Developed in partnership with Education Services Australia

Involving your child in taking care of a pet can be a lovely way to develop your child's sense of responsibility. To nurture their literacy and numeracy skills at the same time, make sure to:

• use rich language when talking about your pet
  
  Our spaniel has a long, wavy coat and silky brown ears.
  
  Look how her ears are perked up, she's very keen to go on her walk!
• make comparisons
  
  Our tortoise is darker than grandma’s, but a lot bigger.
• read and talk about what your pet needs to stay happy and healthy
• take photos of your pet and write captions to share with the family
• write a timetable of the jobs related to your pet, who does them and how often they need to be done.

If you don't have a pet, your child can still read books about pets, wild animals, and animals of the past. They're all a good source of rich language, cool comparisons, and fascinating information!

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