Zuzana Clark

Art and Books

animals

What Do Animals Dream About?

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An Activity with Worksheets for Coloring and Drawing

One day Dusty met Helen. It was a lovely day, the sun was shining, and the birds were singing. It was a perfect day for dreaming.

Helen and Dusty sat next to each other and were watching nature around them.

Dusty the dachshund

Then Helen asked Dusty, “What do you dream about?”

“I dream about love. Love is the most important thing for me. Then I dream about dog food and sausages,” said Dusty and licked his lips. “Sausages are so good!”

“I see,” said Helen.

“I love playing,” Dusty continued. “I dream about my chew toys. And I dream about socks.”

“About socks?” asked Helen.

“Yes, I have a collection of them. I hide my socks under the bed and make them prettier by making holes in them,” Dusty explained. “One day, I’m going to open a sock museum.”

“I’m looking forward to visiting it,” Helen smiled. “What is your favorite place to dream, Dusty?”

“I like dreaming on my cushion,” said Dusty. “It’s so nice and soft!”

“Cushions are a nice place to dream on,” Helen agreed.

“And what about you, Helen?” Dusty asked his tiny friend. “What do you dream about?”

“I dream about a big piece of cheese,” said Helen.

“Yeah, cheese is also pretty good,” said Dusty as his mouth started watering again.

“The piece I dream about has lots of holes and smells delicious. And best of all, it’s magic!”

“Magic?” Dusty asked.

“Yes, when you nibble off a piece, it grows back. You never run out of cheese. There’s plenty of it for everyone.”

“I like this cheese,” said Dusty.

Helen continued dreaming, “I also dream about the sun, about tall soft grass, about tasty sunflower seeds, and about buttons. I like buttons.”

“They are too small for me,” said Dusty.

“You know what? I also dream about a big spool of thread. I could run on it with Jane. We would have loads of fun,” said Helen. She loved her twin sister.

“I could push the spool a bit with my nose and make it roll faster,” Dusty suggested.

“That would be great!” said Helen and clapped her paws.

“And what do you think other animals dream about?” Dusty wondered.

“I don’t know,” said Helen and scratched her head.

What do you think? What do other animals dream about? Do they dream about food all the time? Do you think animals have nightmares? If you could become an animal for one day, what animal would you choose?

What does a snail, a fish, a cat, a hedgehog, a frog, or a bird dream about? Color the pictures and draw their dreams!

You can download the printable worksheets in PDF here:

Worksheets Animals DreamDownload

10 Ways to Use a Thimble

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thimble, frog
The frog uses a thimble to practice leaping.
“I usually jump over it several times. Back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth. Then I do it all over again. I have to do a lot of exercise. Leaping is tough work,” says the frog.

thimble, salamander
The salamander waters plants with his thimble. He loves gardening.
“Watching the plants grow makes me happy,” the salamander smiles.

thimble, snail
The snail added a second bedroom to his house.
“Now I can invite guests for a party,” he thinks. “Maybe some tiny worms. Worms are always fun. Especially the wiggly ones.”
thimble, ants
The ants have meetings inside. Inside, they discuss anthill construction and how to avoid running into anteaters.
thimble, Striped Richard
Now we wonder what is Striped Richard doing in his thimble.
“It’s a perfect spot for playing hide-and-seek,” he explains.

thimble, mouse
The mouse has just returned from the forest. We can see she is carrying blueberries in her thimble.
“It’s my basket,” says the mouse. “I’ll make some blueberry pie for my friends.”
thimble, Rice Eater
The Rice Eater started using a thimble as a rice bowl. Now he eats his favorite meal from it. He sticks out his long tongue and enjoys his treat.
“Mmmm… rice is so good!”
thimble, squirrel
The squirrel wears it as a hat.
“How do you like it? It’s the latest fashion,” she says. “It makes a perfect match for my fluffy tail.”

thimble, lizard
The lizard sits on it.
“It’s my chair,” she says proudly.
What do you think, is it comfortable?

thimble, mole
The mole likes music and his thimble serves him as a drum.
“Tap, tap, tap,” goes the mole. “One day I’ll join a marching band!”



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Art Game with Cards

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Cards

This game is meant for both kids and adults, parents, art teachers, artists of all kinds, tired people after a long day at work who want to relax, and everyone who wants to have fun and loves drawing and painting.

I would love to see your results:-)

Your task is to make a picture using five items you pick out.

First, you make your cards. There are five groups of them:

Animals

Activities

Objects

Food and Drinks

Miscellaneous (a mixture of animals, activities, things to eat and drink, and objects).

For each group, I made 20 cards. That means 100 cards in total, which is a lot of cutting. But it is said that cutting paper has a soothing effect:-)

You can download my cards in PDF here:Download

This game can be varied. You can use my list of items, add your own cards, or make up a completely new list.

When your cards are ready to use, you draw one card from each group. These are your items. Make a picture using all five of them.

Here are 5 important rules to follow:

Rule #1 Technique

You can use any technique you like. You may choose a pencil, watercolors, colored pencils, wax crayons, pen and ink, markers, or you can make a picture in sand using a stick. It’s up to you. It doesn’t matter whether you make your picture on a sheet of paper or a napkin. Feel free to use any surface you please. Just make sure you are allowed to draw on it. (Making doodles on walls and furniture probably isn’t a good idea).

Rule #2 Time and place

It’s not important where or when you make your picture. You can create it outdoors on a sunny day, indoors on a rainy day, in your favorite armchair, in your least favorite rickety chair, in the grass, under a cherry tree, on the beach, or at your desk. It is highly recommended not to make your picture inside a cage with a lion or in water with an alligator swimming around.

Rule #3 Silliness

The crazier your picture gets, the better. The animals don’t have to be the only ones to do the activities. Why couldn’t a tomato play tennis? Why couldn’t a paperclip wear a tiny hat? Why couldn’t a pillow eat a rice dish with chopsticks? You don’t even have to respect sizes. An elephant can be tiny and a bug huge. A button can be bigger than a watermelon. Why not? It’s your world and you are the one who makes the rules.

Rule #4 Adding other items

Your picture can be made by using only the five items you pick. But as long as you use all your five items, you can add anything else to your picture. Remember, you are the boss.

Rule #5 Have fun

This is the most important rule. Enjoy your time playing this game, unleashing your creativity, and trying out new things.

For my pictures, I have used these items:

GROUP 1 Animals: a duck, a cat, a dog, an anteater, a rabbit, a crocodile, a tiger, a swan, a mole, a fish, a seal, a flamingo, an owl, a whale, a bear, a snake, a snail, an elephant, a lion, a giraffe

GROUP 2 Activities: reading, painting, flying in a hot-air balloon, watching birds, swimming, drinking milk, playing tennis, dancing, cooking, eating with chopsticks, decorating a cake, ice skating, singing, making footprints, building a sandcastle, sleeping, dreaming, skiing, wearing a hat, running

GROUP 3 Objects: a button, a car, a scarf, a pencil, a rug, a key, a paper boat, a guitar, a paperclip, an armchair, a doll, a ring, a fork, an umbrella, a shoe, a bottle, a pillow, a ladder, a glove, a toothbrush

GROUP 4 Food and Drinks: a pineapple, an apple, a potato, a banana, an orange, a cucumber, a teabag, chocolate, spaghetti, a watermelon, a carrot, ice cream, a lemon, a plum, cherries, candy, rice, beans, coffee, grapes

GROUP 5 Miscellaneous: a dinosaur, a dragon, a ball of thread, a slug, a lamp, a sock, a tomato, a beetle, a dragonfly, a butterfly, making soap bubbles, grass, a tree, a mountain, a jar, a starfish, jumping, a snowman, a cookie, a flower

I have played three rounds of this game. This is what I got:

1.

  • A FLAMINGO
  • DECORATING A CAKE
  • A PLUM
  • A BUTTON
  • A DRAGONFLY
art game with cards

2.

  • A WHALE
  • FLYING IN A HOT-AIR BALLOON
  • BEANS
  • A RUG
  • A BEETLE
art game with cards

3.

  • A FISH
  • SWIMMING
  • A LEMON
  • A KEY
  • A SNOWMAN
art game with cards

An Interview with Dusty the Dachshund

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Z: Today, I have my friend Dusty the dachshund here with me. Hi Dusty.

D: Hi Zuzana.

Dusty the Dachshund

Z: Dusty, is your ear wet?

D: Yes, unfortunately when you have long ears like mine, they hang down into my water bowl every time I get a drink.

Z: Oh, I see… So Dusty, tell us what do you like?

D: I like making people happy. Then I like eating puppy treats, wagging my tail, and going for walks. I like having my fur brushed. I like licking people´s hands. People are so tasty… They are like lolly-pops. I also like sticking my nose into slippers. Slippers are warm and cozy. My nose is long and it fits perfectly inside there. I think everybody should try that.

Z: I’m afraid not everybody has such a long nose like you.

D: You’re right. I’m a long dog with a long nose. I also like playing with my toy frog. I got it for Christmas. It’s green and round so it just barely fits into my mouth. I like carrying it around and nibbling at it. I also had a toy owl. It was red and purple, but it lost its head.

Z: How could an owl lose its head?

D: I was chewing and chewing, until one day I chewed the head off.

Z: OK, OK, let’s not scare our readers, Dusty. Let’s move on to my next question. Do you like when someone reads to you?

D: I love listening to stories. When you read to me, I feel like I am part of the adventure. I always listen carefully so I don’t miss anything. When you were preparing the book about me to be published, you were reading it aloud. It was good because that day there was a terrible storm and I was scared. When I heard your voice, I wasn’t afraid anymore. Human voices have a wonderful sound. It is the same thing with my barking. You also enjoy it.

Z: How do you know I enjoy your barking?

D: I am sure you enjoy it. Everybody likes my shrill voice that can be heard far far away. Oh, I almost forgot. I also like making holes in socks. What about you Zuzana, do you like making holes in socks?

Z: Not really. I like wearing socks.

D: It’s fun. It’s also fun to tear paper.

Z: What do you enjoy about tearing paper?

D: The small pieces look like snow. And I like snow. Snow is soft. I like jumping in it in winter and rolling in it.

Z: Aren’t your paws cold?

D: No, I have my furry socks. They keep me warm.

Z: Really?

D: You haven’t noticed? I wear them all the time. They are fluffy and red.

Z: Oh, now I see. You mean the fur on your feet.

D: Yep. Maybe I could borrow some of your paint and I could dye them blue. I like blue. Or purple.

Z: You would leave footprints everywhere. But I must admit it would look cool. What… what are you doing?

D: Sorry, I was just nibbling at my tail. I was looking for some fleas.

Z: But you don´t have any fleas, do you?

D: No, I was just thinking it would be fun to find one. I would give him a name. I would call him Rudolph. I could train Rudolph to do somersaults. And if I met a big dog, Rudolph would bite him. I know it isn’t nice, but I would use my flea only if the dog was mean to me.

Z: I see…

D: Zuzana, may I lick your nose?

Z: OK… Th… thank you, that was a sweet kiss. My next question is, how would you like to spend your perfect evening?

D: I would love to stay in a butcher’s store. (Dusty is licking his mouth and nose). I could eat all the sausages and ham over there. I like sausages and ham.

Z: Is there anything you really don’t like?

D: I don’t like storms. And I don’t like when someone is too noisy. I get scared. I am also afraid of fireworks.

Z: I understand that. If you could become a different animal for one day, which animal would you choose?

D: Let me see… I think I would like to be a human for one day.

Z: Why would you like to be a human?

D: I could see the world from above. I have very short legs so I like when you pick me up. Everything looks interesting from up there. I wouldn’t need to jump up on a chair to see what is on the table. Maybe it would be interesting to be a spider for one day. I would like to try making cobwebs. Can I have a cookie, please?

Z: Yes, as soon as the interview is over you will get one. Just one last question. What message would you send to our readers?

D: Keep smiling. And if you have a tail, wag it as much as possible.

Z: Thank you very much for the interview. Here is your cookie.

D: Thank you. CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH…

Dusty the Dachshund and the Snake
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