See All you can see

Activity Book for Ages 6-8 

Cover art by Tabatha, age 9, Nashua, NH. 
Welcome

This activity guide is designed by the National Eye Institute 

to help children between the ages of 6 and 8 learn about 

healthy vision. On the following pages you will find a variety 

of fun-filled activities and games that will teach children 

about eye disease, eye safety, and first aid for eye injuries. 

This activity guide can be used in school, at home, or in 

after-school programs. 

The National Eye Institute (NEI) is part of the National 

Institutes of Health, an agency of the U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services. NEI’s research on eye diseases 

and disorders leads to sight-saving treatments and plays a 

key role in reducing visual impairment and blindness. 

For more information on NEI contact: 

National Eye Institute 

2020 Vision Place 

Bethesda, MD 20892-3655 

Telephone: (301) 496-5248 

E-mail: 2020@nei.nih.gov 

Website: www.nei.nih.gov 

“Jenny”—art by Savannah, age 8, Louisville, KY 
MY EYE JOURNAL

Hi! My name is Jenny. 

I’m going to help you learn 

about your eyes. 

Now close your eyes and pretend you can’t see. Just think what your eyes do for you! 

Draw what your eyes do for you at— 

Home 

The Zoo 

See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE 1
The 

Park 

School 

My 

favorite 

place 

I keep a vision journal. I draw pictures of things I 

like to see each day. You try it. Put your favorites 

on the refrigerator to share with your family. 

2 See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE
I 

All the Eye Can see

Do you know that your eye 

has many parts? Come 

look at this. Here are the 

names of each part. Can 

you find the words in the box 

below? Remember, use your

eyes to look up and down, sideways,

and along the diagonals. 

E Y E L A


B Y K O 

Q R E V D 

P P I C E 

N W R S N Y A K R B 

U Z Y R F X E X A M 

U X O B X L U L F H 

A C A P U P I L I T 

B S D Y Z L O L V D 

O P T I C N E R V E 

S 

F 

Y 

E 

H 

D 

A 

X 

E 

W 

X 

U 

S 

C 

L 

E 

J 

O 

R 

P 

ANSWER 

Look in the mirror. Try to name all the 

parts of your eye. Draw a picture of 

your eye. Look at the picture and 

name all the parts of the eye that you 

can remember. 

See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE 3
You can’t see inside your eye, but a doctor can. My dog 

Patch will take a walk through the eye and show you how 

your eyes help you see. 

THE UNSEEN EYE SEES

4 See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE
Up, down, Blink, Stretch...

EYE GYMNASTICS

Ready to give your eyes a workout? 

One rule of eye gymnastics: Don’t 

move your head; move your eyes. 

Okay, let’s go. 

Look up, down, to the left, to the right, and make a circle to the left. Repeat. Up, down, left, 

right, and circle to the right. Repeat. 

You're exercising the muscles that control eye movement. 

But there's more to eye gymnastics than movement. You have to change how you look at an 

object, too. Now, try this: 

Look at a far-away object. Now, bring your two pointer fingers together right in front of your 

eyes. You should see a “floating hot dog.” It looks something like this: 

Now, separate your fingers and keep focusing on that distant object. Wiggle your fingers.


You'll see that hot dog dance. This is called parallel viewing—looking through an object, not


at it. This exercises your very tiny intraocular (inside-the-eye) eye muscles. 


Cross-viewing exercises these muscles, too. Try this: Look at the two dots below. 


Hold up your pointer finger about six inches from your face. Make sure your finger is right 

between the dots. Now, instead of focusing on the dots, focus on your finger. You should see 

four dots now. Slowly move your finger toward the dots, still focusing. The four dots will soon 

seem to be three dots. If you look at this just right, that "center" dot will look like it's jumping 

off the paper. It's in 3-D, just like our floating hot dog. 

See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE 5
Here are some pictures that 

might give you a problem. It 

all depends on how you focus. 

How many cubes can you find—7 Do you see a vase or do you see two or 8? faces looking at each other? Can you 

see both? 

Which frog has a bigger mouth? Measure 

to be sure. 

Are the up-and-down lines straight or 

bent? Use a ruler to check. 

6 See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE
Get Both Eyes Working

Want to know why some kids wear an eye 

patch? First, you'll have to learn two really big 

words: amblyopia (say: am-blee-OH-pee-uh) 

and strabismus (say: struh-BIZ-mus). 

Amblyopia is often called "lazy eye." Strabismus may be called "crossed eyes.” If you have 

either of these problems, you should go to an eye doctor, either an ophthalmologist 

(say: off-thuh-MAH-luh-gist) or an optometrist (say: op-TAH-muh-trist). 

If amblyopia and strabismus are treated when you're young, they won't be bigger problems 

later. Doctors can put a patch or eyedrops on the stronger eye. That way you have to use the 

weaker eye, making it stronger. 

How difficult it is to use only one eye? Find out. All you need is a friend or two and a small ball. 

Play a game of toss. First with both eyes, then with one eye covered with a patch. 

Record your catches in the chart below. 

Name Number of Throws Catches, Both Eyes Catches, One Eye 

Was it easier to catch the ball using both eyes? Do you know why? 

We want our eyes to work together! We have problems knowing how far away an object is 

when we use just one eye. 

Some people can’t see well. For them, it’s like wearing dark 

glasses all the time. 

Try this: Rub petroleum jelly on a pair of sunglasses. Now try 

reading, pouring water from a pitcher into a cup, making a paper 

clip chain, signing your name, or making a paper airplane. 

Everyday tasks are harder when you can’t see well. Take care of 

your vision. 

See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE 7
Your Eyes and the sun

I bet you think that I look really cool in my 

new sunglasses and visor. Well, actually, 

I'm going to look really smart. I'll be 

protecting my eyes from the sun's harmful 

UV (ultraviolet) rays. 

Our eyes have some natural protection. But if you're going to be out in sunshine, putting on 

the right “shades” is important. Be sure to look for sunglasses that block almost all of the UV 

rays. Standard sunglasses block only a little more than half. Always remember this: never 

stare at or look right into the sun. It can harm your eyes. 

Try designing the greatest sun blockers ever. Remember, protection is the key word here! 

Did you know? You don't have to look at the 

sun to hurt your eyes. UV rays are stronger in 

sunlight reflected off sand, water, and snow. 

8 See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE
OUR A-MAZING EYES

So many things can happen to our 

eyes. Be careful and be ready to 

take care of them. 

For each problem, follow the maze to the right solution. 

See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE 9
Be a Winner with eye Safety

Okay, you’ve learned a lot 

about your eyes. Now follow 

that information to get to the 

FINISH LINE safely. 

You’ll need: 

• 1 die from another game

• 1 different coin for each player 

How to play: 

1. Begin at START. 

2. Take turns. Each player tosses the die 

to see how many squares to move. 

3. When you land on a space, 

follow the directions. 

10 See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE
Remember: You’re always a 

winner when you follow the 

rules for eye health and safety! 

To win: 

Get to the FINISH LINE first. 

See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE 11
Eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children in 

the United States. If we just think ahead, most of these injuries can 

be prevented. 

What's wrong with this picture? Circle all of the actions that could be 

dangerous to your eyes. What would you tell each kid in the picture? 

PLAY IT SAFE!

Answers: Never mow the lawn without protective goggles. Slingshots and fireworks 

are very dangerous. Don't throw a ball over someone's head; it could accidentally hit 

the person. Don't look into the sun, even if you're wearing sunglasses. Throwing sand 

is always dangerous. 

Try this: Draw a design for the ultimate 

protective goggles. Remember, safety first— 

fashion last! 

12 See All You Can See ACTIVITY GUIDE