[Bonnie]

Yes animals are calming a caring they don’t judge and want to be loved just to be loved back.

[Valerie]

My dog always seem to be able to read me whether good vibes or bad

[Valerie]

Animals are a lot like children they love to play and learn full of energy and excitement some are great for protection some are good teacher’s

[Amanda]

Start with animals that are unable to be handled (fish/tadpoles/ants/butterflies) to test the waters. You could graduate to a hampster or lizard once you know how to teach the children proper care and needs for animal safety.

[Christi]

I agree that it’s important to start with animals that are easy to handle and care for when introducing pets into the classroom. Fish, tadpoles, ants, and butterflies are all great options for starting out, once you gain experience and confidence in caring for these animals, you can consider graduating to slightly more complex pets.

[KT]

I think that having animals in the room does have certain benefits for older children. It helps to teach responsibility and caring skills.

[Melissa]

I think introducing animals to children in the classroom is an incredible teaching tool! When I was in first grade we cared for baby chicks, and I remember learning about boundaries, feeding, consistency, responsibility and how to be gentle. These are all great hands-on lessons for young children to learn.

[Christi]

Yes, Melissa, you are so right. Caring for animals can provide a unique and memorable hands-on learning experience that helps children develop important life skills and values.

[Emily]

I think including animals in the classroom is a great way to get kids to open up. Most kids are curious about animals and so they are a great conversation starter. I have even used an animal to help children work through social problem solving with children.

[Kara]

Yes I feel animals like anything in person hands oin is a more effective learning experience then not.

[Kristine a Stevens]

I think animals as well as teachers can learn from each other through smiling and facial expressions.

[Patricia]

Children loves animals and including them in the curriculum and when children interact with animals they build the all-important senses of connection, empathy and caring. It builds upon their natural curiosity to help them understand that animals also need to be warm, fed, and cared for, and that also translates into caring about others

[Leah Luce]

Yes, I do believe that animals can be an essential too to learning. They can spark interest in kids while also teaching them gentleness and responsibility (in terms of when the kids actually have to take care of the animal by feeding it or cleaning its cage, etc).

[Emma Brown]

I think animals just make people happy, especailly seeing them in new places, like a classroom.

[heather]

Absolutely! The children learn responsibility and we have even noticed that the animals can serve as a form of therapy for some. When a child is feeling emotional and cannot manage it, we have found that even sitting or petting the animal has helped them to gather themselves and be able to better express themselves and manage the emotion effectively.

[alissa]

Absolutely, many children have animals at home so that is something that they can connect to and understand.

[sripoorna]

Its fun to watch kids look at the animals and show their excitement and observe them and it soothes them and also creates a learning experience for them.