Snakes at School

[frankykeno]

Mike and I had offered to bring in a couple of snakes to meet our son Mikey's class. Well apparently there's growing interest in our little "snake show" and as of this morning Mikey's principal asked if the entire student body could participate (it's a small private christian school so not as many kids as you might think).

We're really excited about doing this next Wednesday and helping some kids and adults better understand snakes, their place as pets and their natural role in the wild. We're taking Emi the milksnake, Severus the boa constrictor, and from the ball pythons, Orlah - a mature female and Riordan - an 06 male and perhaps another BP. We're taking along some examples of sheds to show the kids and of course a bottle of hand sanitizer. Mikey's very excited as he will get to hold some snakes in front of the other kids (some don't believe him when he says we have 15 snakes at home LOL).

Wish us luck. This is our first major school presentation and we're hoping to have a lot of fun mixed in with some good solid information.

[rabernet]

You guys will do awesome! Be sure to have someone take pictures!!! Good luck!

[Nate]

ooo nice! u should record each session and make note of the questions asked. While you probably already have all those questions answered in your head, it'd be a neat idea to listen to the questions and your answers again.

[Freakie_frog]

Thats Great!! Good luck and take pics..Loads of pics

As reptile keepers education is our greatest tool. You guys need a cookie for using our most powerful tool to our advantage.

See this is funny you take a 15' Burm in a class of 1st and 2nd graders and they'll all want to see and touch it. Take the same kids 5 years later and no one will want to.

[gibbrishclown]

I got to see a couple kids with my new female yesterday and you're right... the older kids 10+ were uncomfortable, but the baby girl on up to the 7-8 year olds were very interested! And very comfortable... They even listened when I told them they couldn't touch her head (personal preference, she's a little headshy) The baby was on my hip sticking her tongue out at the snake (my friend was holding the snake- I was holding the tiny human LOL) I asked baby "what's a snake say" and she stuck her tongue out... oh it was much cuter in person LOL... anyway KUDOS to you franky!!! I look forward to the update afterwards!!

[ZEKESMOM]

That's awesome....Yes, make sure to take pics, but maybe you could have someone video it That way you could have the "memory" for Mikey. And then you could use the video as a presentation to get more "education" jobs Best of luck to you guys

[frankykeno]

Thanks everyone! We'll see about pics/video. Since this is our first big presentation I think I'd rather do a couple then get a video record (so you all don't see us stumble through it the first go round LOL).

We're sitting down to do a sort of guideline/plan we can follow so we move smoothly through the main points we want to share with the kids (they will be potentially pre-school up to grade 8). Basically starting with misconceptions about snakes aka what do they already "know" about snakes. At this point they won't even see the snakes as they will all still be bagged. I figure this way we can deal with fears and misinformation right up front without a snake being seen.

Then we are showing Emi the albino milksnake first. She's so small and brightly colored she appears almost toylike and should help the kids open up to the concept of snakes being handled in front of them. Also it may be rather funny to see the adults sort out their "fear of the big mean snake" when faced with cutsie pootsie little Emi. LOL

Severus, the boa will be next. He's a lot bigger than Emi so it will be a good contrast to her. Then the ball pythons last.

We'll talk a lot about how snakes are like and not like humans, dogs, cats, etc. I always find with kids if you can get them to equate something to their own personal experience, they get it much faster and remember it much longer. Things like how we hear and snakes hear, how we smell things and how a snake does, etc. What makes a snake hiss or strike and how we can deal with that (emphasis on empathy for the snake and responsiblity on the human). Then a bit about where each species comes from (makes the geography teachers do the happy dance LOL). In this section we'll mention how snakes are religious symbols in some countries (thanks to Robin for offering to gather that research for me!), how they are farmed in Africa and other interesting things about how snakes are seen around the world good and bad.

Then we'll talk a bit about proper snakekeeping, respect for them both in captivity and in the wild. What to do if they see a snake in their yard and why it's good for it to be there. How to behave if they are around captive snakes, safe handling and that sort of thing. Mikey, our 6 year old, will participate at this point showing how to safely and gently handle each type of snake.

Then they can touch the snakes (not their heads of course) and examine various snake sheds we have (hand sanitizer station set up) and we'll take general questions. We are figuring about 45 to 60 minutes tops. Long enough for the snakes and more than long enough for the littler kidlets.

Suggestions? Comments?

P.S. The snakes are going bagged seperately in snake bags as well as being inside secure transport tubs. We don't need an escape or one getting set loose by some curious child when we are distracted.

[frankykeno]

Should have added that the first bit will be a thank you to the school for inviting us and allowing us to share our passion for our snakes. Then a very short set of rules for the presentation (sit quietly, do not grab or rush at us with the snakes out, hand up to ask questions, please keep screaming to a minimum LOL

[Freakie_frog]

Sounds good...

also when touching the snakes use two fingers and touch them very gently..

[frankykeno]

Oh thank you! I almost forgot the two finger rule! *scribbles that in my notes*

A lot of Mikey's schoolmates are African-American so we're thrilled to bring snakes native to Africa into their lives and share a bit about ball pythons in their natural world as well as in the pet trade.