Does Your Child Have a Love of Animals? Here Are 101 Fun Things to Do!

Is your child obsessed with animals? Then keep his passion in mind when planning your day’s activities.

Here are 101 fun things to do with a little one who has a love of animals:
 

1. Go to a zoo.
2. Get a pet fish.
3. Train your dog to do tricks.
4. Grab some frosting and make different animal prints on a fresh batch of cupcakes.
5. Go horseback riding.
6. Head to an aquarium.
7. Visit a farm.
8. Frame a photo of your child and his pet.
9. Make homemade dog treats.
10. Put a birdhouse in your backyard.
11. Go whale watching.
12. Visit animals at a pet store.
13. Adopt a cat or dog.
14. Watch the Kentucky Derby.
15. Make cardboard-tube farm animals.
16. Grab all of your child’s stuffed animals and create a pretend zoo.
17. Visit a nature preserve.
18. Watch dogs play at a dog park.
19. Make a sea-turtle sun catcher.
20. Research animal mascots and pick your favorites.
21. Give your child a tadpole-growing kit.
22. Buy some special cookie cutters and make animal-shaped treats.
23. Look for squirrels, chipmunks or rabbits outside.
24. Decorate some paper plates to look like different animal faces.
25. See livestock at a state fair.
26. Watch a movie that stars an animal.
27. Walk a neighbor’s dog.
    
28. Visit a dinosaur museum.
29. Volunteer at an animal shelter.
30. Download fun animal apps.
31. Visit an animal sanctuary or wildlife preserve.
32. Decorate cards with animal stamps or stickers.
33. Look for animals on a nature hike.
34. Sing and dance to animal-themed songs.
35. Decorate your child’s room with animal artwork.
36. Get your child a toy veterinarian kit that he can use on his stuffed animals.
37. Foster a pet for a deployed military member.
38. Whip up some teddy-bear toast.
39. Subscribe to “Ranger Rick” magazine.
40. Grab some old clothes and try to make animal costumes.
41. Go to a pond or lake to look for turtles and fish.
42. Read the “National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia.”
43. Ask a veterinarian if she can talk to your child about her job.
44. Use face paint to turn your child into a little lion or butterfly.
45. Play animal-themed video games.
46. Turn snack bags into butterflies.
47. Hang an animal-themed calendar in your child’s bedroom.
48. Study bird songs.
49. Study endangered animals.
50. Put together an animal jigsaw puzzle.
51. Get tickets to a dog show.
52. Visit a natural-history museum.
53. Go bird-watching.
54. Subscribe to “Zoobooks” magazine.
55. Watch bats take flight at New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns.
56. Plan a trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
57. Make balloon animals.
58. Play animal-themed Pictionary.
59. Buy your child zebra- or leopard-print clothing.
60. Make a forest diorama out of a shoe box. All you’ll need is construction paper, cotton balls and small plastic animal figurines.
61. Grab some Legos and try to make different animal shapes.
62. Take turns making animal sounds and guessing which animal the other is impersonating.
63. Transform hot dogs into octopi.
64. Throw a dinosaur birthday party. Check out Great Birthday Party Ideas for Boys for some inspiration.
65. Dress your child up as a zookeeper.
66. Make animal masks.
67. Have a dance party using animal moves (waddle like a penguin, hop like a bunny, etc.).
68. Color in an animal-themed coloring book.
69. Pet-sit for friends.
70. Visit a butterfly garden.
    
71. Watch Disney’s “Monkey Kingdom.”
72. Borrow animal books from the library.
73. Contact your police department to see if your child can meet a police dog.
74. Cut out animal pictures from magazines to make a collage.
75. Go to a cat show.
76. Each day, pick an animal and eat something it eats (bananas for monkeys, carrots for rabbits, etc.)
77. Watch Animal Planet.
78. Make animal puppets out of old socks.
79. Go to a safari park.
80. Watch the National Zoo’s live video stream of their giant pandas.
81. Make a donation to an animal shelter in your child’s name.
82. Have your child fill out an “All About My Pet” worksheet.
83. Make cheesy turkey snacks.
84. Play Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
85. Grab a camera, go for a walk and have your child pretend to be a nature photographer.
86. Watch a live video stream of San Francisco’s sea lions on Pier 39.
87. See wild ponies in North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras.
88. Make animal imprints in play dough.
89. Learn about animals on the National Geographic Kids website.
90. Decorate animal bookmarks.
91. Snack on animal crackers.
92. Visit a petting zoo.
93. Make a bean mosaic owl.
94. See if your library offers a program through which kids can read to dogs.
95. Learn how to make animal-shadow puppets.
96. Play animal-themed charades.
97. Build a homemade squirrel feeder.
98. Make a scrapbook featuring pictures of your child and her pets.
99. Try to catch lightning bugs.
100. Buy an ant farm.
101. Make animal bean bags.

What else have you done to foster your child’s love of animals? Tell us in the comments below!

Jennifer Marino Walters is a Washington, D.C.-based writer who specializes in parenting and lifestyle topics. She writes a mom blog, Double Duty Twins.