Additional Links & Resources

The organizations and programs listed below provide additional resources for teachers using pets in their classrooms:

Pets in the Classroom Promotional Material

• Download the tri-fold brochure to share in your community, pet stores and schools.
• Download the PDF poster/flyer to share with pet store customers.

There are alternatives to purchasing pets for your classroom. “Adoption” agencies are excellent places for finding that perfect classroom pet.

www.petfinder.com was created with the goal of finding a home for all adoptable pets and this certainly includes small furry, feathered and scaly ones. Before you adopt, check out their site: www.petfinder.com/before-pet-adoption for information on what kind of pet, size, etc. that will be the right fit for you and your students.

 

Calling all creative kids! American Pet Products Association (APPA) accepting poems for its 4th Annual Pets Add Life Children’s Poetry Contest. Students in grades 3rd-8th are invited to write a unique poem about their pets, what they love about them, the joys they bring, and then post it online at www.PetsAddLife.org or mail their final poem and submission form to: Pets Add Life, 661 Sierra Rose Dr., Reno, NV 89511. Deadline for submissions is January 31, 2012 at 5:00pm EST.


CareFRESH Critter College New CareFRESH Critter College helps educate students on how to care for small pets, such as rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, rats, mice and guinea pigs. Designed for grades 4-7, it correlates with education standards for science, math and language arts. CareFRESH Critter College includes eight lessons focusing on topics targeted to young pet caregivers — choosing the right pet, care and feeding, safe handling and more!

 

Fish in the Classroom The Pet Care Trust established the Fish in the Classroom (FIC) Program in 2007 to educate and enhance the experiences of grade school student by supporting their learning about fish and how to care for them, while providing value to the industry that makes fish ownership and enjoyment possible.

 

 

Florida Aquarium The Florida Aquarium has created classroom and onsite lessons (download here) developed for the Fish in the Classroom Outreach Program, based on Sunshine State Standards and the requirements of classroom aquarium care. Lesson topics include setting up an aquarium, water testing, fish observations, and experiments. The Fish in the Classroom lessons focus on: Increasing student knowledge of water chemistry, fish biology, and aquarium care; Preparing students to care for live animals in an aquarium; and skills such as reading, recording observations, graphing, building models, and critical thinking.

 

The American Federation of Aviculture, a nonprofit national organization that promotes the advancement of Aviculture through  educational programs, has implemented courses to train aviculturists called “Fundamentals of Aviculture”.   The introductory courseprovides information on anatomy and physiology, avian behavior, proper housing, preventing  illness of birds in our care, and much more. Development for the Intermediate Aviculture Course, Fundamentals of Aviculture Level II, was made possible by a grant from Pet Care Trust, the foundation that created Pets in the Classroom.

 

 

If you live in Strafford County, New Hampshire and are looking for a classroom pet, you should consider Cocheco Valley Humane Society’s Classroom Critter Program!  The foster program provides temporary or permanent homes for small animals that are up for adoption at the shelter.  As a classroom, teachers and students can provide a loving environment for a homeless animal until it is adopted.