School Family Pet: An Adventure Begins

A couple of weeks ago, the children in my classroom abruptly stopped wondering about dinosaurs. I was secretly okay with this ;)  All of a sudden we began to talk about getting a school family pet. Last year I had hamsters in the classroom, two separate occasions and both times, they died. :( I was willing to try again, and my co-teacher and I began to do some research on what the best pet would be for preschool children. A few options were on the table.... Chinchillas, Sugar Gliders, Rabbits and Guinea Pigs. We found out that Chinchillas have hollow bones like birds, and we as preschoolers could literally crush their bones if we hugged them or pet them too hard. So, they were out! Sugar Gliders are extremely expensive and are nocturnal, so they were out too. We had to chose between rabbits or guinea pigs. Through our research we found that guinea pigs are awake up to 20 hours a day, are extremely social and are excellent pets for children. So, guinea pigs it was! We also found out that it is better to have two guinea pigs because they are very social and need a friend. In some countries it is even illegal to own only one guinea pig because it is considered animal cruelty! We chose girls because boys, who are called boars, can become aggressive with one another and fight.

We shared this information with the children and then asked how they were going to pay for the guinea pigs, the food, hay, bedding etc. etc. that would be required for them to live happy lives. One child said, "I'll just ask my daddy for the money." We told them we were not willing to just ask their parents for the money and this opened a door to talk about earning money by working for it and using the money you were paid to purchase things you want. This particular group of children have been very interested in cooking this year so we decided on a bake sale. The children made signs to put up in the school, voted on what things to make for the bake sale and helped make those things. We had the bake sale on Thursday and the children and families were so excited to be a part of it! Our entire school family showed up, not just the families from our classroom, and they children earned more than enough money to purchase the guinea pigs and accessories they would need! I am adding a few pictures of the goodies they made and sold!

This experience was so beneficial to the children in many ways. First of all, they were taught that in order to get things you need to work hard for them. Secondly, the pride that they have from working hard and earning the money makes them more willing to care for and protect the school family pets. Finally having a school family pet will open so many doors for us as their teachers to expand their learning. We will be able to expand their cognitive skills by learning facts about the guinea pigs, such as guinea pigs can sleep with their eyes open or closed, "That's just a little weird" (3 year old girl). Literacy/language skills will be expanded through writing the facts, learning new vocabulary and telling other children from other classrooms the facts we are learning. Comparing and contrasting the two guinea pigs will provide opportunity for the children to hone in on observation skills and the entire experience opens the door to science, science and more science!

Today, my co-teacher and I went to the pet store and picked up the guinea pigs for our classroom. The children got to meet them right before rest time and really observe them this afternoon. We are excited as a school family to see where this goes and I have to say, these girls are super cute! :)

My plan is to keep blogging about this adventure, including the naming process, that will begin next week and all the amazing things I believe will come from having a school family pet! Stay tuned!