All about my pet: a printable worksheet for kids

What’s on the worksheet

• Page 1: my name and the date, a big box to draw my pet or stick on a photo, my pet’s name, age, color and birthday, and tick boxes for what kind of pet it is.
• My pet’s favorite things: food, toy, place to sleep and game, and a box for something funny my pet does.
• Page 2: “How I help care for my pet”, eight jobs with a box for “I do it” and one for “with a grown-up”.
• Three boxes to write in: why my pet is special, what it needs every day, and my favorite thing to do together.
• Big labels and wide writing lines. Print it on US Letter or A4, or fill it in on a tablet.

Jobs that fit the age

The jobs on page 2 come from age-by-age advice. The American Kennel Club says children of 3 or 4 can scoop food, refill water bowls and put toys away, with an adult watching; from about 5 they can do more of the feeding and clean up spilled food or water; tweens can handle most daily care. The American Academy of Pediatrics lists filling a pet’s food dish for ages 5 to 7 and walking a pet for ages 8 to 10.

For a young child, “with a grown-up” is a good answer. The worksheet is about noticing what a pet needs, not about handing the care over.

Washing hands is a job too

The CDC asks everyone to wash their hands with soap and water after touching or playing with a pet, after feeding it or handling its food, and after cleaning up after it, and adults should help young children do it. That is why the last job on the list is washing hands.

How to use it

1. Print one copy per child, or let them type into the fields on a tablet.
2. Read the prompts aloud to children who are still learning to read, and let them draw instead of writing.
3. Go through the jobs together and tick the boxes honestly.
4. In a classroom, children without a pet can fill it in about a pet they know or would like to have.
5. Hang the finished sheet on the fridge or bring it to a pet show-and-tell.

• Dog chore chart for kids, by age
• Weekly pet care schedule for the family