Dog Theme | Paper Crafts | Alphabet Letter D Theme | Pets | Preschool Lesson Plan Printable Activities

Themes

Instructions and Suggestions

Materials

Dog, dogs, dogs! Yes, dogs are believed to be human's first domesticated animal and pet.  The dog has been given the title of:   "Honorary Human"  Why?

Dogs and human beings started a wonderful friendship more than 14,000 years ago! That was a long time ago! For this reason we will start to celebrate the joy of pets and the joy they bring to us by paying tribute to them, since they have certainly earned that right.  Dogs have an endless list of good attributes and help human beings in almost every area:  in the beginning they  started helping us search for food, later they gave us many other gifts:  friendship, unconditional love, protection, safety, search and rescue, safeguarding liberty, helping the disabled population, and  because of their love and companionship they help us live longer and healthier lives!  Again this is just a fraction of what they have done and do for us.

Important Note:  Below are a series of activities to chose from.  You may want to extend the  dog theme over a three day period  or more (with breaks in between).  There is a lot of fun activities that can be done and introducing alphabet letter D (dog) or letter P (puppy) is very effective with this theme.  Tip: Choose one lengthy activity or two short ones per day to keep the momentum.

Literature / Literacy:
Ideally it is important to  include related literature to the activities -- here are some suggestion off line and online you may want to consider in the dog theme.

Activity #1:  Learning and Viewing Images of Dogs   -  All Ages
Many children may already have a dog, or neighbor or relative that owns one, so probably they might be familiar with them.  Depending upon these factors, you can start discussing what does the child know about dogs, what s/he likes or dislikes about dogs, etc.  Other children may be familiar with famous dog book characters or TV cartoon characters.  These are all good vehicles to start a dialogue and choose art and crafts activities and literature that will keep the children motivated to learn about this beloved animal and letter D.

View and Learn about Dogs Online
Here are a number of images (click to enlarge), some with sound you may want to view together and each has some valuable information about dogs.

Activity #4:   Dog Crafts
There are numerous wonderful crafts and coloring page activities to choose from.  To motivate and keep the children interested you may want to choose the craft based on what type of dog the child likes or has at home.  Also, children may prefer to choose a famous book character or TV/cartoon character. 

Here are some suggestions to help you choose a craft or coloring page activity.  These crafts are divided in two sections:  generic ones and book or cartoon character related:  
1.  Generic Dog Crafts:  A generic dog craft works well with large groups so everyone is doing the same craft and easier to manage by the educator or child care provider.  The easiest is the first - a paper bag puppet but it can also be attached to two craft sticks (3 pieces).  The other crafts require a toilet paper tube or print on card stock and you can still roll the template to form the cylinder shape:

* Dog or Puppy with a Bone Craft (5 pieces)
This is a very easy craft for young children.

*Dog or Puppy Paper Bag Puppet Craft - Easy 3-piece
Matching Alphabet Letter D Dog and P Puppy printable support materials.

Other external links to dog or puppy crafts:
    
    * Dalmatian Dog Craft -- this is a good choice to pay tribute to dogs that assist Fire fighters and to discuss fire safety.
   * Alphabet Buddy - Doctor Doggy Craft  - Career Veterinarian Ages 2+ and older
This is just a wonderful way to introduce the letter D and a great craft for larger groups.  Print your choice of black and white or color version.  Children will "dress" the letter and will have a Doctor Doggy.  This is a good opportunity to discuss the career of veterinarian and what they do to care for dogs.  You may want to consider inviting a veterinarian or veterinary assistant to come to the preschool or childcare facility to give a fun presentation.

2.  Book or TV/Cartoon Characters - These dog crafts work well when activities are conducted at home or at family child care facility with one child or smaller group. The children can choose among their favorite characters and can be easily combined with a guided video activity, watching and discussing a TV program or a book:
    * Blue's Clues- Choose from one of these toilet paper tube crafts (3+)  Blue or Magenta or this Big Blue paper craft (2+) that can be dressed with various theme hats or without a hat. 
    *  Disney's Goofy
    *  Peanuts - a number of crafts to choose from.
    *  Scooby Doo - craft or coloring page/poster
    
    
Activity #3:  Alphabet Lesson Plan and Support Materials for D is for Dog and P is for Puppy

Introduce letter D Dog or P Puppy to reinforce letter recognition.  Older children can practice initial letter tracing. Choose from black and white version (to color image) or color version.  

Tip for Tracer Pages:  Insert in a transparent page sleeve and use with dry-erase markers to be make the tracer reusable.  Practice only one line at a time with breaks to keep the child motivated.
     
Activity #4:  Dog Coloring Pages Activity

1.  Children will love these coloring page images and can also be used for display during presentation of the theme, decorate a bulletin board, use as the front cover for a homemade coloring book, or as an award.   
2.  Supply a number of materials other than crayons to decorate them.  Fill the tails of other parts of the dogs body with yarn, or thin strips of tissue paper, raffia or left over ribbon to simulate hair.  Use watercolors, sponges, or edible finger paints for the younger crowd.  
3.  Surprise the children with a coloring book with 4 to 5 pages as the grand finale of the dog theme activities.  
4.  A large group can color different dog images, cut around the images and decorate a large paper bone cut out to make a fun bulletin board.  Add the letter D inside the images.

Online Puzzles:  Dog running with stick
Skill:  Problem solving
Enjoy this online puzzle.  These are great for a break and the whole family can enjoy them by adjusting the amount of pieces from 6 to 247 - click on the change cut button.

Refer to instructions for printable dog crafts links.

Most of the crafts suggested require:
*printer
*scissors
*paper, card stock or 
construction
paper
*glue or glue stick
*something to
color with

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