Having a preschool class mascot for your classroom sounds like a huge responsibility and it is.   A classroom pet requires a lot of care – just as much care as having a pet at home. Teachers, if you are not up to the task, there is another way to do it. Bring toy mascot to school, instead.

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The Perfect Classroom Mascot

Recently we had a furry visitor come to our class who was absolutely no trouble at all. Gilbert The Dog is a very realistic looking stuffed toy beagle. He was easy to manage and such a good little boy.  This toy looks so real, for a moment you might even think you were looking at a real dog!

Adorable little girl with her beagle dog plush toy #AD

Gilbert was actually the classroom mascot for the first graders. One time a week, he went home with a child who wrote about what he did as a guest in their home. Eventually they ran out of children in that classroom to take care of him so it was time for Gilbert to do something new. Our preschool class was delighted to pitch in and have him join us for a day.

The children took him from place to place, petting him and showing him around. He read a book. He sat on the windowsill. He looked out the window. He joined them for circle time, too. He even watched us making our craft of the day. Gilbert had a great time in preschool and we wrote about it in a little story for the first grade class to read.

So, if you prefer to not have the responsibility of a live classroom mascot, I do recommend a stuffed toy that looks real. There are so many plush toy animals on the market that look very realistic, like Gilbert does.

How to have a classroom mascot with no effort at all! #kids #pets Share on X

3 Ways To Have a Live Pet Visit Your Classroom

1.Show and Tell  Another idea that requires very little care on the part of the teacher is to invite a live pet to visit for show and tell, like the cute guinea pig that came to our classroom.

2. You could also arrange for a therapy pet to come by. Therapy dogs can come to your class for part of a day, managed by their handlers. It will be a wonderful experience for your children.

 

3.If you are truly adventurous, contact the local reptile store. Ask them if they make classroom visits. The reptiles can be brought in by trained handlers so everything will be safe and sound. Our kindergarten teacher did just that and it was a great success. Even the most timid child was willing to take a closer peek at those fascinating creatures.

Have you ever had a classroom pet? What kind?

Enjoy!