Pet Project

A little while ago we completed our Pet Project. The provocation for the project was that our pet rat, Fern, had died. What kind of new pet should we get? We explored pets in many different ways, including having two dogs, one guinea pig and one bunny visit preschool. We preteneded we were pets, and we brought stuffed animal pets from home.

We know the four things needed to make a habitat: food, water, shelter, and a place to raise your babies. We created homes for our stuffed animals that included these four elements. The Orcas also made pet rocks, which they named and created a habitat for each of them. These were quite imaginative.

The Orca class made a list of potential pets that included a dog, a cat, a rat, a bunny, a fish, and a hamster. The children did research at home about these animals and we put it all in a large chart.

We had fun playing Pet Show. The Dolphin class used stuffed animal pets, and the Orca class were both the pets and the owners. The Teaching Parents and one child were the show judges, and each pet received an award for their outstanding performance.

We also visited the PAWS cat adoption center and learned a lot about cats.

After all of our reserach, we decided that our preschool pet needed these things:
- to be soft and furry and something we can hold and cuddle
- to live in a cage
- to be ok with being alone at preschool when we go home
- to be friendly and not bite
We decided the best pet was a new rat, and because they like company, we would get two rats. We cleaned the old rat cage and got ready for our new pets.

We visited the pet store and learned a lot about the different animals they have, including rats. We picked out two sweet girl rats, and excitedly brought them back to school where they have been great new additions to our preschool family!