Just a couple of other thoughts!

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Home : 2003 : August : 3

Just a couple of other thoughts!
By Cathy-Dee

I'd plan carefully for home visits with the pets because it can be tramatic for a child to take home the class pet and have it die over the weekend. And there is usually 2 or 3 whose parents do not want the class pet so
they can feel left out. I really do believe that class pets should remain in the classroom for the teacher to be the main caregiver. Students can learn responsibility for the pets with the help of their teacher - but you never know what can happen to the pet if it goes home - from the younger siblings teasing it to the family pet trying to eat it.
On another note - allergies - I would

be very cautious with any type of pet in the classroom. While fish and most amphibians or reptiles do not cause allergies - there are some people who are allergic for example to the algae in water. So if you find students in your class seem to be stuffed up a lot over the year - algae could be the culprit. Of course this is not a serious allergy so it's something I wouldn't worry about but just to be aware of.

But for other animals with fur - I think it is wiser to send a note home school-wide that some classrooms may have pets so if any children have severe allergies they should report it to the office as soon as possible. We have a staff member in our school who cannot enter a room with an animal like a bunny without having an Asthma attack. In some cases she is fine, but in other cases she is not. We have had students with severe allergies as well to certain animals like horses - so we had to be careful about some of our field trips.