Pets (or stuffed animals if you don't have a pet around) are a great way to get fully immersed in the present moment. Pets have a lot to observe and are often calming as well.
As with all mindfulness activities, you'll want to take a step to get settled into the moment and acknowledge a focus on one thing, right here, right now. This can be done by asking your child to come sit down next to you, to put their (& your!) phone in the other room, or maybe sit in your lap if they are having a tough time. Take a few deep breaths in together.
Call your pet over, or sit yourself near the pet (or grab a stuffed animal). You may want to use a few treats or toys, whatever you know will keep your pet around for 10 - 15 minutes.
Mindful Observation Prompts
To start, ask your child to tell you what they see on the pet. If they need some help, provide a few ideas, and attention to detail is great here, but also, anything they offer is perfect.
Does our pet have ears? What color are they? What texture?
What do you see on the fur/skin/shell/feathers? Tell me all about it.
Expand into as many other body parts / aspects of the pet as you see your kiddo has patience for.
If the pet is moving around, ask about how it moves. Is it bending arms or legs, flitting wings, or rolling around?
Then, move into the other senses.
Do you hear any noises our pet makes?
Take a big sniff, what does our pet smell like?
Pet or touch the animal (if appropriate) and talk about how it feels. Offer some vocabulary if needed - is it soft, smooth, rough, wet, dry, fluffy, and so on.
Staying in the Observation, avoid fixing or "teaching"
It may feel natural to explore beyond what you observe into teaching your child about the animal. If this happens, simply bring your and your child's attention back to simply observing. No judging, solving, or teaching.
If you have a pet without ears, like a turtle, observe what you and your kiddo see. Simply observe. "Oh, I see some holes where ears would be. Do you see that? How big are they?" Avoid things like "Turtles don't have ears because..."
There is nothing to accomplish here. This is a teachable moment only through mindful observation, not through sharing of facts.
Your child is likely to go on a tangent. This is absolutely fine and they should not ever be made to feel that they are doing it "wrong." Simply guide them back to the moment. "Oh! great comment on how the ears work. Do you see the pet's eyes? Are they round or another shape?"
If you find you or your child making assumptions, (for example, "I think he's going to go outside and pee soon.") loop back to observation. "What do you see/hear that makes you think that may happen?"
Try this once a week!
Pets or stuffed animals are excellent mindful anchors to use regularly. Perhaps you have a Tuesday Check-In with Fido day that is a special 15 minute session with you and your kiddo at the same time on Tuesdays. You can ask different observation questions each time, exploring how the body looks, moves, how it may change when the days change.