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Ontario’s Childcare IndustryFeature StoryCREATING SAFE, FUN ANIMALENCOUNTERS IN THE CLASSROOMBy: Adrian Venier, Critters On The Go!Incorporating regular animal encountersinto your programming provides manybenefits for the children in your care. Notonly does it help children appreciate and respectnature, it may actually help lower their stress levelsand enhance their capacity to empathize with others.Just as important, regular experiences with animalsin the classroom may help children overcome oravoid developing irrational fears about certain typesof creatures, such as snakes or spiders. For children inurban areas, classroom animal experiences are oftenthe only exposure they have to animals, as manyworking families do not have the space or the timerequired to have a pet at home.There are two main ways to bring animals intoyour classroom: keeping a classroom pet and hiringa professional company that specializes in bringinganimals into classroom environments. Keepingclassroom pets can be very rewarding for youngerchildren in that it teaches them responsibility and hasalso been shown to promote social skill development.However, many facilities have restrictions on keepingclassroom pets, mainly due to children’s allergies. Youmay also find it difficult to provide proper care for aclassroom pet 365 days per year. What do you do onweekends or holidays?Having a professional company come into yourdaycare or school allows children the opportunityto learn about a wide variety of animals (includingexotic pets) under the supervision of someone whocompletely understands the care and behaviours ofthese animals. Pertinent information about each of theanimals is given, and questions from children can beanswered accurately and promptly. The presenter canalso demonstrate how to properly hold and pet eachof the animals and assist children to understand thedangers associated with particular types of animals. Heor she may also be able to emphasize environmentalmessages related to protecting animal habitats, oreven help children understand how to better care forany pets they have at home and why some animalsdon’t make good pets.Depending on the types of animals involvedand the capacity and experience of the companyyou choose, animal education shows are possible forchildren as young as six months of age. Typically,however, animal programming tends to work bestfor children between four and ten years old, as thisage group is old enough to respond to and answerquestions and doesn’t tend to be afraid to pet any ofthe animals involved.When choosing a company to do deliver animalrelatedprogramming to your group, always doyour homework. Ask other daycare owners whichcompanies they’ve used in the past, contact a varietyof providers and be sure to interview them. If youcan, see if you can sit in on a program the companyis doing elsewhere and see that you’re comfortablewith what they have to offer. Ask for references fromprevious clients and pay attention to how well theprovider cares for the animals.When you’re making your arrangements, be surethe provider knows the ages of the children and ask fora list of the animals that will be visiting your classroom,so you can discuss them with the children prior tothe date of their visit. Depending on the provider, heor she may even offer suggestions about classroomprogramming you can do prior to the date of the event.Continued on next pageSUMMER/BACK TO SCHOOL 2012 • ChildcareTODAY 13