Friday, August 13, 2010

Teaching Children to Respect Insects

That’s right!  Who would have thought I could throw my “respect our Earth Mother” ways into my classroom.  Today, I introduced my “unexpected guests” policy in my classroom.

For all “unexpected guests” such as grasshoppers, crickets, mice, etc.:

1.  If a student notices an unexpected guest in our room, they will gather a piece of paper, and a cup to collect said guest. 

2. Said student will then remove said guest from the classroom and re-release them into the outdoors near our classroom.

3. Student will quietly rejoin the class.

If a student is caught killing an unwanted guest in my classroom, they get an automatic strike (care of our 3 strikes, you’re in detention code of behavior).

 

6 Unwanted crickets were escorted today.  There are two exceptions to our guest rule.

#1 Spiders:

Spiders are sometimes poisonous.  It is not always safe for a student to try to catch a spider and release it, so spiders should be caught by the teacher, or killed by the student if they are on the floor.  I value my student’s wellbeing over a spider in this case.

#2 Snakes (yes, it’s an issue)

Snakes are also a safety hazard.  A snake should be immediately reported, and then students should move quietly and calmly to the other end of the room while we contact the office.  Most snakes in the building previously have been harmless, but we will take no risks when it comes to safety.

So excited!  I get to teach about environmentalism, and recycling, and all sorts of fun stuff this year!  You KNOW I love it :)

2 comments:

  1. Ok, I was NOT on aboard until I read your spider amendment. But as long as they can still get away with squishing spiders, I'm cool with that. lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. :) you've always been braver than I with bugs. I get someone to remove them for me! But I totally understand the spider and snake thing. And I can't believe snakes are an issue! I think I'd flip out for any snake, let alone a poisonous one!

    ReplyDelete