Our Pet Shop

This fall we had lots of fun playing in our pet shop. Everyone wanted to buy a pet and carry it around with them all day. We talked about how pets are a big responsibility. They need to be fed everyday, they need get exercise and they also need a place to sleep.

I found the kennels at the thrift store years ago. The cats and dogs I found at the dollar tree. It was fun to have matching pets on the shelf then clean up became a matching game. We used pom poms for our dog and cat food. We also have dog and cat dishes that came from the dollar tree.

Our fish tank on the table was the biggest hit though! I made large stuffed fish using two pieces of felt cut into a simple fish shape. I used the sewing machine and sewed around the edges. Once I sewed 3/4 of the way around the fish I put a little bit a stuffing inside the fish and then continued around the rest of the fish. I made two of each color of fish so the kids could work on matching again! The fish were very simple and took only an hour to create from start to finish.

This was the best part! I used the left over felt and cut it into 2 inch pieces. Then I put the felt pieces into an old parmesan cheese container. Felt fish food! Someone was always over feeding the fish! The pet shop also had 2 small plastic shoebox containers where the children could put the fish that they bought. In the bottom of the plastic aquariums there was a piece of blue fabric for water.

A price list also encouraged the kids to work on their math skills! I have younger kids currently so I only used the numbers 1-5.

There you have it. Hours of fun playing pet shop for under $15. Priceless!