Discover the wonders of the animal kingdom and create fun crafts for your pets

Difficulty: Explorer (Level 1)

The animal kingdom is full of amazing creatures! Animals are living things that need food, water and air to survive. Unlike plants, animals cannot make their own food – they must eat other living things instead.

Millions of different animals exist – from the tiniest insects to the largest whales.

These fascinating beings come in all shapes and sizes.

Animals live all over the world, from the freezing Arctic to the hot deserts. They have special abilities that help them move, sense their surroundings and protect themselves. Some animals live in the water, while others live on land.

No matter where they are, animals are an important part of our world. We rely on them for food, clothing, and friendship. It is our job to protect them.

Paper plate cat

Materials

• white paper plate

• scissors

• markers or crayons

• yarn

• cotton ball

• coloured construction

• paper

• glue

Instructions

1. Cut two medium-sized triangles out of the construction paper. Make sure they are about the same size. These will be the ears for the cat.

2. You can then glue the bottom of the triangles to one side of the paper plate. Glue them to the back of the paper plate (the side you will not put the face). Make sure they stick up like ears.

3. Glue one cotton ball to the centre of the paper plate. This will be the nose.

4. Cut six equal-sized yarn strings – make sure they are not too long! These will be the whiskers.

5. Glue the whiskers to the nose of the cat so that they stick out to the sides of the plate.

6. Make sure the glue dries for the ears, nose and whiskers. Then you can draw the mouth from the nose as well as the eyes!

Make a toy for your pet

Materials

• an old sock

• cotton balls

• permanent marker

• ribbon or string (optional)

Instructions

1. Take the sock and draw some eyes and a mouth on it with the permanent marker. You could make the sock look like a fish or a mouse.

2. Stuff the sock with cotton balls. Try to pack them down tightly, but leave about two inches of sock empty at the top.

3. Tie the top of the sock in a knot as tightly as possible to make sure the cotton balls will not come out accidentally. You can also use a ribbon or string to tie it closed.

4. Drag the sock toy around for your cat or dog to catch!