When I was in the sixth grade we had guinea pigs (named Chubby and Checkers) and hamsters in our classroom. It was great fun and a good lesson in communal responsibility. Each week a different classmate was selected (if the parents had consented) to take the guinea pigs home for the weekend. In fact, the weekend that my next door neighbor took Chubby and Checkers home, Chubby had babies.

Pet Fundango is a website designed for elementary school teachers who have small pets in their classrooms. Pet Fundango offers nineteen lesson plans based around small classroom pets. Some of the lesson plans require you to have a classroom pet, but most of them do not. For example, the lesson plan Fur, Feathers, and Scales can be used with K-2 students even if you don’t have classroom pets.

Applications for Education
If you’re an elementary school teacher considering bringing a small pet into your classroom, Pet Fundango is the site for you. In addition to lesson plans, Pet Fundango offers helpful advice about bringing a pet into your classroom.