Our Class Pets

My students can be relentless:

Can we have a pet? Can we have a pet? Please? Please! Puh-Leeeeeese?

How could I resist such a courteous plea? Easy. I am a mother as well as a teacher. I know who winds up feeding, paying vet bills, and cleaning cages.

As well as being the Queen of the Universe, I am also the Queen of Compromise. Remember the frequent references to unicorns in their grade 7 student applications? I am not cold-hearted, just practical.  Unicorns make great pets because they are magical and cute. And they eat very little. And they are healthy. And, most important of all, they do not poop.

So I could afford to buy two. Here they are, Epona and Stephano. They have their own blog.

They have already been on a few adventures exploring our community and meeting new people. That basket just can’t hold them back!

Do you have a class pet? Who cleans up? Or do you have class pets that take care of themselves?

 

22 comments

  1. Hi Hussianians(not sure if this is the correct name?)!
    I absolutely adore your new class pets. My grade 3/4 class has been begging me for a pet as well. We have a virtual pet, however, this hasn’t satisfied their need to take care of something more tangible. I was wondering if I might borrow your brilliant idea? I think their blog is amazing and so creative. I have had many other pets for my class but got REALLY tired of buying crickets for them.
    Please feel free to check out our class blog:

    mrstsgrade3sclassblog.blogspot.ca

    I can’t wait to read more about the adventures of your pets!

    Mrs. Thiessen

    1. Hi Mrs. Thiessen! Yes of course; we’d love to read about your class pet. Our unicorns are perfect pets for us, and it’s a good thing we have two because the students really enjoy writing about their adventures. There is a lengthy sign up list to take them home for a weekend. Please let us know about your class pet.
      Best wishes to you and your class,
      Ms. Jan Smith and the Huzzahnians of Division 1

  2. Dear Huzzah! Students and Mrs. Smith,

    We don’t have a traditional pet in class but we have some useful creatures. We have a worm bin compost. The students are responsible for making sure the worms have the right kind of food and just enough moisture. The boys and girls need to stir the bin a few times a week. Come January we will have Coho salmon eggs come and they will be in our room for about four months. The salmon will require considerable care of which the students will be trained and responsible for much of.

    Thanks for allowing us to share! Good luck with your pet unicorns and we will check back!

    Mrs. Twin and ‘Our Forest’

    1. Dear Mrs. Twin and Forest Friends,
      Have your students named their worms? Just joking–that would be an impossible task as I doubt you can even count them! I know they will enjoy watching the salmon grow. I know you will be writing about all these things, so we will be sure to visit you.
      ~Ms. S.

  3. Hello Div 1 Students,
    As some of you know, my class at Brooklyn School has a pet – well we usually think he is just like one of us humans. His name is George and he is just about the best classmate/pet one could have. Much like Epona and Stephano, George doesn’t need to be fed, watered, or be picked up after. Often when we analyze an assignment as a class, it will be George’s as he has tough skin and doesn’t mind criticism.
    Right now George is at my house. He will return to Brooklyn with me in February. Perhaps Epona, Stephano, and George could have adventures together.
    ~Ms. Bulger

    1. Hi Ms. Bulger! We look forward to your return and the opportunity to meet George in person. He does sound like the perfect class pet. I think a photo shoot is in order.
      Looking forward to seeing you soon–although I know you have planned a few adventures between now and February,
      hugs, Ms. S.

  4. Hi,
    We don’t have a class pet. But I wish we do. We had the same idea at the start of the year, but it kind of faded away. I guess you do have a point about the children not cleaning the cages and those kind of stuff. But it’s still good to have a real pet. I like the unicorns. They are so cute.

    Kethmi

    1. Hi Kethmi, thanks for taking the time to write to us. I have two pets of my own–two golden retrievers. All living things need to be cared for, and as we are a busy bunch it didn’t make sense to have a real pet that we could not take care of regularly. I think stuffed animals are a good compromise–and yes, our unicorns are very cute!
      ~Ms. S.

  5. Wow, I did not know that unicorns did not poop. Interesting in that case I think I might get one. I already have a dog. His name is Teddy. But I wish our class had a class pet!

    Mitch

    1. Hey Mitch, yes, unicorns have many lovely qualities. They are also extremely quite. Teddy is a great name for a dog–likely a very cuddly fellow.
      Take care, Ms. S.

  6. Hi! I love the idea of having a class pet, it sounds like so much fun! I wish we had a class pet but unfortunately we don’t. I like the idea of having unicorns as class pets and I think their names are very creative too. Having pets that take care of themselves sounds a lot easier than having to clean up after them. If we had a class pet I’m not sure who would clean up after them. I would think Mrs. Donofrio would have us take turns cleaning up after them. But I am a big fan of unicorns so I would rather have them as class pets than having to clean up after a different class pet.

    1. Hi Daniela, I am glad you see my logic about class pets 🙂 I bet Mrs. Donofrio would share my opinion on it, too. Epona and Stephano have been fun for everyone so far.
      Thanks for visiting,
      Ms. S.

  7. Hi,
    I love your pet unicorns Epona and Stephano. How did you come up with there names? We sadly do not have a class pet but, I would really enjoy having one. I also like your motto this year “Do Good”. That poster your class did looks really great!

    1. Hi Sydney,
      Glad you like our critters. The class chose Stephano’s name and I chose Epona’s–she is named after the Gallo-Roman goddess of horses. I am glad you like our motto–I think they are good words to live by.
      Thanks for visiting,
      Ms. S.

  8. Dear Mrs.Smith,
    My name is Esmeralda.I am from Mr.Miller’s Room 7th grade class.Those pets are so cute.I love them.Sadly we don’t have a class pet because we have to change class every 41 minutes and we are different people in each class.Very complicated but yes we did have a class pet for ONE class period but he died last week from a tumor problem.He was a real fish and we had him for science.His name was “Killer The Fish”,and he did not take care of himself we had to feed him and i think the teacher would clean his tank.Hopefully you guys have fun having a class pet!Please Visit my blog http://mrmillersstudent63.edublogs.org/.

    1. Hi Esmeralda, oh dear, that is very sad end to a fishy life. I do understand that, with the changes in classes, it is difficult to keep a pet, even a stuffed one, cared for and happy. I am hoping we have a few new posts about Epona and Stepahno soon.
      Thanks for visiting,
      Ms. S

  9. Dear Mrs. Smith,
    Hi. I’m a student for Hey Kids. We don’t have any class pets in our classroom. Mainly because of some kids allergies, but we can pretend we do like you guys. I like to think of us students as the pet to the teachers because they have to tend to us every minute it seems. I think that we are enough work for them! Stuffed animals make a good fake pet though. It could be any pet you want! There is no way I would be able to go to Petco and find two glittery, pink, unicorns. What do you feed them even? Rainbows? Stars? What would you feed a pet dragon? I wish I knew! The unicorns are very cute as well. Once again I like your class pet!
    Sincerly,
    Courtney

  10. Hi! I love the idea of having a class pet. It sounds like so much fun! I wish we had one but unfortunately we don’t. Pet unicorns seems like an interesting choice and they have very creative names, too. Having pets take care of themselves sounds a whole lot easier than having to clean up after them. If we had a class pet, I’m not sure who would clean up after them. I would think Mrs. Donofrio would have us take turns cleaning up. I am a big fan of unicorns, so they seem better than any other class pet to me!

    1. Hi Daniela, Before this year I never gave much thought to unicorns–but ours are pretty special. They are low maintenance but quite flexible and ready for adventures. I curious to see what they get up to this year. Soon the scribes who follow Epona and Stephano around will have new stories to tell.
      Thanks for taking the time to comment, Daniela,
      ~Ms. S.

  11. Hello, my name is Cheyenne I am from Mr.Millers class I love this post because it has to do with pets, to me there are no ugly animal…. although there are some type of animals that I do not like that much (not hate just dislike!). Do you love animals? What you favorite type of animal? I have 4pets 1 dog that is named paisley, 1 dog named Roxy, and two birds named fuzzy and buddy.

    *Cheyenne*

    1. Hi Cheyenne, thanks for writing. I do love my pets and obviously you do, too. I think you are wise to be open to all animals. So many people seem to be attracted to pandas and bunnies but may not care that a reptile, fish, or insect is endangered. I really appreciate your visit.
      Keep blogging,
      Ms. Smith

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