Sustainability Day 19- Animal Care

I would have to say, like most of us, most children love animals and while many may have pets at home, I do believe that animals can play a very significant role in child care settings.

Having an animal in your service provides children with the opportunities to experience animal care including feeding, providing comfort, cleaning and hygiene practices and friendship. This relationship between children and animals nurtures awareness of interdependence between people, plants and animals hence supports further environmental awareness and empathy and sustainable attitudes.

So what types of animals might you consider? Obviously you need to do some research and think about weekends and holiday closures…. as well as potential allergies. You also need to ensure you have the correct space. I am not  a fan of fish in a tank (unless it is a large tank) as the point of the exercise is respect and appreciate animals. So there is a bit of research, however the research is well worth it!

Here are a list of my favourites;

Chickens are great… they fend for themselves extremely well and silkies are very child friendly. We have had these at home for 7 years now and they truly are beautiful placid animals.

One of my favourites!  The Axolotl (also called the Mexican Walking Fish). They need very little upkeep and feed only a couple of times per week, however they are intriguing, soft squishy creatures!

The “Budgie”… another very easy, tame animal that is happy to sit on your hand, head or shoulder!

Rabbits can also be a great centre pet as long as you choose a rabbit breed that is child friendly!

Native bees are a great centre animal! Very little upkeep, wonderful to watch, great for garden pollination and of course appreciation of our Australian native stingless bees!  We also have a hive at home and it has been a fantastic experience. 

For those centres lucky enough to have large outdoor areas maybe a small farm is an option – sheep, goats, cows. Obviously they must be in their own fenced area…but what an amazing opportunity to learn respect and responsibility.

BUT…. if you are a service that is unable to have “real” pets for whatever reason…. that’s OK.. you can still provide opportunities for animal care through your dramatic play experiences. Set up a pet shop, RSPCA, a Vet.. and have conversations with children about how to care for animals.

So whichever animal you have in your centre (real or pretend) always take the time to talk to children about animal care, the relationship  and interdependence between people, animals and the land, care and empathy towards animals such as how we handle them and their perspectives. We must always try to instill attitudes of appreciation for all living things as this is what will create environmentally aware children and future generations.

If you have animals in your centre please feel free to post pictures and learning outcomes for others to see.

Look out for Day 20!