Adventist Adventurer Awards and Answers/Friend of Animals

Take care of a pet for four weeks.
Downloadable Pet Accordion Book


 * 1) Feed it and be certain it has fresh water
 * 2) Brush your pet, give it a bath or clean its resting place

Taking Care of your Pet
Now that you've brought your new friend home, it's time for the fun part—and the hard part! This is your chance to really prove to your parents, yourself, and your pet that you're a responsible guardian. It's a lot to live up to, but don't worry-you can do it! All you need to know is what your pet's needs are, then meet them. Basically, most pets rely on us for:

Food

 * Be sure you know the diet and feeding schedule of your new pet. Get information from your veterinarian or the pet store.
 * Most animals need to be fed once or twice a day. Sometimes baby animals need to be fed more.
 * Don't ever give your pet table scraps—people food (especially chocolate!) can make most animals sick.
 * Introduce changes to food or feeding time gradually—food changes can be stressful for an animal.
 * Feed your pets in a quiet, protected place, so they feel safe and comfortable when they eat.

Water

 * Make sure your pet has plenty of clean, fresh water.
 * Water should be changed at least twice a day.
 * If your pet is a fish or turtle and lives in water, be sure to clean the tank at least once a week.

Shelter

 * Your pet needs a place to call home—whether that's a tank, cage, or doghouse.
 * If your dog or cat spends a lot of time outdoors, make sure shelter is available at all times. Shelter keeps pets protected from cold, wind, and rain in the winter and from the harsh hot sun in the summer.
 * Even if your pet spends most of the day outdoors, he should sleep indoors at night. This will protect him from cars, bad weather, and animals such as coyotes that will attack pets.
 * When it comes to shelter, remember that animals who are treated like part of the family are better-adjusted and will be more closely bonded to you. And after all, your pet IS part of your family, right?

Potty

 * All animals need a place where they can go to the bathroom. Unless you're able to train them to use the toilet, cats need a litter box, gerbils need a cage, and dogs need to go outside or in a special lined area.
 * Make sure you create a safe place for your pet's bathroom needs and—this is REALLY important—clean it regularly! After all, think about how gross it is to use a toilet that doesn't flush.
 * If you have a dog and live in an apartment with no yard, you need to make sure your dog is walked often. If he goes in a public place, be sure to pick it up and dump it in a trashcan.

Exercise

 * Dogs need plenty of exercise. Physical activity keeps them healthy, happy, and fit. Make sure you walk, run, hike, or play fetch with your dog every day. Not only is exercise good for your pup, but it's good for you, too!
 * Cats, especially if they live indoors, also love some quality playtime with you. This is a chance to have fun and get creative with cool cat toys.
 * Rodents like hamsters and gerbils will thank you for putting an exercise wheel in their cage to make life a little more interesting.

Grooming

 * It's a good idea to brush and comb your pets every day to get rid of loose or shedding hair.
 * Poke around to check for fleas, ticks, leaves, and other things that might be tangled in your pet's fur.
 * If you can, bathe dogs once a month and cats every few months. But don't overdo it! Too many baths take away the natural oils from a pet's skin and can cause itching or rashes.
 * Cats will have fewer hairballs and shed less if they're combed on a regular basis.
 * If your pooch has killer doggie breath, try brushing his teeth when you bathe him.

Training, if you have a dog

 * Yes, Bowzer is your buddy, but you need to be his boss! If you don't set up rules for him to follow, he may act aggressively and out of control. You don't want your dog dashing into oncoming traffic, jumping on little kids, or growling at your neighbors, right? So you need to set up rules for him to follow and help him follow them.
 * You can do this in a very gentle manner without raising your voice or becoming mean. Work with your parents to determine the rules of the house. If there's a "no dogs on the sofa" policy, don't let Spot on the couch the minute your parents leave the room. It's best when all of you work together to teach your new family member how to behave.
 * An obedience class is a great way to learn how to speak a dog's language and teach her the rules of your household. But don't expect her to be perfect—there will be accidents! Just be patient and loving, and eventually the hard work will pay off.

Health care

 * Just like we need annual checkups with our doctor and dentist, most pets need regular checkups, too.
 * Veterinarians, or animal doctors, check your pet's general health, can answer any questions you might have, and make sure your pet's vaccinations are up-to-date.
 * If you bring home a new dog or cat, you should take him to the vet right away to get checked out.

Love & affection

 * Just like people, pets thrive on attention! The more love you give, the more you'll get back.
 * Give your pet plenty of hugs, kisses, gentle pats, and love. Okay, so maybe you can't pet a fish, but you can still show you care by talking to it, watching it, and feeding it special treats

OR Put out scraps or seeds for birds or animals in your neighborhood or school.

 * 1) Identify creatures that eat these scraps
 * 2) Draw and color pictures of them

List creatures that live in your neighborhood.
The issues is identifying some of the animals that children MIGHT see in their neighborhood (deer, squirrels, specific birds, specific bugs and worms, etc.) Many will need specific ideas or you might very well have someone reporting a dinosaur roaming the backyard last week!

Match 10 animals with their houses.
Ask your Adventurers to match each animal to their home. I also create a lap book "Home" for each animal and asked Adventurers to guess what animal lived in each home.

Make an animal mask.
DLTK has great paper plate mask templates that are fun to make and use! Paper Plate Masks from DLTK

Play an animal game.
Teaching Idea: Animal Bingo

Materials: Animal Bingo cards (search online for the cards and the drawing pieces), marking pebbles/flat marbles

Procedure: Draw from your stack of animal pics. Call out the animal. All kids who have that animal mark it on their card (each card is different). Once one person has a row or column completed a new game is started.

Animal bingo printable -

Farm Animal Bingo Cards

Jungle Animal Bingo Cards

Make a stuffed animal. Describe how this animal would be cared for if it were real.
Teaching Idea: Sock Stuffed Animals

Materials: clean socks (buy packs of bright or colored or patterned socks in bulk lots.  Most of the crafts take 1-3 socks.  kids or womens socks up to size 9 or so work best);  yarn, googly eyes, other materials as needed. little micro rubber bands googly eyes & hot glue or sharpie marker

Online search: “how to make no-sew stuffed animals kids no glue”

Procedure: Ahead of time search online for simple sock animal designs like fish(whale), octopus, or bear. Make sample crafts. The kids will love this craft - and the resulting animals are truly cute enough to snuggle and won’t fall apart like other simple kids stuffed animal wanna-be crafts will. Oncline search Link here

https://onelittleproject.com/no-sew-sock-bunnies/

OR Visit one of the following

 * 1) zoo
 * 2) kennel
 * 3) museum
 * 4) Farmyard
 * 5) Aviary
 * 6) pet shop

External Resources
Animal Bingo Printable - Craft Jr.

Animal Crafts - Kiz Club

Taking Care of your Pet - PBS Kids