Show & tell precautions

[TimNA]

My 6yr old daughter volunteered me to show her kindergarten class some snakes. Her teacher is very excited & wants to know when I can come in. I figured it would be a good way to teach the little ones that snakes are not scary & mean as they are portrayed.

Anyways,

I never did anything like this so what precautions should I take?

I was thinking of not allowing them to touch the snakes, or if they do just their back & always have the snake's head pointing at me so no chance of a bite.

Also what would be the best thing to transport them in? I would want something that I can keep them fairly warm still while they are not being shown.

Any other suggestions/comments are always welcome!


Thanks as always!

[ExotixTowing]

I would take just a few, pick a number you feel comfortable handling

Maybe your most handled ..

transport them in a pillow case inside a tub ???

[Vypyrz]

If you are worried about possible bites, then keeping control of the head is a good idea. Check with the teacher and see if they have hand sanitizer for the kids to use. If not, then it would be a good idea to bring some as well. Good luck on the presentation, and take photos...

[crazyj83]

I do this quite offten with my pre k daughters class amd my sons class also. I olnu take 2-3 max. I transport in bags inside a tub, and carry a bottle of hand sanitizer always. I tend to start small with earlings, check reaction oof the kids ( teacher) then move up in size from there. I allow the willing kids to hold my 2000+ gr male who is more of a dog then snake..lol.. Either way, good luck, have fun and be ready to answer lots of questions. +

[ultramad]

I have taken snakes to lots schools over the years but would only take a snake which I trust, handled regularly and preferably not head shy. I ask the children not to touch the head or stroke against the scales just in case. If the snake is not head shy then the snake will not make a sudden movement if touched and make anyone jump.

It is best to get the children to line up and not crowed the snake so it is not stressed out. Also doing a short talk before about the snake(s) like where they come from etc settles everyone down and initiates more of a Q&A session. If you have time get a few children to measure a snake by using a piece of string to make it a bit more fun.

I use a snake bag and a padded box with scrunched up newspaper to transport the snakes in for a short distance.

Lastly enjoy it

[Annarose15]

I take a half dozen of mine to my mom's fifth grade class for a mini genetics lesson each year. They are not allowed to touch them (school rules), but I am not sure I would be comfortable with that many kids sticking hands out - snakes are still snakes, and can be spooked/overwhelmed. I walk them around the room one by one while talking about them, started with the smaller ones and working up in size. My mom is the only other person allowed to hold them, so I have two out at a time at the absolute most, but usually only one. Other people's kids are less predictable and trustworthy than my snakes, so I make sure I have as much control as possible. I only take questions from the front of the room, out of reach, so I'm not having to watch little hands while looking at the person asking the question. I transport in individual snake bags, in a cardboard paper box from the office. If you do allow anyone to hold them, I strongly recommend you only have one out at a time, and make all the kids sit on the floor, so your BP doesn't have far to fall, or get swung into a door frame/desk/wall/child by accident - take the snake to the kids always, not the other way around. These are Kindergarteners, after all.

Oh, and be prepared to answer the question "How can you tell if it's a girl or a boy?"

[h00blah]

Here's a great thread about a similar situation that you're in:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...r-or-no-waiver

My 6yr old daughter volunteered me to show her kindergarten class some snakes. Her teacher is very excited & wants to know when I can come in. I figured it would be a good way to teach the little ones that snakes are not scary & mean as they are portrayed.

I hope it goes great! I'm glad the teacher sounds excited instead of spooked! The teachers I had would have said NO WAY!!! IT'S THE DEVIL! lolol

You could also bring a little fact sheet to help you come up with some cool stuff to say

I thought I saw one somewhere on this website ..

[TimNA]

Thanks all for the comments & the link I thought there was something like that here but couldn't find it.

I told the teacher we would have to work out some details beforehand so these are something I will be bringing up with her.

[DooLittle]

We did this with our daughters class last year, and will be doing it again this year in a month. It's a great way to help make a few less people afraid of snakes. We have hand sanitizer before and after. I only take 2-3 of my most trusted snakes. I have the children line up, and one at a time pet with the scales, and no heads. Some people recommend getting children's parents to sign a waiver, just in case of an accident. I was surprised how many of them were just in awe. Bring lots of facts. Our daughters teacher put a pic of the world up on the overhead projector and had my daughter show the other children where they came from. Then she told them what they ate. We had a questions session, and did petting last. It was so much fun. I definately held snake and kept control of the head. Mine are all used to a kid though, so that helps. Have fun!

[Clint Bundy]

I have been taking snakes to schools for 5 years. I transport them in pillow cases and then put them into coolers. I usually take 5-6 snakes depending on how many classrooms I visit that day and also it depends on what the kids got to see the year before. I take a range of animals by size and color. The pied and bumble bee are usually the ones that get the oohs and aahhs. I take my dumerals boa and maybe one of my sons corn snakes. The rest are the ball pythons. I do give the kids the opportunity to touch a snake at the end of the show. I protect the head and make the kids line up single fileand explain that they can pet it. They aren't allowed to grab or hold the snakes. Most kids want to try to touch the head so you have to be very careful with that. I only take the calmest snakes that I have in my collection. It helps to do some research on them and make the kids answer questions. Always remember to have the time for the kids to ask whatever questions they have too. Have fun with it!