Snakes at School

Way to go, Jo...

I did something like this for each 6th grade Biology class at my cousin's middle school... I took in a bunch of different animals from an exotic pet shop I used to work at and told them a bit about each one. At that age, there were kids that were genuinely interested, or completely indifferent, some afraid of the snakes, some not... some just wanting to disrupt and make a scene for their reputation, etc.... Overall it was a good experience but there were definately times when I had to stop the whole thing due to some of the mammals being frightened by all the noise.

I think you will really enjoy doing this, and so will the kids.

One bonus to Mikey's school is it's quite small (most classrooms have 10 to a maximum of 15 students). Being a private christian school one of it's attractions to Mike and I was the amazing way they have with the kids. There's no yelling, running around acting up and a ton of postive feedback defined by basic rules of behaviour and manners. We love having him there and everytime I'm in the building I walk out even more happy we made the decision to remove him from public school. It's hard to describe but it's just an amazing learning environment! Michael is doing beautifully there but even more important everyday he gets the message that he is a special and loved child who is truly cared about at school.

I expect our presentation will likely be quite orderly as the kids are used to being mannerly and respectful to the teachers and each other.

I would make sure that the kids wash thier hands before touching the snakes...you never know which ones smell like the dog they petted on the way to school or the hamster/rabbit they said goodbye to in the morning!!

Great feeling to educate others about animals that generally deemed "gross" or "cool" ...both cases usually backed with zero actual knowledge. In my 10yrs working in education I've had some opportunities to present my animals and share some info. Its been a couple years now with with my current position that hasn't really presented the opportunity sadly. However just this morning I was taking a class with some of my co-workers and our Superintendent and I used some of my animal photos in a project which the whole "class" then got to see.

Enough babble...have a blast, "spread the word".

I did this a couple times in North Dakota. The kids loved it. A lot of kids that were scared at first lost a lot of thier fear during the presentation. Almost all the kids came to pets my pets when I was finished. The teachers on the other hand were another story. Some wouldn't even enter the room. Thier loss!

On a side note I brought a few bottles of anti-bacterial handwash for every one to use before and after handling.

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Originally Posted by TekWarren

have a blast, "spread the word".

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yes! i'd luv to see a world where snakes r not viewed as disgusting slimey "things!":rockon:

Good point there Charlie! We will be making sure the snake's are presented for touching with their heads under our full control however so should anything occur it would be us not a child or teacher. We're picking the snakes also that are most used to being handled or have been with us long enough that we can pretty much judge their reactions (however we're not silly enough to not be very careful...this is a new situation for all of us really).

My daughter daycare loves it when i bring in scooter. And the kids never get enough.

Congrats Jo, on spreading a liitle knowledge to untainted little minds. We did the same thing last year at Shelby's school. We were going to give a presentation to Shelby's class of about 30. When we got there, the assistant principal asked if we wouldn't mind doing the presentation for the whole first grade (about 100 kids and teachers). That was such a rewarding experience for us. And, to my amazement, every person in attendance at least touched a snake, and about 60% held one (those numbers include every teacher and the A. Principal holding one). Of course the one that all of the adults held was Monica's Pied female. We were supposed to do it again this year, but somehow the presentation never got set up and there is only one week of school left. I guess we will end up skipping one year. I guess we'll do it for third grade. Hear is a pic of Shelby's class after the presentation.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...4/8/School.jpg

Have fun Jo.

Oh how cool Tim! Good for you and Monica! So many of Mikey's friends and quite a few of the teachers didn't quite believe him when he babbled on about all the snakes we have so it'll be fun for him to show them he wasn't "telling stories" LOL

Bit of a side story here. When I was discussing the presentation with the principal a teacher overheard us (not Mikey's teacher) and went into this long winded story about how this guy in some bar/club had this "big python" and was putting on a "show" and it started to choke him. From her account of it (totally unverified) the snake was killed to remove it. I just listened to the big dramatic tale then looked at her and said "if I was a snake and dragged into a smoke filled, noisy place I NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN, I'd have freaked out too! The only one at blame is that stupid guy!" Oh her other bit of "advice"....apparently "rats have no bones and can get anywhere they want since they squish down". I just blinked at this little jewel of dubious wisdom and replied "rats have bones and they only get where you let them get."

Amazing how uninformed some folks are. She'll be a hard sell if she even shows up for the presentation LOL.