out circles one bigger than the other (smaller circle is head)
1) Cover your work area with newspaper. To make the bird tail, cut a 6 inch circle out of a paper plate or use a 6 inch paper plate. Cut a narrow strip off the bottom of the paper circle. Paint the paper circle. or decorate with glitter or stickers.
2) Glue the bird Head to the bird body ( little circle on top of big circle) Glue the bod to the bird tail. Make face any way you want.
3) For the legs and feet, fold the pipe cleaner in half. Bend each end of the pipe cleaner out about 3/4 inch. Tape the feet to the back of the bird body. Adjust the feet so your Rainbow bird will stand up. (The bird should look like a Peacock or turkey)
SQUAKING TOUCAN BEAKS
Provide each child with a snow cone cup. (cone-shaped) Let them decorate their "beaks" with colorful markers. Allow them to spend some time on this project. You may want to hang some colorful pictures of real toucans near the table to show how colorful toucans are. Use a hole punch to make a hole on each side and tie a piece of yarn to each side to hold the beak onto the child's face.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Things you'll need:
Four Large feathers
Four colors of paint on paper plates
Construction paper
Small, fluffy, colorful feathers
Let the children use the feathers to paint a light and airy picture. Remind them that the less paint they put on their feathers the more feathery the painting will be. When they are finished painting, let them stick small, fluffy feathers into the paint.
RECIPIES AND SNACKS
BIRD NESTS
Needed:
Pretzel sticks
Chocolate chips
Jelly beans
Waxed paper
Give each child a piece of waxed paper & a few pretzel sticks. Have them arrange their sticks into a nest. In the meantime, melt chocolate chips. Drizzle melted chocolate over pretzel stick nests. When chocolate cools, place jelly beans on nests.
FISH
Take bubble wrap and cut out two fish shapes and glue both pieces together leaving an opening to stuff. Fill the fish with colored tissue paper and then seal the opening. Hang these from the ceiling and you have a room full of beautiful rainbow fish!
PAPER BAG FISH
Lay a plain paper bag down flat. Leave the bottom folded up and fold in the corners of the bottom of the bag and staple in place to form the fishes snout. Loosely stuff the sack with scrap paper or whatever you have. Close the end of the bag with a rubber band. Slide it up a couple of inches and spread out the end to make the tail. Let the children paint the bag with watercolors or tempera paint any way they want. Add paper or googly eyes if the children haven't already painted on eyes. Some times we have attached these to a piece of yarn like a fish on a string. We have also added a straw to the yarn for a fishing pole.
FISH AND FISHBOWL
Cut off 2 inches from a paper plate. This is the fish bowl. Children can either draw or cut out colored fish from construction paper. Fish can be glued to paper plate. Attach string and hang from the ceiling.
PLATE FISH
Make a fish out of paper plate. Or cut out fish shape out of cardboard and let children color, paint and decorate their fish.
TISSUE PAPER COLLAGE
Tissue paper can be cut or torn by the children to make various shapes and sizes. OR if you prefer not using the fish shapes, how about tissue paper collages on paper using the various ocean colors: blues, greens and purples. In either project, paint on the tissue paper with liquid starch or diluted school glue to give it a "wet look" as the children create it and then a stiff texture when it has dried. The children may want to add fish to this "ocean". If so, provide small rubber stamps of fish for the children to stamp on fish pictures or furnish more tissue paper in other colors for them to tear and cut their fish shapes. Do either of these when the ocean picture has dried. If you want to use this as a sort of a printing experience, you can have the children peel off the tissue paper when they have finished painting it on and while their projects are still wet, and the colors will remain, kind of a watercolor look.
AQUARIUM
Take 2 paper plates & cut out the inner circle. Tape blue cellophane or clear plastic on to the inside of each plate. Glue fish, shells, sand & "seaweed" to the inside &; then glue paper plate together to make an aquarium.
STUFFED FISH
Cut large fish pattern from two pieces of colored cellophane & punch holes around edge. Stuff with small pieces of shiny paper & "sew" around the edge with ribbon. OR cut out two fish shapes from grocery sacks & stuff with newspaper. Decorate or paint.
TRIANGLE FISH
Cut a 9" X 12" piece of construction paper diagonally from corner to corner. Now you have triangle to make two fish. Cut a muffin paper in quarters. Glue one quarter to the tail, one quarter to the top near the right angle and one quarter to the middle of the bottom ( the longest side) for fins. Add eyes and decorate anyway you desire. We usually use crayons and markers.
CIRCLE FISH
Cut out a 6" circle from construction paper and glue to a piece of light blue construction paper. Cut a triangle from the same color or a contrasting color and attach to the back of the circle for a tail. Draw eye, mouth, gills, fins, a fish line with a hook and worm and whatever else you want.
THUMB PRINT FISH
Have children press their fingers onto a stamp pad & stamp fingers onto paper. Add features such as fins.
GO FISH
Make 6 inch fish from construction paper & write different numerals on each. Attach a paper clip to the nose of each fish. Tie a magnet to a 3 foot string which is tied to a clip. Spread out fish & fish. Variation: Punch a hole in the front of each fish, pass a twist tie through the hole, and bend it into a loop. Can use table as dock or big box as a boat.
CLOTHESLINE FISH
Materials:
Fishing line,Clothespins,Construction paper
Prepare a fishing line with numbered clothespins (one through ten) on it. The clothespins should be in sequential order. Draw and cut out ten fish; write numerals one through ten on them. Have children place numbered fish on the line by matching the correct numerals.
RECIPES AND SNACKS
FISH SNACK
Needed: Blue napkins, medicine cups, pretzels, gold fish crackers, peanut butter
Open up napkin and place fish in the middle. (The napkin is the ocean.) Have peanut butter in the cup. (This is the bait cup.) Use pretzels for fishing rods. Dip in bait (peanut butter) and catch a fish. Eat fish and bait. keep fishing until all the fish are eaten.
FISH IN THE SEA
Need:
Italian bread or french bread
Cream cheese
Goldfish crackers
Blue food coloring
Bread knife
Bowl
Plastic knives
Waxed paper
Slice bread. Mix blue food color and cream cheese. Spread cream cheese on bread. Put goldfish in the blue sea.
JELLO AQUARIUMS
Just get some clear plastic cups, put some Oreo crumbs or "sandy" colored cookie crumbs on the bottom. Get some blue jello & pour over the crumbs, add some gummy fish & when set, this makes a great snack!
