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Not in 2018. All the people with their various allergies etc. are very militant now. Not worth it. Check the legality as well, which varies by state. If it is not serving a definite educational purpose, it may not be allowed. Even if it is, check school rules, which may ban it.

Hello Emilie! 

I'm still in college studying to become a teacher as well. However, I'm an older student who has children and grandchildren, and speaking from that standpoint, I would love it for my grandchildren to have the experience of a class pet. It is my experience that children can benefit from having a pet in the developmental aspect of the child. However, in the classroom setting there may be more cons than I realize. Someone mentioned the legal and medical aspects which are serious issues to consider.  For field experience, I will be in elementary classrooms in Oklahoma and will ask about the laws. I am also wondering if it were possible to just have an 'expert' come in with an animal during a literacy unit. I'm sure there would be certain rules to follow, but it is just an idea. 

I really like the idea of class pets! We had hermit crabs in elementary school. I think that it would be great in the elementary science classroom, but you could incorporate it in every area of study. The only thing I would worry about is finding a pet that would work with all students.

Hi Emily! My name is Tariah Brooking. I am a student at East Central University. I am studying Elementary Education. My dad was a science teacher for middle school and high school as well. Throughout his years of teaching, he had a pet tarantula. The students absolutely loved it!! He went through 3 of them, and the third one is still living. I was even in his class for biology, and we did research projects over the tarantula as well. It is a low maintenance pet, and it eats off of crickets mainly! I would look into getting one. You can get one on Amazon, or eBay as well!! 

Hi Emilie! 

My name is Micailah Sanchez. I am an Elementary Education major, and I LOVE the idea of a class pet! We used to have a class gerbil in my kindergarten class and I loved every thing about it. You could also use the pet to help give the students some type of fun responsibilty.

Hi Emilie,

 Depending on where you end up working, many of the larger school districts have something called a Living Materials library.  This is a central place that cares for classroom animals year round and you can request to 'check out' an animal, their habitat needs, and food for a certain period of time.  This set up works very well because then you do not have to find someone to take care of the animal over breaks and it ensures that you do not need to spend money on the items needed by the animal.  

  I also highly recommend starting with invertebrates like meal worms that are a little less high need.  Kids can still feed them , clean the enclosure and learn about animal welfare and care, but you don't have to worry about them on weekends or short breaks.  I have a lot of elementray and some middle school lesson plans that work well for these guys that look at behavior, life cyles, anatomy etc... You are welcome to contact me, and I can send some of those files to you.  

--Jennifer Chapman

[email protected]

Hi Emilie!

My name is Megann Kinseth and I am a fourth year at Wartburg College. I think teaching science through class pets are a great idea. My mom is a 5th grade teacher and she has always kept classroom pets (rats, hamsters, gerbils, turtles, and more). She has found a ton of resources to teach lessons that connected with her various class pets. She was able to use Science topics and even take it one step farther with cross-curriculr connections. Class pets are also a great way for students to take ownership in their learning as they will observe the pet and provide the necessities for it to stay alive.

Another great way to incorporate a class pet into your future classroom is a self-cleaning aquaponics system. I recently wrote a lesson for this in my Science Methods course. Students are able to create an aquaponics system that is cheap and an easy way to incorporate various science topics into the classroom. In this lesson students are able to create aquaponics systems by using cheeseball containers, gravel, and plant trimmings from outside or a greenhouse. There is even an option to put in guppies or freshwater shrimp. In this Aquaponics unit, students are required to keep a journal of their aquaponics system. Students then have the opporunity to research larger scale aquaponics systems and relate them to their own classroom aquaponics system. This is a great way to include class pets, various science topics, and make it cross-curricular so you can easily introduce science in all subject areas.