**Note: This page is for educational inspiration. International Dog Day was founded by Colleen Paige. For official information and to learn more about the goals of this day, please visit her dedicated website at www.nationaldogday.com, or reputable animal welfare and adoption organizations such as the RSPCA (www.rspca.org.uk), Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (www.battersea.org.uk), or other local animal shelters.
Understanding International Dog Day in EYFS & KS1
Woof woof! International Dog Day, celebrated annually on August 26th, is a heartwarming global day dedicated to celebrating dogs of all breeds, pure and mixed. It aims to raise awareness about dog adoption, responsible pet ownership, and the importance of providing a safe and loving environment for all dogs. This special day was founded in 2004 by pet & family lifestyle expert Colleen Paige.
For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this day provides a wonderfully relatable and engaging theme for exploring pets, animals, and caring for living creatures. It's about fostering empathy, understanding responsibility, and appreciating the incredible bond between humans and dogs. This day offers fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about pets and animal welfare both meaningful and fun.
Why Is Teaching About Dogs & Pets Important for Young Children?
Integrating lessons about dogs and other pets into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) is incredibly important for fostering their social-emotional development, understanding of biology, and sense of responsibility. During their early years, children often have, or wish for, pets, making this a highly engaging topic.
Empathy and Care: Learning about the needs of a pet helps children develop empathy and understand what it means to care for another living being. This translates to caring for peers and the wider world.
Responsibility: Discussing pet ownership introduces concepts of responsibility, routines, and the consistent effort required to look after animals.
Understanding Life Cycles & Needs: Exploring what dogs (and other pets) need to thrive (food, water, shelter, exercise, veterinary care) introduces basic biological needs common to all living things.
Social-Emotional Connection: Pets often provide companionship and comfort, and discussing these bonds can open up conversations about feelings and relationships.
Language and Literacy: Learning about different dog breeds, their characteristics, and sounds expands vocabulary and provides rich opportunities for descriptive language and storytelling.
Real-World Connections: Many children have pets or know someone who does, making these lessons highly relevant and relatable to their own lives.
Engaging Dog & Pet Activities for International Dog Day (0-7 Year Olds)
Making International Dog Day a truly barking good experience is easy with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on discovery, creativity, and celebrating our loyal canine companions! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by the extensive range of printable resources we have available.
Here's some inspiration for bringing the joy of dogs and pets into your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)
"What Does a Dog Need?" Discussion: Start by discussing the essential needs of a dog. Use our 'What Does a Dog Need? Poster' and 'What Does a Dog Need? Poster - Colouring' to prompt discussion. You can then play 'What Does a Dog Need? Game' to reinforce these concepts.
Veterinary Surgery Role-Play: Set up a 'Veterinary Surgery Role-Play Pack' where children can pretend to be vets, nurses, or pet owners. Provide toy animals, bandages, and clipboards. This teaches about caring for sick animals and the role of vets.
Pet Description: Encourage children to describe their own pets (or an imaginary one) using our 'Pet Descriptions Game'.
'My Pet Can...' Activity: Provide drawing or writing sheets for children to illustrate what their pet (or a dog) can do. Our 'Pets - 'My Pet Can' drawing/writing/mark making sheets' are perfect for this creative expression.
Feed the Dog Pencil Control: Focus on fine motor skills with our 'Feed the Dog Pencil Control Mats' and 'Feed the Dog Pencil Control Sheets', where children can trace lines to "feed" the dog.
Bingo Song & Activities: Sing the classic nursery rhyme "Bingo" using our 'Bingo Song Words' and 'Bingo Song Words - Colouring'. Our 'Bingo - Illustrations' can accompany the song for visual engagement.
Pet-Themed Arts & Crafts: Provide various art supplies for children to draw, paint, or collage pictures of dogs or other pets. Our 'Pets Colouring' pages are ideal for this.
Pet Counting & Numeracy: Integrate maths by counting dogs, paws, or pet food. Our 'Pets Number Multimats - Playdough, Whiteboard & Pen or Loose Parts' are versatile for this. Our 'Pets 2-Piece Puzzles' and 'Pets 2-Piece Puzzles - Colouring' also offer counting and problem-solving.
'Our Pets' Display: Create a central display area to showcase children's work and learning about pets using our 'Our Pets' Banner'.
Planning Support: Don't forget to check out our 'Planning - Topic Plan Ideas - Animals' and 'Planning - Topic Plan Ideas - Pets' for broader context and more ideas.
These activities offer great inspiration for making International Dog Day a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering empathy, responsibility, and a love for animals.
To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.
Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘International Dog Day’
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Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'International Dog Day'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by Colleen Paige, the founder of this awareness day. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this day. For official information and to learn more about the goals of this day, please visit her dedicated website at www.nationaldogday.com, or reputable animal welfare and adoption organizations such as the RSPCA at www.rspca.org.uk, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home at www.battersea.org.uk, or other local animal shelters.
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