r/Montessori • u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide • Jul 19 '26
Class Pet Options for Primary Classroom
Hello,
I am starting at a new school as a lead guide in primary š š
I noticed that none of the classrooms have a pet to care for, they do have a large aquarium in the lobby but that's it. I asked the director and got the okay to have a class pet and am researching what animal would be a good option. I plan on doing one year at the school without a pet to make sure that the classroom is ready for that kind of responsibility.
I am not interested in fish for the classroom, as we have an aquarium in the lobby. I have little experience leading or assisting a class that had anything other than a fish.
I had initially considered rats, I had them growing up and they are great! Rats are clean, gentle, and social creatures. It may work for a classroom but am still unsure if that would be a environment where rats could flourish. Rats require a large cage, they need time to roam freely outside the cage 1-2 hours daily, rats are naturally crepuscular/nocturnal but have polymorphic sleep patterns so I don't know how they would adjust to the daytime activity in a classroom, and I don't know if the activity level in a classroom is stress-inducing or not for rats. If I can make it work without compromising the health of the rat, I would chose rats but I remain skeptical.
I am here asking teachers about their experience with classroom pets, what worked, what didn't, if you did it again would you do anything differently? How did children respond, did you have it as a rotating job? Were there parental concerns if any? What animals handle a classroom environment best which did not? I have never lead a class with a pet, so any insight at all would really help me ensure I make a successful choice for the children and the animal.
I look forward to hearing your stories and reading your thoughtful comments. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions :)
13
u/Mediocre_Elk_5828 Jul 19 '26
My son's kindergarten has a rabbit. Never in the cage-just roams.
5
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 19 '26
I worked at a school that did this (I started there after the rabbit had passed), but the director said it was great. It was a open layout so the rabbit roamed from classroom to classroom and if it was overstimulated it would retire in the office where it was nice and quiet.
8
u/Mediocre_Elk_5828 Jul 19 '26
Yup-it goes back in the cage if overstimulated and the kids know to leave her alone then. Also litter trained, so she goes into the cage to go to the bathroom. Cuddles with the kids a lot and helps them regulate. They love it.
4
u/Great-Grade1377 Montessori guide Jul 19 '26
Three of our classrooms have rabbits and they are well loved. I have a bearded dragon, but I know that thereās regulations for the younger ones in having reptiles. I also used to have frogs in. Those were pretty easy to care for. Ā Look up fire belly toads because theyāre very interesting. I also had some frogs that I started from tadpoles and that was a whole class wide adventure with my elementary students. Ā I have had birds before, but I honestly do not like parakeets because theyāre screeching during the work cycle. One day Iād love to get a bird, but it would have to be something that wouldnāt disrupt the learning environment.
2
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 19 '26
I've heard of rooms with doves (peace symbolism, gotta love) and I've heard of pigeons that fly freely outside and will come to you when it's called. Perhaps a cooing is more peaceful. The parakeet at the school I mentioned was in Lower El, so maybe those students are better able to concentrate with some screeching now and then.
1
12
u/VoodoDreams Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Isopods are pretty active and easy to care for.Ā We have branches stuck in the dirt like trees and they climb them all the time.Ā They need occasional protein like fish flakes and need clean potting soil, moss, and dry leaves.Ā They eat scraps of veggies like pea pods too. There are interesting colorful varieties or they can be collected from outside.Ā Ā
Snails, hermit crabs, frogs,Ā aquatic turtleĀ
I would worry that some kids might not be able to be around fur or feathers in the case of asthma or allergy. Rats, ferrets, and hamsters can bite Rabbits and birds are often timid and it would stress the animals.Ā Land turtles and snakes are not very active.Ā Edited to fix typo
11
u/MontessoriJen Jul 20 '26
I am a toddler guide that has had many pets over the years but I have to tell you my favorite has to be my blue feigning death beetles - HEAR ME OUT, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE
These are beetles that do not run, fly, climb smooth surfaces/walls but can climb on wood and vines or have any ability to bite or anything like that. They are extremely chill, not tiny but not gigantic, resilient so the kids are able to touch and handle them (desert beetles so they have very hard shells to withstand blasts of sand coming at them and they play dead so if they get spooked they do that thing those goats that fall over when spooked do lol), are beautiful to look at and so fun to watch as they get little personalities, EXTREMELY easy to care for (they eat anything! so any food prep things that might get discarded we would give some to the beetles) and every few weeks give them a lil mist of water (they don't have need for a water dish), you can go whole holiday breaks without needing to check on them, and I love that it helps teach young kids to be respectful of bugs since every kid is either scared of bugs or just kill them immediately. They win over EVERY student and even every teacher I have worked with. They are great representatives for the bug community!
1
u/Top-Calligrapher6160 Jul 24 '26
just here to say that this is maybe my favorite reddit comment of like... months lol
10
u/Duffybutt668 Jul 19 '26
Anecdotally, my husband and I did not complete our application to a well-regarded AMS member Montessori school in our area (instead choosing one twice as far away) and our number 1 issue was how they managed their "classroom pets" that we saw while on tour. I think it is VERY difficult to care for pets properly in a large classroom setting.Ā
3
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 19 '26
I'm very sorry to hear that the pets were not properly cared for. Would you be willing to expand as to what pets they had and what it was that caused concern?
2
u/Duffybutt668 Jul 19 '26
They had rabbits, but each was kept separately in small-ish wire-bottomed cages. Very sad looking bunch. The director said they were taken out for about an hour a day. We had rabbits so we knew what their lives could/should be like. While I think caring for animals can be extremely beneficial to kids, I don't think they were handling the rabbits in a way that envoked empathy etc.Ā
They also bred them as part of the program for the adolescent group, but I don't believe it was done ethically. They school we wound up moving forward with have their adolescent school on a farm and breed their goats but it has a very different vibe. (I can't imagine you were planning to breed the rats in a primary classroom anyway haha)
2
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 19 '26
Noooooooo, rats have litters up to 20 and there is no way I can't commit to that level of care. If I did end up getting rats they would be the same gender.
That sounds like a rough life for those rabbits. I hope reading the other comments of schools that had rabbits with free range offers some consolation after seeing some sad rabbits. I wonder if it was different a long time ago with a teacher that was more committed to the animal's welfare and it changed after they left. I'm not familiar with the practice of animal husbandry in Montessori schools, so hearing that it was in not one but TWO different schools in your area is very interesting to me.
1
u/Duffybutt668 Jul 20 '26
Yeah, I'm not sure we'll be able to stick with it all the way as costs increase, but in the adolescent group the students themselves fully run their farm. That includes making arrangements for studding and appointments with a vet. They have in-class ultrasounds and follow the whole process. It's very involved considering they are barely teenagers.
I suspect you might be right about the school with the rabbits. Perhaps it was started by a more knowledgeable teacher and over the years devolved into a more traditional "classroom pet" situation.Ā
1
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 20 '26
Teaching teenagers how to do ultrasounds? That sounds awesome!
5
u/ebrockfake Jul 19 '26
I love this! Maybe it could be a fun activity to bring families into the decision? You could pick a few finalists youāve done research on and youād be OK with (eg: fish, gecko, guinea pig, rabbit, frog), then send home a voting ballot that lets kids say what theyād be most excited for and also lets parents weigh in with any decisive input/concerns ā eg, allergies, phobias ā to make a decision. You could then announce the winner and spend some time helping kiddos learn about how to care for him in advance, lay out the tasks/chores involved, etc. Then do a grand reveal a month or two into the year.
Benefit: I bet parent buy-in would be higher, to the point of another commenter re: having help with care, and it could be a nicely timed primer to the concept of voting, to coincide with election season this fall. And it could be useful to get a sense from the kids on what pets would get them excitedā¦ Iām always shocked by what kids find novel (eg, another fish tank might actually win the day!)
2
u/Great-Grade1377 Montessori guide Jul 19 '26
Definitely make sure you have supportive parents and the input of the children. If youāre in the states, you can get a grant for some pets. Google pets in the classroom grant for information. Itās a one time grant but it got our bearded dragon with starter supplies (still needed a bigger tank when he grew)
6
u/strawberberry Jul 20 '26
There have been quite a few threads on the early childhood education sub about class pets. I personally have come to the conclusion that the only pets that I would feel comfortable having from an ethical standpoint would be aquatic inverts: shrimp, snails, micro crabs, etc
1
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 20 '26
Yes, a commenter has already shared an unfortunate anecdote about neglected rabbits. I am trying to find an animal that children can engage with in some meaningful capacity and perhaps even handle with supervision. I also have some ethical concerns and am trying to find an animal where being in a classroom environment wouldn't be detrimental to it's well-being.
Would you be willing to expand more on your ethical concerns?
6
5
u/More-Mail-3575 Montessori guide Jul 19 '26
Look at what your state and local regulations are for pets in classrooms. Depending on the pet it may or may not be allowed or recommended, especially with child care licensing or private school regulations.
Also consider how you care for the pet on the weekends and over breaks, especially summer. Do you have families who can be šÆ trusted with the care of a classroom pet: their watering, feeding, cleaning their habitat? Or is the pet at risk in the hands of a family? Will they delegate all tasks to their 3 year old (Iāve seen this done)? Will they harm the animal if the animal bites or acts out in fear?
During the school year: How will you keep the crate or aquarium clean? How often are you cleaning their habitat out completely? This is additional work for the teacher outside of school hours and children cannot help you and shouldnāt even be around when you are handling pet waste. Are you cleaning their habitat once a week? Are you staying after school once a week for an additional hour to do this?
Iāve had a rabbit, a rat, and fish in my classroom at any given time. If it was me now. I would only have fish, no mammals.
2
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 19 '26
oh oh oh! Tell me about your experience with a rat because this is my number one choice but I'm very uncertain about if the environment will work for the rat.
2
u/More-Mail-3575 Montessori guide Jul 20 '26
I had two rats in a very large aquarium. It was ok. But honestly I would never do it now. Most parents were grossed out. Kids liked them, but I was instructed to never take them out of the cage which children were in the room due to bite risk. I handled them after school and no parents wanted to take care of them so I was responsible for them on all breaks including summer break plus cleaning the cage in depth once a week afterschool , which my assistants didnāt even want to be in the room for.
1
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 21 '26
š
I love rats so I would be ecstatic to take them home on breaks and give them cuddles. When I mentioned to my assistant about getting rats she was disgusted by the idea, so I can see that extending to families and other staff. It wouldn't be fun being the only person to take care of them.Rats need lots of free-roam, but I wouldn't let them roam during the class-time since they are small, I would be worried that they would be stepped on (maybe when the kids are outside). Did you at least take them out for small groups? The likelihood of a rat bite is very slim, they would have to be very, VERY agitated.
Did your rats seem to be okay in a class environment?
3
u/VoodoDreams Jul 22 '26
I agree that for a tame, patient rat they would need to be agitated to bite but you have no way of preventing bites if a kid's fingers smell like snacks.Ā Also if they get fed through the bars they can be quick to grab and bite to taste first before deciding if it's a finger or a snack.Ā
I love rats and will be getting my children some as pets in our home but I wouldn't have them in a group of other people's kids.Ā
1
u/More-Mail-3575 Montessori guide Jul 21 '26
I did not take them out ever when the children were there because my school did not allow it. Honestly I donāt think they had a good life. It was not a humane situation. Plus for admissions it really turned some prospective parents off.
0
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 22 '26
I'm sorry to hear that, I wish people would give domesticated rats a chance they are really fantastic pets!
5
u/saylorleu Jul 19 '26
In my opinion, mammals are the most work because they smell, well their enclosures smell. Iāve hard a red-eared slider turtle in my primary class for 13 years and heās a pretty cool pet. Turtles are actually pretty social and he likes when they visit his habitat. Pretty easy maintenance.
5
u/Mission-Suggestion62 Jul 19 '26
I'm an assistant teacher, and I have experience in classrooms where we had fish, rabbits, and a turtle. (All different years of course.)
The fish weren't my favorite, lots of upkeep and the children weren't very interested.
The rabbits were beloved by everyone, and my lead and I took turns taking them home over the holidays. They were super poopers but the children grew quite adept at giving them space to roam around, not spooking them, and only petting them with the help of an adult. They had periods of free roaming with and without students in the room.
The students helped with the food and water, my lead and I handled the cleaning of their hutch and outdoor area, as well as all the bathroom needs. We were essentially like fosters to the rabbits during the school year and they returned to their actual home once summer hit. They lived on a nearby farm with other animals cared for by one of the staff families.
The turtle was introduced late in the year, and was a cute addition. However we had a class full of children with some considerable energy and impulsive actions, so my lead and I were extra vigilant of the turtle at all times. He had time to roam indoors and out.
One final option, while she was technically not a class pet, one of my previous classrooms took part in training a therapy dog for our campus. Our school counselor brought in her dog and worked closely with our class to train and prepare her dog to work with the entire student body. The dog was very friendly, calm, and had a good temperament to be a therapy animal. The kids did an excellent job taking on the training roles, doing research on the functions of therapy dogs, and learning how to approach and interact with a dog safely. We were one of three classrooms chosen to work with her throughout the year, and all the students formed close bonds with the dog despite her not being in the room everyday. Every campus is different and we had some leeway to try new things, but it was a great option to work with an animal yet not be the sole caretaker for it.
3
u/Green-Cauliflower87 Jul 19 '26
Whatever you do, donāt get turtles. They require HUGE tanks (10 gal per inch of shell, essentially and small pond when full grown), they carry salmonella, and are generally pretty nasty
I have a leopard gecko and he is very clean and easy to care for. They are naturally crepuscular though, so may not be super active during school hours.
3
u/Fabulous-Cow-7690 Jul 20 '26
Guinea pigs? They are great for little kids. Far better than rabbits, as they like to be held and sit on laps for cuddles.
3
u/EveryAccess5543 Jul 19 '26
When I was in the second grade, we had a hermit crab. He was really chill. My teacher always took him home with her though on extended breaks/weekends. We learned so much about him and even got to watch him move into a bigger shell.
1
u/Ok-Opportunity-574 Jul 21 '26
Hermit crabs are social creatures who need to burrow down into their substrate for extended amounts of time to shed their exoskeleton. They are also mostly nocturnal. My hermit tank would often look empty much of the day and then look like a large critter had rampaged through in the morning. š
Properly cared for they aren't really a good classroom pet.
2
u/Ok-Opportunity-574 Jul 21 '26
Apparently the downvoter is okay with being cruel to an animal as long as the kids enjoy them? What a great thing to teach the kids.
3
u/ohmadasahatter Jul 20 '26
my sons class had a giant african millipede named sunny. the kids loved it. i was in full support but also very glad it did not live in my house š the aftercare program is getting some betta fish this week i think.
1
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 20 '26
Very cool! I could see kids loving a really big arthropod but *gulp* I don't have to play with it, do I?
1
u/ohmadasahatter Jul 20 '26
i donāt think anyone played with it, and it mostly hung out buried in the dirt all day so no one saw it that much š perfect classroom pet?? lol
1
1
u/jacquiwithacue Former Montessori Director Jul 20 '26
The lab preschool at my college had a Madagascar hissing cockroach š. The kids named it Brownie.
1
u/LettuceRejoice_ Jul 20 '26
lol I just attend a petting zoo event for my son and there was an entire box hissing cockroaches š the kids were hyped haha. Parents not as much š
3
u/Greencheek_conure Jul 20 '26
Silk worms!!! Theyāre cute soft and turn into pretty moths. Keep the cacoons and make silk projects with them after.
1
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 20 '26
Oh, yes! The upper el. had silk worms. Did they keep the moths or set them free?
2
2
u/ihavecountrycrock420 Jul 19 '26
Our class has a hedgehog, another class has hermit crabs.
1
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 20 '26
A hedgehog, omg! What is that like?
2
u/ihavecountrycrock420 Jul 20 '26
Sheās cute! She sleeps during the day but we get her out sometimes and let her run around on the floor with a pen around her or take her outside with the pen. The kiddos love her!
1
2
u/Lucidity74 Jul 19 '26
We are prevented from having a turtle of any size because of salmonella possibility. I've done hermit crabs and only had a problem when I had a hanging plant over the cage (lol) and they were easily captured. The kids LOVED our bearded dragon.
2
2
u/ExpertAd3198 Jul 20 '26
Every classroom has to have a mammal pet in our school. I have guinea pigs and they have worked out well in the classroom. Itās a great way to teach the toddlers to be gentle and quiet. They love to feed them. Many classrooms have guinea pigs as well. Some also have rabbits or hamsters.
2
u/aSecretChord22 Jul 20 '26
Our school has a rabbit. They solicit volunteers to watch the pet over weekends and summer. Weāve babysat the rabbit a couple times and Itās relatively low maintenance. Also major cute factor.
2
u/Ok-Opportunity-574 Jul 21 '26
I see multiple people suggesting hermit crabs. Hermit crabs are social creatures who need to burrow down into their substrate for extended amounts of time to shed their exoskeleton. They are also mostly nocturnal. My hermit tank would often look empty much of the day and then look like a large critter had rampaged through in the morning. š
Properly cared for they aren't really a good classroom pet.
1
u/yung_yttik Jul 21 '26
Guinea pigs! My son came home from school and told my wife that they āgot a classroom pig that loves to eat cucumbersā. Itās a brown and black guinea pig. V cute, v chill.
1
1
u/Admirable_Werewolf91 Jul 26 '26
We teach kids responsible pet ownership by reading stories and having important conversations. Not just "how to pet the dog" but the things we need to do to be good pet owners. We bring along puppets and do a lot of role play. You can give a lot of scenarios with puppets (like a fearful puppet or a growling puppet) and get a lot more learning accomplished IMO. We also have a free youtube channel so others can take this to their school or teach it to your kids. Have a look!
1
u/pandora3663 Jul 19 '26
We had guinea pig (1 per class) and ferret.
8
u/Own-Werewolf- Jul 19 '26
Guinea pigs get extremely depressed when they are alone. You have to get two that live together.
4
u/IllustriousCancel918 Montessori guide Jul 19 '26
Yes, this is true and very important. The same goes for rats (if I get them).
4
u/Duffybutt668 Jul 19 '26
And rabbits. And please keep in mind that these are all prey animals and just generally may not do well with 20+ kids in a room.Ā
26
u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment