How to Teach About Animals and Responsibility Without Physical Animals

One does not have to have a physical animal to be able to teach kids about them! There are many different ways to teach about animals and responsibility without pets. This blog will go over a couple of different ways one can learn about animals without physically being near one.

How to Teach About Animals and Responsibility Without Physical Animals

Why Teach Without Physical Animals?

To teach children about pets, many schools had class pets. However, keeping class pets is cruel for the animal trapped in the cage or tank all day. Classrooms are not a proper home for an animal. Don’t forget the fact that animals can trigger children’s allergies and asthma. Thankfully, there are many fun, non-cruel ways of teaching kids about animals without actually having one.

Virtual Tours

During these times with COVID-19, we have all learned to adapt to doing things virtually. That goes for tours as well. Children’s Nature Retreat provides families with virtual tours in many different languages. These interactive Zoom tours allow you to choose an animal you would like to see and have a virtual interaction with them! The learning process doesn’t change! Kids can learn about animals and their habitats without physically being there.

Online Classes

Online classes on animals are an amazing way of learning about animals. Children’s Nature Retreat provides online classes that introduces students to different types of animals, giving them an opportunity to see them up close.

Toys

Toys are loved by all children and can teach them about responsibility and companion-animal care. Fun interactive toys that you could use to teach your kids about animals and responsibility include:

  • Stuffed Toys – You’ll be surprised by how children will take the task of caring for a stuffed toy pet seriously.
  • Robotic Animals – For more interaction, robotic pets are the way to go. These are commonly used in families who cannot have pets and for classrooms, where no animal should be forced to live. This gives children a more realistic experience of caring for a pet since they don’t have to leave it all up to their imagination.
  • Virtual Pets – As we can all see, we are currently living in the virtual age. We can take advantage of that and have virtual pets through mobile games and online programs! These wonderful educational games will allow kids to take care of virtual animals without the physical mess.

Plants

Believe it or not, plants share many characteristics with animals. They need to be given water and taken care of. This teaches kids about responsibility as they would have to water the plant, rotate the plant so that it can get even sunshine, and maybe even give it a little trimming. Caring for plants and animals have the same learning process and type of discipline.

There are many different ways to teach about animals and responsibility with having a physical animal! We hope this blog opened your mind to try new ways of teaching and learning! To learn more, visit our website or call (619) 320-4942.