Should Classrooms Have Pets?

😊Should classrooms have pets?😊

     By Oliver, Jamie, and Landon

Our group thinks we should have a class pet because it helps relieve stress, and teaches us responsibility and leadership. Some of the best classroom pets are frogs, butterflies and ant farms. It is cool to watch them grow and evolve as a science project.

Butterflies

My group and I think that butterflies would be a good class pet because they need you to be quiet so they can grow and evolve through their life. Another reason butterflies would be a good class pet is because they can be educational because you can watch them go though metamorphosis (cocoon thingy). You also don't get it as a butterfly you get it as a caterpillar so you can watch the caterpillar eat and stuff. All and all my group thinks that butterflies would make a good class pet.

Ant Farms 

Ant farms are scientifically proven to be very satisfying and can help relieve stress. Also you can document them as a science project and watch them evolve. They are easy to take care of but still teach kids responsibility and other life skills. Ant farms also live and last a long time (1 to 2 years) because the queen is always laying eggs and baby ants are always hatching but ants are also always dying. The western harvester ant is the best for the classroom pet wise .

Facts about the Western Harvester ant:

Life span: 3-6 months

Habitat: desert or arid grasslands Western America 

Small colonies: about 5 years 

Big colonies: about 40 years 

Size: 6.5 -10 mm

Diet: seeds and smaller insects.

And now to Jamie to talk about frogs ! 

Frogs

Frogs are great class pets because they're easy to take care of.  All you need is a warm environment and it should be damp. You should change water every 2 to 4 days. It could be scientific because you could get frogs as tadpoles and then watch them grow and every few days you take a picture, and then when they're frogs you could see how they evolved. Frogs should live for a few years and they could help the kids calm down. One of the best class pet frogs are the American Bullfrogs. I used to have a frog named Doctor Pancake. I named him that because he looked like he got smooshed and that's one of the reasons I want to write about frogs. I have always wanted a class pet and a majority of our class wants a class pet.