More than Just a Little Ball of Fur
Every teacher has certain beliefs that are the core of a teaching philosophy and classroom environment. One of my strongest beliefs is that a classroom should always have a classroom pet. There are so many life lessons tucked into having a classroom pet. Care Corner has always had a hamster in order to teach the following lessons:
- Responsibility. Two people have the job each week of “critter care”. It is their job to feed the hamster at the end of the day and make sure he/she has water. One person carefully puts food in the dish and the other one gets to choose the snack. (Usually a piece of graham cracker or a grape.)
- Care. When you have a pet you cannot just feed it and ignore it. The Care Corner Kids take turns each day reading to the hamster. It’s a group called “Hamster Read” and we do it during our “specials”. They are so cute as they put their chairs around the hamster cage, read a book and even show the pictures to a sleeping (!!) hamster. When we do get the hamster out to play, they learn first hand the lesson of care and gentleness of one of God’s smallest creatures.
- Science. They learn early on that hamsters are usually nocturnal. There is not much interaction during the day except when we have the lights off and the hamster sometimes wakes up thinking it is night. They learn about nesting and burrowing and eating habits…all from that little cage…that little pet.
- Pure joy. There is a simple joy just in calling it “their” pet. Some kids don’t get to have a pet at home so this is the only pet they know. If you want instant smiles in Care Corner, just announce we are getting the hamster out and one of the groups will be “Hamster Watch” where they get to play with their pet.
- Life. They learn how special it is to have a pet to love and care for and then they learn how hard it is to let them go. When a hamster dies in Care Corner, it is a teachable moment. A tough life lesson learned early on.
This morning as Harry is fighting to get better, I feel such a sense of responsibility to Harry and the Care Corner Kids to help him in every way I can. Like all the hamsters before, this little guy has stolen my heart. Harry is way more than just a little ball of fur. He is a classroom pet, a fighter and one of God’s little critters…one of God’s special little critters.