Classroom Pets

Classroom Pets. Pets in the Classroom is a new grants program supporting responsible pet care in U.S. grammar school classrooms. Pets can change kids’ lives for the better, and a classroom is a great place to become acquainted with animals.

Raising-Rabbits has received no compensation for this review of the Pets in the Classroom program. We checked out their materials, liked what we saw, and encourage teachers of grades 1-6 to take advantage of this very positive program.

Kids benefit from exposure to pets in the classroom in ways that help to shape their lives for years to come. Pets encourage nurturing, help build self esteem, teach responsibility and pets become friends! 

The goal of Pets in the Classroom is to establish healthy child-pet relationships at an early age by supporting responsible pet care in grammar and middle school classrooms across the country.

Many public school teachers have very limited resources for the support of classroom animals. That's why The Pet Care Trust sponsors Pets in the Classroom, helping teachers keep pets in their classrooms through direct, no-hassle grants. Grants are offered to public school kindergarten through sixth grade classes.

Applying is easy. Fill in the online form, submit it, and within 7 business days you should hear back with a decision. If you qualify, you'll receive a coupon sent directly to you for the support of your pet in the classroom project. That’s all there is to it. 

Why have a Classroom Pet?

Use Classroom Pets to Enhance Students’ Math Skills

What a great way to illustrate the relevance of math in daily life, no matter the eventual career path!

• Each child can measure the classroom pet’s height and weight
• Figure out the findings in centimeters, inches and feet
• Follow the pet’s health by taking and graphing daily (or repeated) measurements
• Utilize multiple types of charts and graphs
• Children can then compare their findings with each others’ results.
  
  

Use Pets in the classroom to Enhance the Study of Science

• Use the pet as a model of anatomy and various body parts (minus the scalpel, of course)
• Cultivate the budding ‘scientist’ by letting the child record observations about their pet’s daily habits.
• They can make hypotheses and predictions about how the pet will change over time.
• The in-school pet makes a great springboard to subjects such as geography, oceanography, biology, and herpetology.
  

No matter the species of classroom pet, pets make learning fun and interactive, often creating fresh interest in even tough subjects.

Use Pets in the Classroom to Enhance Students’ Writing and English Skills

• Students can use the Library to find information and stories about animals just like their school pet.
• Students can write stories about their pet
• Students can write a daily journal entry about the pet’s life in the classroom, or how the student is relating to or appreciating the pet.

Enhance Creativity and Art with Pets in the Classroom

• Create a collage of pictures and facts about the pet species
• Draw pictures of the classroom pet using various media, from crayons to acrylics.

Enhance Public Speaking Skills with Classroom Pets

Public Speaking can be one of those life-long phobias that rank right up there with fear of death, even in adults. But when it comes to pets, especially pets that youngsters have bonded with, cared for and feel accomplishment about, kids like to talk and share.  Giving the students the non-frightening opportunity to present their scientific findings about their pets, their stories, and their artwork to their classmates could possibly demystify public speech for the rest of the student’s life.

Animal Husbandry

Caring for another living creature is an important way to build kindness and empathy, which every human being needs. Additionally, some of the students might already be hot-wired with an affinity for animals. These could be budding veterinarians, ranchers, farmers, or scientists. Pets in the Classroom is a great way to give a healthy and supervised start to kids who just need the exposure to discover their true calling in life.

• Kids can be responsible for weekly cage cleaning
• They can take turns handling the pet.
• They can be responsible for daily feeding of the pet
• They will learn consistent, gentle behavior
• They will learn to think ahead and anticipate the needs of the animal, providing food, water and care before the animal actually experiences the need.
  
  

Different Types of Good School Pets

All of these animals make cool classroom pets:

• Rabbits (of course!)
• Guinea Pigs
• Reptiles
• Fish
• Birds
• Hamsters
• Chinchillas
• Gerbils, and more!
  
  

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Are you interested in getting a pet for your classroom?

Click here and go to Pets in the Classroom right now. 

Check it out. Then apply for your own no-hassle Pets in the Classroom grant and receive up to $150 to help defray your costs.

The good news is - Raising-Rabbits.com provides a wealth of free information to help you and the children take good care of your classroom pets. It's also a tremendous resource that the children can use to safely research any rabbit-related science projects!

Raising rabbits? Consider a membership to the American Rabbit Breeders Association