Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Pet theme for 3 and 4 year olds: a week of activities

A pet theme lesson plan for 3 and 4 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (ten to fifteen minutes, with a child holding the book), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for 3 and 4 year oldsThe whole pet week

A day of the pet theme with 3 and 4 year olds

  1. Arrival, sign-in, and a job from the helper chart.
  2. Circle (ten to fifteen minutes): calendar, “What does a pet need every day?”, sing “three little kittens”, then Bev Has a Pet.
  3. Centers, with the craft at one table: paper-plate puppy.
  4. Letter P: trace it once, then hunt for P around the room.
  5. Snack: Turtle Sandwich, with children pouring and counting.
  6. Outside: walk the dog.
  7. Rest, then a longer read-aloud: Jem and Pug Sit.

Pet circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “What does a pet need every day?”
  4. Sing: Three Little Kittens.
  5. Read: Bev Has a Pet (level 1).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Pet theme books

  • Bev Has a Pet (level 1, free on peabody.kids): Guess Bev's pet, in a pattern little ones can say along.
  • Pup in the Tub (level 1, free on peabody.kids): Bath time for a puppy: caring for a pet.
  • A Cat and a Dog (level 3, free on peabody.kids): Two pets who become friends.
  • Jem and Pug Sit (read aloud, level 4): A read-aloud: a pug learning to sit.

Pet craft: Paper-plate puppy

You need (5): paper plate, brown paper ears (grown-up cuts), crayons, glue stick, a paper tongue.

  1. Draw the eyes and the nose.
  2. Glue the floppy ears on the sides.
  3. Glue the tongue under the nose and name your puppy.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Pet song: Three Little Kittens

The words

Three little kittens, they lost their mittens, And they began to cry, "Oh, Mother dear, we sadly fear Our mittens we have lost." "What! Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens! Then you shall have no pie." "Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow." "No, you shall have no pie."

Eliza Follen, 1843; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Pet snack

Turtle Sandwich from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Swap: Bread → gluten-free bread.

Letter P activities

PpP is for pet. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace P and p once, then find P in the room and in the book.

Outside activity: Walk the dog

Pairs take turns: one is the dog on all fours, one is the walker. Sit, stay, and walk slowly.

Pet theme for toddlersPet theme for 2 year oldsPet theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30