A Mom's Quest to Teach: Learning about the Alphabet: D is for Dogs

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Learning about the Alphabet: D is for Dogs

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Over the course of twenty-six posts, I will introduce my own simple lessons for the letters of the alphabet. I will provide enough ideas and suggestions for a week's worth of activities.

For the letter D, we focused upon Dogs.

There are so many different breeds of dogs - anywhere from approximately 180 to over 300 depending on which organization you are consulting for registered types. It is very easy to pick up a few books at the library and read about this amazing species.

Does your family own a dog? Do you have a favorite breed of dog? I think my favorite is the Weimaraner. We had one for a while when I was young. She was such a beautiful and kind dog.

Did you know that a dog's nose is very similar to a human's fingerprint in that each dog's nose print is unique?

Did you know that a dog's nose has over 300 million receptors? Compare that to the human's 5 million...who do you think has a better sense of smell?

Why does your dog curl up into a ball to go to sleep? Dogs do this to protect their vital organs. They would have needed to do this when they were living in the wild to protect themselves from attacks by predators.

Coloring Sheets

The following two sites have a variety of realistic and cartoon dogs for children to color:

Super Coloring's Dog Coloring Pages
Best Coloring Pages for Kids' Free Printable Dog Coloring Pages for Kids

Projects

Coffee Filter Dog Craft

Create your own dog with crayons, construction paper, glue, markers and a coffee filter. The great thing with this craft is that you could make it look like any number of cute dog breeds.

Books

Book Club: Pug Pals

In this cute book, pugs Sunny and Rosy learn how to cooperate together to retrieve Sunny's missing bunny toy. Check out my post in which I show you how to make a Sunny or Rosy puppet and a bunny toy for them to share.

Harry the Dirty Dog Activity for Tots

After reading Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, your child will learn about how Harry prefers to stay dirty and help him get dirty using the printable provided. If you laminate your dog, then you can clean him up, too!

Soldier Dog

If you have older children in your family and want them to join in the learning about dogs, check out this review by A Net In Time. Soldier Dog by Sam Angus is a story about the messenger dogs of World War I appropriate for ages 9 to 12 years old.

Featured Shape

If you and your children are working on drawing dogs this week, try using curved triangles and ovals as your starting points.

Activities

Many libraries host "Read to a Dog" programs where children can read storybooks to dogs to help them gain confidence in reading aloud.

If your children are old enough, you can research about volunteering at a local animal shelter. If you cannot volunteer at an animal shelter, your family could always start a collection to supply one with food, treats, and other needed items for the dogs and cats.

Other Topics

D is for Door

You can decorate your door for any holiday or season by adding the appropriate crafting materials. For example, for the springtime, your child could add flowers around the outside or raindrops falling upon the door.

Ducks

You could study ducks with your child. Listening to songs like Six Little Ducks, making your own duck puppets, or reading books like The Story About Ping.