A Class Pet Without the Mess!

Hey guys! It's Chynna from Primary Fairy Tales. I am so excited to be blogging over at the Primary Punchbowl today. This is my first post on the Punchbowl since I launched my very own blog, Primary Fairy Tales. I'm currently wrapping up my first month back in school and let me tell you... 
I am absolutely EXHAUSTED! I don't know about you but I can barely stay awake past 6 or 7. Thankfully fall break is only 8 school days away! (but who's counting?) Anyone else get a fall break? When is yours? 



Today I am blogging about how to Have a Class Pet Without the Mess! I've been considering/wanting a class pet for quite awhile now but couldn't figure out exactly what kind of pet to get. I considered getting a fish because they are simple. Or at least you would think they are... but in all reality I'm not very good at keeping them alive for more than 5 days. Any other pet that I could possibly think could work just seemed like another responsiblity and more work for me at the end of the day. So I have gone petless until this past summer. This past summer I thought of the great idea to have a stuffed animal for a class pet. 


A stuffed animal is the perfect answer for having a class pet. Students can take it home, read to it, and teach it without me having to clean up after it, take it home over the holidays, or worry about walking in in the morning to find that it had gone to heaven. AND if you weren't convinced enough by how great of an idea this is, think about the parents....Parents will not longer have to dread having the class pet come home with their child!!! 

Now to meet our adorable, tiny, green class pet.... 
Say Hello to Cinder the Dragon!
As I walked aimlessly up and down the aisles of Party City trying to kill time before an appointment
I spotted Cinder! When I saw Cinder I just knew that he was the perfect pet for my fairy tale classroom. We all know that they best fairy tales involve a dragon who comes to the rescue.
Cinder's home is found in a green personalized bucket that sits at our ROYAL table. Inside his bucket we keep his travel journal and take home bag.
 Let's take a peek inside Cinder's travel journal....


After printing this cover and gluing it to the front cover of the notebook I discorvered full page sticker sheets. I can't believe that I NEVER knew they exsisted until now. But I reprinted the cover on sticker paper so I didn't have to worry about it tearing off.
Inside Cinder's travel journal on the first page is a note to my student's parents and families.
This note informs my families exactly what is expected when Cinder comes to their home for the
weekend.
.
After the note to families there is an introduction from Cinder himself. Cinder's introduction shares a little bit about himself and how he arrived to my classroom.

After Cinder's introduction is his take home contract. Cinder's contract is an agreement that the students will treat Cinder like their very own. This is something we go over as a class before he can be sent home with anyone. Each student writes their name on the contract as a promise to take EXTRA good care of our dragon Cinder.

Now that you've had a chance to read a little about Cinder and his travel journal it's time to talk about who gets to take him home and how it is decided.

In my classroom I use ClassDojo for behavior points and parent communication. Every Friday I use my student's points for the week to determine who takes Cinder home. The student with the most points for the week gets to take Cinder home with them. If a student has already had the opportunity to take him home with him I think allow Dojo to randomly select a student using the random button feature. This allows me to make sure that a particular student is not taking Cinder home multiple times before everyone gets a chance.

When a student takes Cinder home for the weekend they will bring him wherever they go. Then on Sunday they will write about their adventures together and include drawings or photographs of their adventures together.  On Monday, the student will then return Cinder and share with the class the fun adventures they had together.

I can not wait to begin writing in Cinder's journal during my fall break and then having my students add each weekend to his journal. I just know they are going to LOVE Cinder! I hope that you now have a hassel free idea of how to incorporate a class pet into your classroom without the costly fees and maintenacne.

Do you have a class pet in your classroom? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below! :)

Thanks so much for reading!

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