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There are many things that students can learn from having caged pets in the classroom. It doesn't matter if the pet is a guinea pig, or a goldfish. The same lessons can be learned no matter what kind of animal the classroom pet is. It may require a little extra work on the part of the teacher to have a caged pet in the classroom, but it is worth it!

What do students learn from having a caged pet in the classroom?

(1)Pet ownership comes with responsibilities.

Students can quickly learn that the class pet needs a certain kind of food, and clean water, every day. They learn that the cage (or aquarium) will need to be cleaned, and will need to be cleaned more than once. It becomes very obvious what can happen if you wait too long to clean out a pet's cage! The smell alone can teach a lesson about responsibility. Students can learn that pets like hamsters or guinea pigs need to be held gently, and that sometimes small animals might bite. Younger students can learn that goldfish should not be handled at all, and can watch the teacher use a net to remove the fish from the fishbowl so it can be cleaned. Students can get a better idea of what kind of pet may be right for them before ever going to the pet store by having a caged pet in the classroom.

(2)Why it is important to take turns.

It is not possible to have every child in the classroom help with the classroom pet every day. Older children can understand that pets only need a certain amount of food in one days time. Kindergarten students will quickly learn what happens in a fish tank when too much food is dumped into it, an unfortunate but common occurrence in classrooms with goldfish. The students will realize that it is not a good idea for everyone to feed the pet every day, and that this is why the teacher is making them take turns at this job. Some classrooms use a calendar and write the name of a different child on the calendar every day, to let students know when their turn will be. Students can learn that it is easier to wait for your turn if you have some way to know when that turn will be. If a student can learn how to wait for his or her turn to feed the classroom pet, then he or she can also use that skill to wait for his or her turn in other situations.

(3)Environmental Science concepts are easier to grasp.

It's not always easy for a second grader to understand what "habitat" means. But, if there is a caged pet in the classroom, then there is a concrete example of what a habitat could look like right there

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