Taking Part In The Free Pets At Home My Pet Pals Workshop

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My 5-year-old daughter is animal crazy, she adores any kind of animal and has been asking us non-stop for the past three years for a pet mouse or hamster. As she was so young we did not want to get her a small furry pet just yet, we wanted to wait until she was old enough to care for the pet and to understand to be gentle with animals and to handle and treat them correctly. 

So when I heard about the FREE My Pet Pals summer workshops being held at Pets at Home stores across the country this summer I thought this was the perfect opportunity for her to learn about looking after a small furry animal. 

The My Pet Pals summer challenge is an hour-long workshop held in Pets at Home stores across the country, you simply visit  www.petsathome.com to book onto a workshop which is completely free of charge. 

When you attend the workshop you will also be given an activity booklet which has ten challenges for children to complete during the summer. My daughter has had great fun completing her booklet this past week as it encourages her to get active and also teaches her about caring for small pets. 

My Pet Pals Workshop

As mentioned the My Pet Pals Workshops are held in Pets at Home stores around the country, they are free to attend but you do need to pre-book online. They are hosted by the Pets at Home staff and they are a great way for children to learn about different pets and how to care for them. The staff member hosting the workshop was extremely friendly and you could tell she was knowledgeable about the animals and really cared about them, often telling the children about her own pets too. 

During the workshop, My daughter got to take part in some crafts, such as decorating rock creatures and colouring in some pictures before moving on to some animal care. She got to hold a guinea pig, rabbit and rat and then she got to feed them - which was a highlight for her. She learnt so much about the animals in the store and how to care for them and handle them correctly. She now wants a pet rat as she fell in love with Ant, the white rat in store. 

She enjoyed the workshop so much that I am tempted to re-book her on another workshop as she has not stopped talking about it. I highly recommend you book onto one if you have children who love animals. 

My Pet Pals Activity Booklet

At the end of the session, the children were handed an activity booklet to complete during the summer holidays. The booklet has lots of activities in and it also has the big summer challenge, which is 10 fun activities to get children active and learn more about small furry animals. If you complete the challenges you could also win some prizes, such as National Trust memberships and My Pet Pals goodies. 

The booklet is a great way to keep children entertained throughout the summer and my daughter has enjoyed completing the challenges the past two weeks. 

Attend A Workshop

The first two challenges were to attend a My Pet Pals Workshop, which we did.  We learned how to handle small furry animals, what food they like - the rabbits in the store didn't like carrots and preferred cabbage leaves! We also learned the best type of home for each pet. 

While in store we were encouraged to look for a hamster home and pick what we thought would be the perfect home for a small furry pet. 

Another one of the challenges we completed in store during the workshop was to make a pebble pal. Decorating large pebbles with paint, googly eyes and spots to create a bright and colourful pet ladybird. 

Hold A Bug In Your Hand 

Whilst playing in the garden we found a ladybird and as soon as she seen it my daughter had to hold it, letting it crawl on her hand. She loves bugs and is always picking up little creatures in the garden and claiming them as her pets before setting them free in the flowers.

Go On a Nature Walk

We all went on a family nature walk, complete with butterfly face-paint and a ladybird ring on the hunt for some strange noises we thought could be small creatures. We heard buzzing bees, fluttering butterflies, a crowing cockerel and some tweeting birds. 

Do 20 Bunny Hops & Pretend To Be A Small Furry Animal

She has spent lots of time practising her bunny hops around the garden, which was a great way to keep her active. 

Complete The Gerbil Maze

There is a gerbil maze in the booklet for children to complete, having never completed a one of these before I was amazed my daughter managed to complete it pretty quickly. 

Feed The Birds & Go On A Litter Picker Patrol

We have birds nesting on the side of our house and in our garden so we always have birds about and the children are always feeding them seeds and nuts in bird feeders. 

What We Thought

Before taking part in this challenge I was not sure what to expect, I thought the My Pet Pals Workshop might have been a way to entertain my children during the holidays for an hour but they have learnt so much. They now know how to handle small animals and have a basic understanding of how to care for them from attending the workshop. I also realised that a small pet like a pair of guinea pigs or a hamster would be great for the children, I just need to try and convince her dad its a good idea! 

I really do recommend the My Pet Pals Workshops at Pets at Home and I am sure if you book onto a workshop your child will enjoy it as much as mine did.