Bring a Pet to School

Dogs and cats and snakes oh my! During Pet week in September we throw open the doors and let all our animal friends come to school and visit. Ms. Mary can bring her little lamb, and Ms. Muffat her 8 legged arachnid, but we do ask that the visit is limited to a specific time slot. In addition we ask that an adult stays to supervise the pet for the visit. Ponies? No problem! Land tortuous? Bring it on! We are all about bringing in part of the child’s home life into the classroom and sharing it with everyone to strengthen the community bond we are so proud of here at ABC. Some important things to remember during pet week are:

• Safety first! You know your animal best, if you feel that Fido may not like a dozen two year olds feeling his ears, best to tell the teacher in advance. This way the children know to stand back and look rather than rush in and touch. For smaller pets, use your best judgment. Some three year olds have trouble gauging how hard their squeezing the hamster, but a five year old knows when to loosen their grip.
• Supervision: you are responsible for your animal during the visit, which means you can’t bring out Sylvester the snake and then ‘lose track’ of where he slithered off too. Keep your pet’s close, where you can respond to their needs or anxiety quickly. The teacher’s main job will be to contain the joyful exuberance of the children who want to pet, squish, touch, pinch, hug, stroke, and toss your pet; therefore we will need your help keeping your pet calm and friendly.
• Communicate! If you’re pet tends to shed or maybe they are super friendly and like to lick, tell the teacher in advance so they can prep the children on what rules are in place. If you know your pet will do better with a small group, giving the teacher a heads up means she can arrange for smaller group sizes and rotate the children. Come prepared! There will be a million and one questions asked about your pet, and the children will be looking to you to answer. So have a few quick facts on Sushi the goldfish and why he swims in circles, or how Muscles the Hamster eats carrots when he’s nervous.

As always we love to bring our families into the classroom to share their unique knowledge and experiences, so bring on the feathers, fur, and fins, it’s the Pet invasion!