One way that we can talk about kindness with young children is to talk about pet adoption. Talking about pets is a great way to instill empathy in young children. To begin, pets require a lot of love and attention, but they also give us unconditional love in return. You can explain to children that pet adoption is when pets don’t have a home, and they are looking for a family that loves them and can take care of them.
Set up Time: 10 minutes
Directions
1. Make a pet adoption center by adding animals (e.g. small plastic toy animals or large stuffed animals) to a box or sensory bin.
2. Invite children to pick a pet, name their pet, and make a little home for their pet.
3. Set up recycled containers for their food and water bowls, pom poms or other loose parts to represent the food.
Other extensions: Add little combs to groom the pets, toys for the pets to play with, or help children to attach little leashes to their pets.
Tip: We encourage you to play this with both small and large animal toys, as children might enjoy both!
Materials
- Colored pom poms
- Pipe cleaners
- Markers
- Clean trash and recyclables
- Tape
- Pet toys
Material Notes
Safety Warning: When using small loose parts, be mindful of those that can be choking hazards, such as pom poms, and substitute appropriately for the children in your care.
Learning Through Play
Cognitive: Pretend Play – Invite children to come up with some of the props you might use for your pet adoption play. For example, you can invite them to explore a box of recycled materials–they might pick a bed, a bowl, or other typical items, but they may also surprise you with other ideas that they have. For example, they might add tubes for the animals to play games, or create a rollercoaster. That is wonderful! This is the beauty of open-ended play and loose parts.
Social-Emotional: Empathy – Talk to children about what pets need to feel safe, loved, and taken care of. If working with older children, talking about pets is also a great way to have conversations about children’s respective experiences and circumstances, which is a great way to build empathy and an understanding that we are all different. While some children may already have a pet (adopted or purchased), are unable to have a pet (perhaps they live in an apartment, or their parents have an allergy) or they want a pet but now is not the right time. Pets are great for people who live alone, as they are great for keeping us company. Talk about any of these themes to explore the ways that talk of pets gives children the language of taking care of others.
School Readiness: Writing – Invite children to make a name for their pet. Be open to what they come up with, as this is a great way for children to exhibit their curiosity! They may pull from television shows they have seen, real names for their own pets, or even use the names of people they love. You can invite them to write different labels for the pet’s belongings (a tag for a collar, a name for a bowl). It is perfectly okay for children to scribble, and you can write the proper name underneath! Embracing scribbling and adding the proper word underneath is a way in which we can have a print rich environment while also celebrating children’s development.
See this activity in the Rayz Kidz app along with the other fun pretend play activities. Rayz Kidz is your trusted source for play-based activities featuring over 100 themes and 500+ hands-on activities and clear descriptions of the beautiful learning that is happening through play.
