As of this month, we have welcomed our new class pet: Nemo! He is a male double-tailed Beta fish and the kids are absolutely in love! They have lots of questions and love being involved. Everyday, one friend gets to feed him and they are in awe of the whole process.
Why did we get a class pet? Good question! Here's why:
• Responsibility : Even though a fish is no dog, there is still a bit to do to take care of a fish. The kids have to remember to feed it and clean out its tank. This is a small form of responsibility that they can share as a class in taking care of something living!
• Project Based Learning : You may have noticed the various projects we have been working on around the classroom. We do these for a few weeks (or more) at a time so the children can work towards something and see how things change from day to day. They are able to really see the process of creating a project. For example, one of our projects going on right now is the garden. The kids water the plants, pick weeds, look at the changes in the growth, and pick veggies when they're ready. Our class pet will be one of our projects that will definitely last longer than a few weeks. This kind of learning helps the children acquire real world knowledge, skills, and help them learn how to problem solve for themselves.
• More In-Depth Shared Interest : We have many kids who are at Jellybean so sometimes it's hard for one child to have something in common to share with another child if they aren't in the same friend group. This gives every child something in common with every other child. They have a pet together! This is something they can connect with each other which can only positively increase their emotional skills.
• Encouraged Nurturing : Believe it or not, we are not born knowing how to be nurturing to something (or someone) else. Even though, as I said earlier, a fish is no dog, a pet still teaches a child how to lovingly care for another living thing to give it the best possible life. They may not be able to hug it, but they learn to take care of something and how good it makes them feel to take care of something else. That is a great lesson on nurturing in itself.
So please come in and check out Nemo! I'm sure your child would love to show you our newest Jellybean family member.
