Happy summer to you teachers!  You deserve the break (although we are sure that most of you spend time researching and prepping throughout the summer months too)!  We at Pets in the Classroom are still busy facilitating grants and creating tools to help you decide on, purchase, care for, and teach with your classroom pets.  But we also like to take the time to reflect on the responses we have received from the many teachers/classes who obtained a classroom pet with the help of one of our grants!  Here are a few such responses!

There are a number of reasons why we at Pets in the Classroom provide educational grants to teachers.  Our goals clearly outline why the Pet Care Trust established this grant program and reviewing the articles on our website will show you how pets can benefit students in a classroom.

By reading over the letters we receive from teachers, we have seen that our grants are making the impact we desire:

• Teaching students to be responsible pet owners.
• Providing an opportunity for students to engage with animals as, for some students, classroom pets are the only hands-on exposure to animals they receive.
• Encouraging learning by providing an example or object for curriculum in any subject that students find engaging.

Here are a couple of letters from teachers that show how Pets in the Classroom is making a difference!

We at Pets in the Classroom love to received letters from teachers letting us know about their experience with our teacher grant.  But we also love hearing from the students!  Below are a couple of wonderful letters written about Jackson, the class lizard:

Pets are the perfect way to teach children about responsibility and what can be better than incorporating these important lessons into an already established learning environment, the school classroom! Pets can be integrated into curriculums to aid in learning about what it means to care about another living being and in turn encourage children to think outside of themselves.

In recent studies, having a pet in the classroom has shown to improve attendance records (See previous post: http://www.petsintheclassroom.org/resources/childs-health-education/). With the excitement about participating in the daily care of a friendly creature like playing with a rabbit, or feeding fish, kids want to make sure that their classroom pet is doing well and are more apt to attend school. Teachers report that by being around pets, children are more likely to do their homework and are said to be able to complete tasks with more focus. Another benefit to having a classroom pet is that pets can foster a greater sense of community between students, parents, and teachers because everyone has to work together to take care of the animal. This can reduce behavioral problems, increase learning motivation, and break down barriers amongst school-aged children by giving them a common bond. By creating new ways to learn, pets enrich the classroom in many ways.

Tasking students with the responsibility for a living creature is a big job though. It’s important to ensure that the pet is being properly cared for which means extra attention from the teacher. Watching, caring, and interacting with a pet is exciting and the responsibility involved is an important life lesson.

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We at Pets in the Classroom love to hear stories from teachers who have received a Pets in the Classroom grant.  Not only do your stories provide us with the opportunity to see the impact that our grants make, but they also provide us with important information that we can pass on to other teachers!  For example, Mrs. Malloy, author of “An Apple for the Teacher” blog, recently posted an entry about how she came about getting a classroom pet and how the students were involved in the process.  Mrs. Malloy created an elaborate lesson plan and a great learning experience for her students from one student’s simple question, “”Mrs. Malloy, could we get a class pet?”  The lesson included brainstorming, research, writing persuasive letters, and more!  Please see for yourself!  Check out her blog post for some great ideas, and please, share with us some of your own as well!

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Pets in the Classroom has created a new video that gives a great overview of the program and includes interviews with both teachers and students regarding classroom pets! Please take a look and share it with your friends!

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Say hello to this cute little guinea pig Cinnamon!  Ms. Reichmann used a Pets in the Classroom grant to get Cinnamon for the Structured Autism classroom at Campo Bello Elementary School.  Cinnamon has helped her 2^nd and 3^rd graders learn how to care for a pet and be gentle with it:

Ms. Reichmann commented:

Cinnamon has helped my students learn how to care for a pet and be gentle with a pet. There are three other structured autism classrooms that also come and visit Cinnamon. He is an award for a lot of the students. I have spread the word about the grant to many colleagues. I am hoping that more teachers get class pets because they do so much more for the students then I think people realize.

If you have received a Pets in the Classroom grant, please share your story with us (and pictures too)!  You can contact us via our Facebook, Google +, or Twitter page!

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Say hello to Snowflake and Midnight!  A Pets in the Classroom grant provided these gerbils to Miss Kathy, a preschool teacher at Joyful Noise Preschool in Pennsylvania.

Miss Kathy commented, “I couldn’t do what I do without your help and the animals sure do make a positive difference in the lives of the kids they share my classroom with!”

Thank you Miss Kathy, for passing on this picture to us!  Please feel free to pass on your own pictures on your classroom pet by posting them on our Facebook, Google +, or Twitter page!

Pets in the Classroom wants to thank the grant recipients who have chosen to share some pictures of their classroom pets with us! We love to see the cute creatures that our grants help purchase and support, so please share your pictures with us as well by posting them on our Facebook, Google +, or Twitter page!

Sara Malchow, a 1st grade teacher at Glenbrook Elementary, shared this picture of her classroom aquarium:

Sara also wrote on her blog, Reflections on Teaching, Learning, and Technology:

I can’t say enough about this organization and the joy it has brought to my class over the past year. My kiddos have become very responsible in helping to feed our fish and check the temperature of the water and have acquired a love for our pets. On a daily basis you will find kiddos over by the tank checking on the fish, reading to the fish and even writing to them!

Thank you Sara for sharing your picture and your story with us!

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Money Raised at Pet Expo to Impact 2,500 Students

With the help of the World Pet Association and other pet-related businesses, the Pet Care Trust raised over $8000 for its Pets in the Classroom grant program.

Bel Air, Maryland – In an effort to promote pet responsibility at an early age, the Pet Care Trust, with the assistance of the World Pet Association and other pet-related businesses,  raised over $8,000 for the Pets in the Classroom Grant Program during America’s Family Pet Expo, held November 3-4 in Puyallup, Washington. The money raised will go directly to helping approximately 50 teachers enhance their classrooms and curriculum through the aid of classroom pets, impacting nearly 2,500 students.

The World Pet Association, host of America’s Family Pet Expo, donated booth space to the Pet Care Trust at the annual event held in Puyallup, Washington. At the Expo, the Pet Care Trust hosted a betta fish toss, aquarium raffle, and discounted pet store to raise funds for their Pets in the Classroom program, a grant program supporting responsible pet care in schools by providing direct, no-hassle grants to teachers to purchase or maintain pets in the classroom.

The betta fish toss booth, which gave attendees the chance to win a betta fish by throwing a ball into a cup, raised $1,329 for the program. The fish and supplies were donated by Hikari USA.

The raffle, which was held at the educational exhibit called the “Aquatic Experience,” allowed attendees to purchase a raffle ticket for the chance to win a treasure trove of donated aquariums, stands, fish and aquatic supplies.  $988 was raised through the raffle.

The Pet Care Trust store, which sold donated pet supplies at a discounted price, raised roughly $6,000.  The store was made possible through the donation of goods and resources from the following pet suppliers and organizations:  CaribSea Inc., United Pet Group, Aqueon / Central Aquatics, Seachem Laboratories, Hikari Sales U.S.A. Inc., Fluval / Rolf C. Hagen, U.S.A., Inc., Terrascapes, Cobalt International, Segrest Farms, Sea Dwelling Creatures, and Bio Bubble Pets LLC.

“The Pets in the Classroom program has awarded more than 20,000 grants, allowing more than 1 million students to experience the joy of a pet,” noted Pet Care Trust executive director Steve King. “The support we have received from WPA and the many companies that donated products and prizes has been instrumental in the continued growth of this wonderful program.”

To make a contribution to The Pet Care Trust to support the Pets in the Classroom program, visit http://www.petsintheclassroom.org/donations/.  A $150 donation will support one classroom pet, or you can support three classrooms with a $500 gift. Please help us reach our goal of reaching 5 million kids with a classroom pet.