Free Ways to Learn About Community Helpers – Veterinarians
Published:
December 23, 2020
Contributor:
Jeannette Tuionetoa
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Teaching our children about community helpers is a great way for them to appreciate service, give thanks to those who provide service, and to be good servants themselves. These free ways to learn about veterinarians specifically, will be a great place for kids to start.
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Most of the children I know love pets and animals. Whether it be curious children who like to discover how animals function or other children who are cuddle bugs with their own pets, kids enjoy animals.
That is why many kids find it intriguing that they can be both doctors AND “play” with pets all day. To some of our kids, that is just the ultimate awesome job.
One of my oldest friend’s daughters has made this a reality. This year she flew from New York to Arizona to complete her studies as a veterinarian after completing her undergraduate studies in biology.
One little girl’s dream to play with animals all day and be a doctor will become a reality in just a few short years. How cool is that?!
How important are vets?
Veterinarians (Vets) do so much more than play with animals all day. Pets are part of most of our families, and these doctors make sure that they are healthy, safe, and cared for.
I live in a second world country with no full-time veterinarian. With so many animals on the island and no veterinarian, our community had often been left with absolutely no help for their animals.
Before 2020, South Pacific Animal Welfare (SPAW) – a NZ based charity, partnered with our government ministries to provide veterinary services for our little country. SPAW paid us a visit for a weeks’ time every quarter to treat as many animals as they could.
SPAW would leave medical supplies behind with a few trusted citizens, so that people could reach out to them if they needed minor meds or treatments for their pets.
The SPAW team was due to come in February 2020, but unfortunately, 2020 had different plans for us all.
There was still some hope…
Thankfully, this very year (2020) a group of six awesome individuals – passionate about animals and their welfare- got together to form Tonga Animal Welfare Society, known as TAWS.
TAWS helps support the community with challenges they may face when it comes to animal care. They rock! I know two of these ladies personally and they truly are precious humans who care for the community.
If you want to find out more about TAWS, please feel free to stop by their website HERE. They sell items and have “sausage sizzles” to raise money for their needs and let me put their caseload into perspective.
In just the last two days, they have serviced over 42 dogs, including anything from dispersing meds to burns and car accidents. I am not sure how they do it, but they try their very best.
My kids and I just never gave a second thought to how important veterinary services were to our communities, until moving to a place where it wasn’t readily available.
Vets and animal care workers are definitely one of the community helpers that more often than not, lack the appreciation they deserve.
If you are studying community helpers this coming year, please include veterinarians.
Write them “thank you” notes, bake the staff some cookies or even go global and donate to TAWS on an island across the oceans that desperately needs the help.
Explore these FREE ways to learn about community helpers – veterinarians – in your homeschool:
Veterinarian! A Community Helper Preschool / Kindergarten Series | The Disguised SuperMom
FREE Vet Printable Coloring Page | MomJunction
Learn about Animal Health with the Community Helper for V | Life with Moore Babies
Veterinarian for Kids | Kids.Kiddle.co
How to become a Veterinarian | Easy Science for Kids
Kids who want to be veterinarians can prepare from a young age | The Ann Arbor News
Veterinarian Unit Study 2.0 | The Waldock Way
Teaching Children to Love Animals – A Veterinarian’s POV | Forever Freckled
Becoming a Veterinarian | KidzWorld
Vets in Action Primary Source | NATGEO Kids
When I Grow Up – I Want To Be A Vet | Simple Living Mama
Veterinary Animal Care Unit Study | Eclectic Homeschooling
Check out these free resources and unit studies on animals and pets:
FREE Equine Science Unit Study Resources
Ideas for Creating a Pet Unit Study | The Homeschool Mom
8 Top Websites Where Kids Can Learn About Animals | Scholastic.com
FREE Cats Unit and Lapbook | Homeschool Share
Dog FREE Unit Study | The Homeschool Scientist
Alaska/ Sled Dog/ Iditarod unit study and lapbook | I Choose Joy
Montessori Inspired Turtle Unit | Mama’s Happy Hive
FREE Turtle Printables And Montessori-Inspired Turtle Activities | Living Montessori Now
Teach your kids with animal/pet-themed printables:
Pets FREE Printable Pack (K-3) | Money Saving Mom
FREE Emergent Readers About Pets | The Measured Mom
Pets Preschool Activities Pack | PreKPrintableFun
Blocks & Stem Center… Building Pet Homes (A FREEBIE) | Pocket of Preschool
Pets & Their Homes Matching FREE Activity | totschooling
My Pet Fish Art Project | Fantastic, Fun, and Learning
Animal X-Rays Matching Activity FREE | totschooling
Use these free worksheets about veterinarians to go alongside your lessons:
Veterinarian Community Helper FREE Worksheet | AllKidsNetwork
FREE Veterinarian Worksheet | AllKidsNetwork
Veterinarian FREE Downloadable Worksheet | Education.com
Veterinarian Center FREEBIES | Mrs Perez Teacher Tools
Head to the library to check out some books about being a vet and having pets:
Books About Pets For Preschoolers | Pre-K Pages
Good Books About Veterinarians And Zookeepers | Pre-K Pages
Books about Community Helpers for Pre-K | PreKInders
Top 10 Books for Kids Wanting to Be a Vet | KidzWorld
Create a veterinary office visit dramatic/pretend play area:
Vet Animal Hospital Dramatic Play | Pre-K Pages
Pretend Play Box – Veterinarian | Growing Play
Dramatic Play Vet Animal Hospital | Pocket of Preschool
Pretend Play Vet’s Office with FREE Printable | Mess for Less
Dramatic Play Veterinarian’s Office Printables | Pre-K Pages
FREE Printable Vet Office Pretend Play Sheet | MomDot
Pretend Play Vet Clinic Printables For Kids | Simple Everyday Mom
Vet Clinic – Pretend Play | No Time for Flash Cards
Ace Pet Vet Plus Dramatic Play | Things to Share and Remember
Pretend Play Veterinarian’s Office | Playdough to Plato
Vet Clinic Dramatic Play Center | Play to Learn Preschool
Be a Pet Vet: Veterinarian Name Tags FREE | Unstoppable Mrs Kinne
Vet Clinic Dramatic Play Activity | Teaching Mama
FREE Vet Clinic Dramatic Play | KinderMyWay
Vet Center FREE Printable | Kindergarten Night Owls
Enjoy some hands-on activities and games all about veterinary services:
FREE Vet Printables | Moms and Munchkins
DIY Toy Stethoscope | Serving Pink Lemonade
Vet Clinic Activities | ikatbag
Animal X-Rays on the Light Table | Where Imagination Grows
Veterinarians – Theme and activities | Educatall
Watch videos about veterinarians and what they do:
Visit the Veterinarian | Sesame Street
So You Want To Be a Vet? – Awesome Animal Vets | NATGEO Kids
I Want To Be a Veterinarian | RADICAL JR
Kids Meet a Pet Vet | HiHo Kids
How To Draw A Veterinarian | Art for Kids Hub
Story time: Paula the Vet by Julia Donaldson | Oxford Owl – Learning at Home
Vet Clinic TV | Children’s Museum Houston
You can share these free ways to learn about community helpers – veterinarians – but why stop there?
Don’t miss out on our other resources for studying more community helpers with your students:
Printables About Community Helpers
Free Community Helpers Printables
Free Community Helpers Handwriting Practice
Help those community helpers – veterinarians – who help our furry (and some not so furry) loved ones throughout the year!
The Tonga Animal Welfare Society can be reached via email at [email protected] or check them out on Facebook and Instagram.
