|
|
|
How to Paint Your Cat
Why paint your cat? After all cats are beautiful creatures if you want to appreciate the appearance of a feline, you look at the cat not at a painting.
Some of the reasons that you may want to paint your cat are:
To capture your pet at a...
Keep Family Reunions Under One Roof
January 19, 2005, Norfolk, VA –As more and more families are keeping in touch via the Internet, today more than ever, it’s easier to arrange family reunions. According to a recent statistic from the Travel Industry Association of America, 27% of...
Surprising Health Benefits for Pet Owners
Did you know that there are key health benefits that can result from owning a pet? Having one can enhance your physical, mental and social wellbeing.
1. How can a pet help your physical health?
Owning a dog, for instance, will encourage you to...
Taking The Stress Out of Packing
Let's face it, there is no "moving fairy." No matter how long you procrastinate, no twinkling spirit is going to show up, wave a magic wand and instantly transport all your household goods from your current home to your new one. If you're going to...
“When’s Sarah Coming Home?” Helping Your Child Understand Death
For most children, their first experience with grief comes with the death of a beloved family pet. When Zoe the eight-week old puppy dies of parvovirus or Tweety the budgie stops singing his morning song, a child experiences profound and lasting...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Let's Pretend
Children explore the world around them and learn through pretend play. With so many passive activities like watching TV and playing video games, we sometimes need to encourage our children to pretend play. Here are a few suggestions on how to get those creative juices flowing for both you and your child.
Dress Up Box
Put a dress up box together with some of your old dresses, jackets, blouses, old Halloween costumes, etc. Don’t forget to throw in some fun accessories as well, such as purses, hats, wigs, scarves, gloves. etc.
If you can’t find much around the house, look around at some yard sales and the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. You’ll be able to find some great dress up clothes for your kids for next to nothing.
You may also get requests for some unusual accessories like space helmets, crowns, etc. Be creative and look around the house. A colander makes a cool helmet and you can form a sparkling crown out of aluminum foil.
Veterinarian
All you’ll need is any of the stuffed animals your kids already have plus some bandages. You can substitute an empty pen to serve as a thermometer or syringe. A pair of headphones can quickly be turned into a stethoscope by taping a plastic bottle cap to the jack.
Grocery Store
You can quickly put a grocery store together on a low shelf or side table. All you’ll need is a basket and several empty cereal and rice boxes. Add a few canned goods and some dry beans, and you're all set. You can also draw up your own money on pieces of paper and cut some coins out of cardboard. Ask your child to help you color them. Take turns with your child being the shopper or the storekeeper.
Library
When your child gets bored of playing store, turn the grocery store into a library. Make up a library card for every family member and add a small piece of paper into each of your child’s books. If your child cannot read or write yet, draw a symbol for each family member, or use a different color. When someone checks out a book from the family library, ask the child to record who took it and when it is due back in. You can also ask your child to sort the books
either by topic or alphabetically.
Firefighter
Have your kids turn an empty cardboard box into a fire truck. They can color it and draw tires on with markers or cut out shapes from construction paper. Paint an empty clean can (like a coffee can) blue to use as an emergency light. You can have them make a police car, ambulance or garbage truck. You’ll soon have your children pretend play to be a fire fighter, police officer, etc.
Let’s Cook
All you’ll need are a few pots and pans, some wooden spoons, and if you’d like, some dry rice or beans. Your kids can also draw shapes of favorite foods on construction paper and color them with crayons or markers. After that, let the pretending begin. Encourage your child to pretend cook in the kitchen with you while you are fixing dinner. It will keep him or her occupied, while you can still keep an eye on him or her.
Puppets
One of the most versatile pretend play toys are puppets. You can easily make them yourself. Take a look at these finger puppets (http://www.kinderinfo.com/crafts/fingerpuppets.htm) and handkerchief puppets (http://www.kinderinfo.com/crafts/handkerchief-puppet.htm). There is also a huge array of puppets from people to animals commercially available. Puppets will allow your child to recreate situations of everyday life and to explore different points of view. Watching them when they play with their puppets will give also give you a glimpse at how they see the world. Do you really say, “Please don’t do that” that often?
Give your child the means and a little bit of encouragement to pretend play and they’ll run with it. Our children are so observatory of their surroundings and also have tons of imagination. You’ll enjoy watching them and interacting with them as they explore their world through pretend play.
About the Author
Did you find this information useful and helpful? Be sure to sign up
for our bi-monthly newsletter so you can receive our child care tips
and family fun ideas right in your inbox! Sign up today at
www.kinderinfo.com/newsletter and receive a FREE copy of our latest
e-book, Summer Fun!
|
|
|
|
|
| PetSmart - Pet supplies and pet products for healthier, happier pets |
| Offering food, treats, collars, leashes, health products, shampoos, medication, toys, carriers, housing and other supplies for all pets. |
| www.petsmart.com |
|
| Pets 4 You.com - Dogs | Cats |
| A large resource for animal enthusiasts with a directory of breeders and links to sources offering pet supplies and products, and to rescues and shelters. |
| www.pets4you.com |
|
| Yahoo! Pets |
| Learn how to care for a new pet. Find information about breeds or adopt a dog. ... What questions on pets or pet nutrition do you have today? ... |
| pets.yahoo.com |
|
| Welcome to Healthypet.com! |
| Pet care resources by the American Animal Hospital Association to find a veterinarian, veterinary clinic or animal hospital for pets and provide pet care ... |
| www.healthypet.com |
|
| Dogs & Puppies - Next Day Pets |
| Directory of breeders and shelters with dogs and puppies for sale and pets for adoption. Search dogs and puppies by breed with information on 150+ dog ... |
| www.nextdaypets.com |
|
| Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a ... |
| Adopt a pet dog or cat from animal welfare organizations across the country. |
| www.petfinder.com |
|
| Welcome to Neopets! |
| A virtual pet website where visitors may adopt and care for pets, as well as play games and participate in contests, communities, and combat simulations. |
| www.neopets.com |
|
| Chicago Tribune | Pets |
| Click one of the buttons to show pets within that category. Click here to show all pets for sale. Search Tips. (e.g., Beagle, Persian) ... |
| www.legacy.com |
|
| Pet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| A pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment, as opposed to ... Some horse-like animals are suitable for human companionship as pets or as work ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Pets - Pet Breeders Pet Information Pet Classifieds |
| Pets - Pet, Hobby and Show Animals Pets Online Has Puppies For Sale, Pet Products, Pet Shops. |
| www.mypets.net.au |
|
| Defra, UK - Animal health and welfare - Bringing pets to Britain |
| Travel guide and information on qualifications, requirements, and fees for bringing a pet into the UK. |
| www.defra.gov.uk |
|
| Defra, UK - Animal health and welfare - Pet Travel Scheme |
| The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) is the system that allows pet dogs, ... For travel to France, the passport also replaces the PETS 5 certificate. ... |
| www.defra.gov.uk |
|
| Indiatimes - Pets |
| /photo.cms?msid=968871. You can post him queries and problems about your pets. ... Other beautiful animals: pets, wild cats & butterflies. PET ZODIACS ... |
| pets.indiatimes.com |
|
| AVMA Care for Pets Home Page |
| Articles that tell how to select a pet, how to care for various types of pets, and how to cope with the death of a pet. Includes a section just for kids. |
| www.avma.org |
|
| Dog and Pet T-Shirts and Gifts at CafePress.com : Shop Over 35 ... |
| Pet Gifts. Pet Gifts. Pet owners unite with fun t-shirts, hats and more. See all results... Categories within Pet Gifts ... |
| www.cafepress.com |
|
| Pet Lover Gifts : Find & Buy Gifts at CafePress.com |
| Shop millions of unique and custom pet designs - such as dog, cat, bunny, horse and other animals - available on t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, posters, ... |
| www.cafepress.com |
|
| PETS 911 pet adoptions thru local animal shelters |
| Offers hotline for lost and found pets, adoption, veterinarians, and animal shelters. |
| www.pets911.com |
|
| Pets |
| Most of us think of adopting pets for all the wrong reasons.. as a ... Pets has a way of listening without judging and loving its owner unconditionally. ... |
| www.webindia123.com |
|
| Mara Pets Games - Play Free Flash Games, Dress Up Games and ... |
| Mara Pets Games is a free virtual pet site with fun flash games and character dress up games. Three new games weekly! |
| www.marapets.com |
|
| Canada's pet information center for dogs cats and humans |
| Canadian pet information centre, featuring articles, bulletin board, dog breed profiles, cat breeds, and ask the vet sections. |
| www.pets.ca |
|
|