Pets, Preschool Learning Activities

Featured Articles

Learning at the Grocery Store

Fun & easy Ways to make this everyday chore a learning experience for both preschoolers and elementary school kids.

Both of these shows make parents cringe, but how do they change the behavior of children who watch them? A simple experiment in child psychology provides an answer, a cautionary warning about how children absorb what they watch on TV.

More Evidence That TV’s
Don’t Teach Tots

Many parents own baby Einstein tapes, but evidence continues to mount that they don’t actually teach toddlers much of anything, despite their name. This article explores recent research into the topic, and outlines differences in the ways that toddlers and preschoolers learn.

Getting Your Baby to Wear Hats, Sunglasses, or
Other Props
You hit the malls and come home with all the latest gear, determined to have more fun accessorizing than you've had in years. You pick out the perfect look, and try it on your baby. Then the first thing they do is yank whatever it is off their head. What do you do? Read and find out.

Child Safety is everyone’s
responsibility!
Child Safety Resources:
Child Safety Books & Information
Child Abduction Prevention
Fire Safety
Water Safety
Child Safety in the Home
Child Proofing Your Home
Gun Safety for Kids
Child Car Safety

Activity Listings (page 1 of 1)
Click on the activity link to view instructions for that activity and
print any worksheets that go with it:

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Motor Skills, Group
EATING LIKE A DOG __________________________ View This Activity
Ages: Preschool to Kindergarten

Language / Fine Motor
PETS THEME SPELLING WORKSHEET

Good writing practice for younger kids and spelling practice for emergent readers.

Ages: Pre-K to Second Grade

Language / Cognitive
PETS WORD MATCHING WORKSHEET
A phonics activity for whole-word sounds.
Ages: Pre-K to Kindergarten

Language
PETS MISSING LETTER WORKSHEET
A phonics activity for beginning sounds.
Ages: Preschool to Kindergarten

Printable Coloring Sheets / Coloring Book Pages:
Dog Stencil Coloring Sheet
Bunny Rabbit Coloring Sheet

Learning about pets: the history of cats
*Anthropologists have found a human buried with a cat 9,500 years ago on the Mediterranean Island of Cyprus, the oldest known instance of cat domestication.

*The ancient Egyptians were the first to start actively breeding cats and keeping them as pets in large numbers.

*Cats are not the type of animal that would seem to be a natural fit for humans. They are solitary animals, ornery, and carnivores. They're not pack animals (unlike dogs) and so they don't take instruction well or follow a master. So how did they become our pets? Scientists think that cats started living around humans to feed on the mice in their homes and the food scraps they dumped out. Over time, they began to get used to living around humans, and people probably didn't mind, because the cats didn't hurt their children and tended to hunt pesky things like rodents and snakes. People likely thought their kittens were cute, and at some point took some home to raise. And thus, cats became domesticated, which is why some of you probably have one in your home today.

-For Discussion: Have a group time discussion with the kids to brainstorm about the different aspects of this partnership. How did the humans benefit? How did the cats benefit?

*Despite domestication, cats remain one of the "wildest" domestic animals. If people somehow disappeared, cats would be able to hunt on their own and thrive, while many dogs would be lost without people and wouldn't have any idea about what to do.

We’re adding new activities to our list every month, so if you didn’t find what you needed, be sure to check back!