I was reading this article today about how New Zealand just took a huge a step forward for animal welfare by legally recognizing them as “sentient” beings. The bill also includes banning cosmetic testing on animals, which of course India has also banned in 2013. I was telling Nadia about “sentient beings” and that conversation motivated this post.

We decided to create a diorama of wild animals in their own home, free and happy. Nadia gets the concept of circle of life, though she often still questions why the lion eats the deer. I love how our conversations progress as we color, cut and stick together. It’s such good quality time.

We recycled a UPS delivery box as shows below for the diorama. Painted it green at the bottom for the grass and dark orange to show a sunset sky.

We cut out a tree and leaves and some grass for our scene. Nadia colored several animals – a lion, zebra, giraffe, rhino, deer, cheetah and a baboon.