Activity Overview
Girl Scouts learn how to take care of animals.
- Discuss with Girl Scouts the daily routines of animals and what they need every day to feel safe and healthy.
- Have Girl Scouts split into groups and pretend to be caretakers for an animal.
- Have Girl Scouts share their animals’ routines with the larger group.
Leader Guidance
Preparation: Before the start of the activity, set up care stations around the meeting place. Each station should show one part of taking care of an animal, like a vet checkup, grooming, feeding, or playtime. Make sure the correct supplies can be found at each station.
Say:
- An animal must have everything it needs in its habitat to survive and be happy.
- Whether it’s in the wild or in a home, animals generally follow a routine.
- Do you know what a routine is? (Wait for answers.)
- A routine is a plan you follow every day to help your life go smoothly and make sure you get what you need.
- Let’s think about your favorite animal! What would it need in its daily routine?
- As a pretend animal caretaker, you need to think about the most important parts of its routine, like mealtimes, vet visits, baths, and playtime.
- In this activity, we’ll learn how to care for an animal and make sure it has everything it needs.
Split Girl Scouts into small groups. Give the groups time to brainstorm what animals (real, stuffed, or imaginary) they’d like to pick for this activity. If you’ve brought stuffed animals, you can give one to each group.
Have the groups rotate through the prepared pet care stations, spending the same amount of time at each one. Encourage Girl Scouts to keep track of what they do at each station using paper and pencil.
At the end, bring everyone together and have each group share their caretaker routines.
Say:
- You all did a great job being responsible and kind while taking care of your animals today. You made sure they had what they needed to be comfortable, safe, healthy, and happy.
- Think about your animal for a moment. What was one thing you did as part of its routine that really helped take good care of it?
- These animals may be different from each other, and some have different routines. But if you look closely, many of these animals need the same things: food, water, a safe place to live, care for their bodies, and time to play and move.
