From August 2014, delving deeper from February 2015

Should we get a class pet?Learning to Understand our Environment

“A  pet  is  an  animal  you  want  to  keep  forever.  If  you  use  toys  to  be  a  pet  they  will  never  ever  die  because  you  can  sew  them  back  together.  If  you  get  a  real  pet  and  keep  it  in  the  

classroom,  it’s  called  a  class  pet.  A  living  thing  and  a  not  living  thing  because  small  animals  die  easily.  You  have  to  feed  her  and  care  for  her.  I  know  a  lot  about  pets.”  (Audra)

Early  childhood  is  often  described  as  a  unique  and  critical  time  for  connecting  children  with  nature.  

“Nature  connections  made  in  early  childhood  are  instrumental  to  the  construction  of  values,  development  of  an  ‘ecological  self’,  and  can  be  viewed  as  a  lifelong  resource.  But,  under  what  circumstances  do  these  connections  materialise?”  

(Elliot  et  al,  2008,  p  10)

Over  the  year  the  children  have  shown  a  love  and  affinity  for  animals.  Children  feel  an  inherent  empathy  with  wild  and  domestic  animals  .  Children’s  first  impulse  with  some  animals  is  to  pick  them  up,  hold  them  close,  take  care  of  them  and  become  them.  Other  animals  inspire  fear  and  avoidance.  In  this  transient  life  school  that  many  have  chosen  in  living  overseas,  maybe  school  seems  to  be  the  right  place  to  begin  developing  an  authentic  connection  to  the  Earth  and  nature.  

David  Sobel  reminds  us,  

“If  we  want  children  to  

flourish,  to  become  truly  empowered,  then  let  us  allow  them  to  love  the  earth  before  we  ask  them  to  save  it.”

What  can  we,  as  educators,  do  to  foster  children’s  natural  curiosity  about  their  world?  How  do  we  measure  a  ‘connection’  to  the  natural  world?  And,  where  do  we  start?

We  have  also  made  a  commitment  to  spending  as  much  time  outdoors  each  day  as  we  could,  ensuring  that  children  had  time  to  explore  the  outdoor  environment,  tend  the  gardens  and  develop  a  relationship  with  the  outdoor  environment  at  kindergarten.

David  Attenborough  once  said  that,  

“People  are  not  going  to  care  about  animal  conservation  unless  they  think  that  animals  are  worthwhile.”

However  when  Audra  proposed  that  we  absolutely  must  get  a  class  pet,  I  was  not  sure  how  to  respond.    I  found  myself  in  a  situation  of  conflict.  My  personal  feelings  drove  me  

towards  deep  sadness  at  being  complicit  to  living  creatures  being  held  captive  in  cages  for  our  own  pleasure.  I  carried  out  my  own  research  into  the  connection  between  developing  relationships  with  animals  in  childhood  and  future  protection  of  wildlife.  

Reflecting  on  my  observations  of  children,  I  realised  that  they  naturally  become  animals  in  their  play,  taking  on  characters  and  trying  to  understand  them  from  the  inside  out.  When  I  considered  the  books  in  our  class  library,  I  noticed  that  it  is  surprising  how  frequently  animals  play  a  central  role.  More  often  than  not,  either  the  characters  are  animals  or  the  people  are  interacting  with  animals.  Animals  play  a  significant  role  in  the  evolution  of  children’s  care  and  the  natural  world  and  in  their  own  emotional  development.

I  discovered  that  the  many  ways  that  children  play  at  being  animals  and  at  interac6ng  with  animals  has  the  poten6al  to  develop  future  desires  to  protect  animals.  Perhaps  projec6ng  feelings  and  human  characteris6cs  onto  animals  facilitates  rela6onships.  It  makes  animals  and  people  part  of  one  larger  family,  with  kinship  rela6onships  and  rules  for  sharing  and  care  taking  that  weave  clans  together.

“By  idenAfying  with  a  number  of  animals  in  turn,  the  child  discovers  a  common  ground  with  other  beings  despite  external  differences  between  himself  and  them.  Anthropomorphism  at  this  stage  is  essenAal...By  pretending  that  animals  speak  to  one  another,  he  imposed  on  them  a  pseudo-­‐humanity  which,  although  illusionary,  is  the  glue  of  real  kinship.”

(Shepard,  P.  1983)

Doing  further  research,  I  found  that  prominent  naturalists  describe  a  fascination  with  capturing  animals  in  childhood.  Harvard  entomologist  E.O.  Wilson  comments,  

“Hands  on  experience  at  the  critical  time,  not  systematic  knowledge,  is  what  counts  in  the  making  of  a  naturalist.  Better  to  be  an  untutored  savage  for  a  while,  not  to  know  the  names  or  anatomical  detail.  Better  to  spend  long  stretches  of  time  just  searching  and  dreaming.”  

(Wilson,  E.    1994)

Grateful  to  the  children  for  causing  me  to  think  and  wonder,  we  began  to  investigate  Audra’s  proposal.  Initially  Audra  asked  for  the  children’s  first  thoughts  about  class  pets.  The  children  shared  their  ideas...

“If  you  bring  a  dog  it  might  scratch  me.  I  don’t  want  a  dog.”  (Hudson)“If  we  get  a  tiny  puppy,  we  get  used  to  it  when  it  gets  bigger.  It  would  be  cute.  My  cat  took  a  bath  yesterday  in  the  sink,  but  he  didn’t  like  it.  We  should  get  a  cat  because  he  looks  cute  when  his  hair  sticks  out.”  (Audra)“Bird  is  not  very  scared.  You  can  get  bird  cage  so  they  wont  get  out.”  (Yuta)

“Maybe  a  parrot  because  my  sister’s  friend  has  a  pet  parrot.”  (Jacob)“A  kitty  and  a  mummy  cat  because  there  are  so  nice.  A  little  cat  can  be  wild.”  (Rachel)“Hamster.  I  like  hamsters.  Hamsters  are  cute.  Hamsters  can  be  our  class  pet  because  hamsters  are  not  dangerous.”  (Mahnoor)

“But  they  die  easily.  My  sister  said  that  every  time  she  had  a  hamster  it  died.”  (Liam)

“One  time  I  go  to  the  pet  shop  and  there  is  10  hamsters  and  then  the  people  said  it  is  going  to  die  easily.  So  I  don’t  want  a  hamster.”  (Yuta)“A  rabbit  because  rabbits  are  cute.  So  much  fur  and  it  can  die  easily  if  you  pet  them  too  much  they  die  easily.”  (Mahnoor)

“A  wolf.”  (Bogac)“Turtle  because  Audra  and  me,  we  want  a  turtle.”  (Clara)“Wolves  are  too  dangerous.”  (Mahnoor)

“Turtles  are  better  because  they  don’t  bite  us.”  (Clara)“Baby  wolves  don’t  scratch.”  (Bogac)“If  we  get  a  wolf  ....”  (Clara)“The  daddy  wolf  can  come  and  scratch  us.”  (Will)

“But  there  are  no  wolves  in  the  pet  store.”  (Jacob)“An  owl.”  (JJ)

“Can  we  get  a  turtle  and  a  guinea    pig  ?  I  had  a  guinea  pig  in  Australia.  It  didn’t  die.  It  just  went  off  to  a  different  home.”  (Audra)“If  we  get  a  turtle  its  much  better  because  it  won’t  bite  us.”  (Clara)“A  guinea  pig  would  be  fine.  You  can  have  a  big  cage.  You  can  actually  hold  him.  We  can  have  a  pet  turtle  and  you  can  hold  them.  It  can  be  in  a  big  circle  cage.  It  can  be  in  the  book  corner.  We  can  read  it  a  story  before  it  goes  to  bed.”  (Audra)

The  children  had  a  lot  of  ideas  to  share  and  listened  well  to  each  other,  sometimes  offering  more  problems,  sometimes  offering  possible  solutions  or  knowledge.

“Yes,  because  they  follow  you.”  (JJ)“Yes  because  I  like  pets  because  sometimes  they  like  you.”  (Jacob)“Yes.  Grade  5  need  to  have  a  pet.  Grade  5  had  a  pet,  but  it  bite  the  friend  of  my  sister  and  now  they  don’t  have  a  pet.”  (Clara)“Yes,  because  I  want  to  pet  it  and  give  it  food.”  (Nicole)

“But  what  happens  if  it  scratches  us?”  (Will)

“I  have  a  pet  that  is  a  dog  but  it  is  trained.”  (Nicole)

“But  it  wouldn’t  be  trained  because  if  it  doesn’t  know  you  it  would  scratch.”  (Liam)

“Yes  because  I  don’t  have  a  pet  at  home.  There’s  a  problem  with  having  a  pet  that  walks,  sometimes  pets  only  like  one  kid.  Maybe  we  should  have  a  fish,  a  rainbow  fish.”  (Bogac)“But  then  we  can’t  take  it  home.”  (Clara)“But  this  is  a  class  pet.”  (Audra)“But  the  pet  doesn’t  like  the  dark  in  the  class  when  no  body  is  there.  We  need  to  give  it  dinner.”  (Clara)  “Who  will  look  after  the  pets  in  the  night?”  (Peppa)“My  dogs  are  trained  to  fetch  a  ball  and  bring  it  back  to  me  but  they  are  back  in  Australia”  (Will)

“Yes,  because  owls  can  be  at  night  and  I  don’t  need  to  bring  it  home,  but  I  like  guinea  pigs  and  bunnies  too.  Or  a  fish  because  fishes  can  be  different.  I  like  angel  fishes.”  (Audra)“Yes,  because  I  like  pets.  I  don’t  have  a  pet  at  home.”  (Aurelia)“I  had  a  classroom  pet  before.  I  had  a  fish.  It  was  nice  but  some  of  them  were  dead.”  (Bogac)

“Yes,  in  EC2  we  had  some  fish  and  they  dies.  A  fish  is  good  but  if  we  have  a  tub  of  water  in  the  bus  it  will  spill.”  (Clara)“My  dog  ,  if  she  doesn’t  know  people    she  jumps  on  people  and  she  might  scratch.”  (Hudson)“Yes,  I  like  to  have  a  fish.  A  fish,  you  put  a  fish  in  a  tub  and  it  will  not  die.”  (Luis)“I  like  cat  because  cute  but  my  dad  and  my  mum  say  no  because  Indonesia  cat  too.”  (Rena)“A  dolphin.  I  like  dolphins.  But  I  know  we  can’t  have  a  dolphin  at  school.”  (Peppa)

Although  everyone  enthusiastically  exclaimed  that  we  should  have  a  class  pet,  still  more  points  to  consider  emerged  from  this  conversation.  I  invited  the  children  to  participate  in  a  thinking  routine  to  help  them  to  critically  analyse  the  proposition  .  

What  if  you  are  allergic  to  pets?  The  hospital  is  far  away.  (Clara)But  where  would  we  get  the  animals  from?  Bunnies  are  cute,  dogs  are  cute,  ponies  are  cute.  (Audra)Yes,  ponies  eat  carrots,  so  thats  easy.  (Peppa)Can  I  get  a  horse?  No,  a  pony?  No,  a  flying  unicorn?  (Audra)But  unicorns  are  not  real.  (Peppa)  

Would you like a class pet?Would you like a class pet?

Yes No

Do you think we should have a class pet?

Thinking about class pets

Need to know

Suggestions

Excited aboutWorries

Having a pet

Playing with a pet

Taking care of a pet

Talking to a pet

Walking with a pet

Does the pet like to be alone or not alone?

How to train a dog

How to be nice to the pet

Where to get food

Will the pet get hurt?

Being bitten

Germs

The pets might eat our food

It might run away

It might die

Who will take care of it at night , in the morning and in the holidays?

Where will it go to the toilet?

Will it be scared at night?

Will it be lonely at night?

Will it be scared of us?

If we have fish, get two tanks

Will is an expert about dogs

We should train the dog

We need a cage

We need to study more about pets.

We  had  many  conversations  both  with  the  whole  class  and  with  individual  or  small  groups  of  children.  The  more  I  listened  to  the  children  with  an  open  mind,  I  found  that  they  were  really  showing  a  more  empathetic  understanding  of  the  rights  of  the  living  things.    Time  after  time  the  children  explained  that  the  animals  that  they  would  like  as  pets  need  family,  friends,  homes,  water  and  to  be  healthy.  The  way  the  children  could  feel  an  attachment  to  the  needs  of  the  creatures,  which  they  thought  were  so  in  tune  with  their  own  needs,  gives  me  hope  for  the  sustainability  of  the  Earth.  Once  the  emotions  have  been  aroused,  a  sense  of  the  beautiful,  a  feeling  of  sympathy,  pity  ,  admiration  or  love,  I  hope  that  the  children  will  search  for  more  knowledge  about  the  source  of  the  emotional  response  and  seek  to  take  care  of  it.  

Pets have birthday parties.

“A  cat  family,  mum  ,  dad,  baby,  big  sister  and  a  li5le  sister.  They  are  not  scared  together.  They  are  together.    They  are  not  scared.  They  like  to  play  together.”  (Aurelia)

“Dog  family.  They  have  a  school  called  JIS  too.  They  have  bags.  Dogs  are  looking  through  the  window  and  they  can  see  different  dogs.  The  dogs  are  happy.  They  are  happy  because  they  are  in  school.  It’s  their  first  Fme  at  school.  They  have  their  own  water  bo5les.  They  are  happy.  They  are  not  scared.”  (JJ)

Wondering and wandering through non-fiction textsThe  children  still  had  many  wonderings  so  we  looked  at  non-­‐fiction  books  to  try  to  find  out  more.  

The  children  recorded  information  and  tried  to  use  several  different  texts  and  then  made  conclusions  about  what  they  had  learned.  This  focus  on  research  has  an  emphasis  on  gathering,  analysing,  synthesing  and  reflecting  on  information  gained.  The  child  is  the    inquirer  and    there  was  a  strong  focus  on  being  able  to  

access  and  make  sense  of  information  from  various  sources.  This  inquiry  helped  to  develop  the    children’s  capacity  to  think  and  learn  independently  and  ultimately  to  be  able  to  inquire  for  themselves.

 “  I  find  out  hamsters  have  babies.”  (Rena)“Rabbits  have  babies  too!”  (Clara)“Fish  need  fish  food  and  they  don’t  eat  our  food,  and  they  need  water.”  (Will)

“Dogs,  you  have  to  name  them,  so  they  know  what  their  names  are  called.”  (Luis)“Fish  can  bite.”  (Hudson)“I  found  out  rabbits  eat  rabbit  food  and  carrots.”  (Nicole)

“Hamsters  know  when  it  is  bedtime  and  morning  time  and  time  to  drink.”  (JJ)“There  are  fish  with  puffy  faces.”  (Liam)

“Fish  need  water  and  small  food.  Sometimes  the  big  fish  eat  the  bread.”  (Yuta)“Hamsters,  some  are  white,  some  are  brown.”  (Aurelia)“Persian  cat  is  a  type  of  cat.”  (Rachel)“Hamsters  need  a  cage  and  tunnels,  things  to  crawl    through,  things  to  play  with,  spinny  things.”  (Peppa)“Hamsters,  if  the  water  gets  dirty  ,  you  need  to  change  it,  you  have  to  clean  it  every  morning,  that  will  be  tiring.”  (Audra)

The  children  offered  many  reasons  for  having  fish  for  a  class  pet....

• They  don’t  get    scared• They  are  not  loud• They  don’t  bite  you• Fish  do  entertain  you.  They  swim  around  and  we  watch  

them• Fish  is  a  good  pet  because  they  can  entertain  you  and  show  

you  how  to  swim  their  style• They  are  not  so  messy,  but  all  the  other  pets  do  messy  

things  but  you  do  have  to  clean  the  water• We  have  to  remember  to  feed  them

Finally we get some fish!

Fish!The  children  were  delighted  with  the  arrival  of  the  fish,  even  the  children  who  would  have  preferred  a  different  type  of  animal,  seemed  to  connect  with  the  fish.  

“They  are  so  cute!”    (Audra)“Do  you  want  to  know  what  my  favourite  one  is?  It’s  that  small  one  with  the  stripe.”  (Luis)

Keen  to  discuss  what  they  had  already  noticed,  we  had  a  meeting.  

“My  fish  copied  me  when  I  did  a  trick  in  the  water.  Can  we  train  our  fish  to  do  tricks?  Like  jumping  up  in  the  air  and  splashing.”  (Audra)

“I  saw  them,  they  were  confused  by  the  reflection.  Maybe  they  thought  it  was  a  friend  but  it  was  actually  them.”  (Jacob)“Maybe  they  can  spin  in  a  circle.”  (Hudson)“Jumping  like  a  dolphin.”  (Luis)“Maybe  if  they  can  jump  in  the  air,  close  to  each  other,  it  could  be  a  show.”  (Hudson)“I  saw  a  dolphin  show.  I  saw  them  jump  high  and  spin.”  (Luis)“I  see  a  dolphin  show  a  long  time  ago.  The  dolphin  touch  the  red  ball.”  (Yuta)“Maybe  fish  can  do  that?”  (Hudson)“Through  the  hoop  and  over  the  stick.”  (Yuta)“Fish  toys,  a  tiny  ball.”  (Luis)“We  need  a  hoop  for  the  fish.  If  you  want  the  fish  to  go  up  in  the  air  through  the  hoop.”  (Mahnoor)

“If  they  don’t  have  a  toy,  it  won’t  be  so  much  fun.  The  big  ones  need  toys  and  the  small  ones  need  some  and  the  ones  that  sleep  a  lot.”  (Luis)“We  need  some  houses  for  the  fish.”  (Bogac0“The  tank  is  the  house.”  (Jacob)“The  tank  is  not  the  house.  My  brother’s  fish  had  a  house  inside  the  tank.”  (Hudson)“We  can  make  some  toys  for  the  fish.”  (Audra)“Maybe  I  can  make  a  ball  in  the  art  room.”“One  time  I  made  a  house,  it  was  small,  maybe  I  can  bring  it  for  the  fish,  wood  and  sticks.”  (Jacob)“I  can  make  a  box  for  the  toys.”  (Bogac0“If  it’s  a  clay  ball  it  might  hurt  the  fish.”  (Yuta)“Maybe  use  wire...”  (Audra)

It  seemed  to  be  of  great  importance  to  the  children  to  make  the  fish  tank  fun  for  the  fish.  Ideas  grew  about  playgrounds,  toys  and  houses  grew  in  the  discussions.  They  thought  of  many  things,  including  small  details,  such  as  how  a  fish  might  use  a  set  of  monkey  bars,  and  ways  to  make  the  tank  beautiful.  These  ideas  were  transferred  into  graphics.  

“Swings.”  (Bogac)“The  fish  will  do  the  swings,  up  and  down.”  (Luis)“I  think  they  can’t  do  swings  because  they  are  normal  fish.”  (Bogac)

“They  can  go  on  their  stomach.”  (Liam)

“How  about  a  slide?”  (Bogac)“But  the  water  might  stop  them  from  sliding.  They  can’t  swim  down  the  slide.”  (Jacob)“Maybe  the  slide  could  be  opposite  of  the  normal  slide.”  (Yuta)“A  flying  fox!  They  can  swim  on  the  flying  fox.”  (Jacob)“Jumping  is  fun.”  (Bogac)“A  trampoline!”  (Jacob)“A  climbing  wall.  Climbing  on  their  bellies.”  (Hudson)“An  obstacle  course.  They  can  go  through  things.  They  can’t  climb  on  a  climbing  frame.”  (Jacob)“A  roller  coaster.”  (Bogac)

“The  water  can  be  the  roller  coaster.”  (Hudson)“A  water  coaster...  no  a  fish  coaster!”  (Bogac)“Plants.”  (Seii)“Flowers.”  (Jacob)  “Fishy  bars  with  stairs  to  up  on  to  it  and  then  they  can  slide  on  it.”  (Liam)

“Or  do  sports  like  bowling.”  (Jacob)

The  children  began  to  construct  things  that  the  fish  would  enjoy.  They  were  so  thoughtful  about  how  the  fish  might  feel  and  tried  to  find  ways  to  help  the  fish  to  be  happy  in  their  new  home.

“If I was a fish with all these ideas, I would be excited!”

ReflectionsWe  had  many  conversations  about  pets  and  I  could  not  document  everything  here.  The  decision  to  have  fish  for  a  class  pet  was  grounded  in  research  and  was  a  democratic  decision.  The  children  have  travelled  far  on  their  journey  to  connect  with  nature.  The  ways  in  which  they  have  become  more  respectful  towards  animals  is  heart  warming.    This  project  has  provided  an  opportunity  to  create  empathy,  a  feeling  for  other  creatures  that  I  hope  can  develop  into  a  willingness  to  care  for  other  creatures  .  Through  research  and  wondering  they  have  a  shared  bank  of  knowledge  about  the  needs  of  living  things  which  also  has  an  emotional  connection  

with  what  living  things  may  need  for  happiness.  Our  intent  from  the  beginning  of  this  year  was  to  help  the  children  to  understand  that  we  are  all  connected,  not  only  to  each  other  but  with  nature  as  well.  We  wanted  to  offer  the  children  opportunities  to  extend  their  perspective  of  togetherness.

“True  education  flowers  at  the  point  when  delight  falls  in  love  with  responsibility.  If  you  love  something,  you  want  to  look  after  it.”

Pullman  2005

We  can  not  expect  children  to  take  responsibility  for  the  natural  world  if  they  never  had  a  chance  of  experiencing  it  in  delightful  ways.  

Without  direct  experience  ,  it  is  unlikely  that  children  will  acquire  a  deep  intuitive  understanding  of  the  natural  world,  which  is  the  foundation  of  sustainable  development.  If  we  are  to  safeguard  the  future  of  life  on  earth,  then  we  must  allow  children  to  develop  an  intimate  relationship  with  nature,  to  understand  but  more  importantly  to  feel  the  interconnectedness  of  all  living  things  and  to  see  their  own  place  in  the  world.  

Learning Journey: Learning to Understand our EnvironmentLearning Journey: Learning to Understand our EnvironmentLearning Journey: Learning to Understand our Environment

Enduring Understanding:All living things have needs which must be met in order to survive.

Compelling Question:What makes a living thing, a living thing?Essential Questions:What is a living thing?How do living things survive?How do living things survive in different places?

Concept:Survival

References:Sue  Elliot  (Ed)  (2008).  The  outdoor  playspace  naturally  for  children  birth  to  five  years.    Pademelon  Press,  N.S.W,  2154David  Sobel.  Beyond  Ecophobia:  Reclaiming  the  Heart  in  Nature  Education  David  Sobel  (2008)  Childhood  and  Nature:  Design  Principles  foe  Educators.  Stenhouse  publishers