This week at Forestville Montessori, we celebrate the 3rd birthday of one of our favourite furry friends, Monty!
Monty is our unofficial school mascot. He is a source of endless joy and playfulness for students at FMS and a gentle, calming companion for children who need extra support from time to time. Did you know that Monty – and the team of other animals at FMS – are part of our unique animal care program? They provide FMS students from toddler through to primary school with daily opportunities for social, practical and theoretical learning.
In addition to Monty, FMS is home to a number of other school pets and animals, each offering social, developmental and learning experiences to our students. And lots of fun too!
Forestville Montessori School is home to:
- 1 dog
- 6 chickens
- 3 guinea pigs
- 1 turtle
- 1 bearded dragon
- + aquariums full of fish!
That’s a lot of animals to take care of – and taking care of our animals is a great teacher to our students!
Our school animal provide students aged 2 to 12 years with a range of practical and theoretical learning as well as personal, and social development opportunities.
Some of the tasks involved in looking after our pets include:
- Feeding and maintaining fresh food and water sources
- Cleaning cages/ enclosures, refilling hay stocks, feeding trays and water bottles
- Washing items used by the animals such as blankets or feeding pots
- Collecting eggs
- Brushing, combing and exercising the animals
- Playing, petting and caring for the animals
- Our older students have even been involved in vet visits when the animals need vaccinations
Taking care of the animals at FMS provides every student, no matter how young, with a myriad of physical, cognitive and social learning opportunities.
Learning from animals
Through guided interactions with our school pets, our toddler and preschool students develop:
- gross and fine motor skills through activities such as throwing a ball, holding a lead or using a brush/comb to care for the animal.
- social awareness skills such as being gentle or patient and how to respect the needs and boundaries of others.
Older students at FMS take a more active role in caring for our school pets and in doing so, they gain a broader range of practical and social skills:
- Practical cleaning and washing skills – yes, they use washing machines, pegs, lines and sometimes get dirty in the guinea pig and chicken enclosures!
- Pre-empting the needs of the animals and what may be required to care for them.
- The ability to care for something other than oneself.
- Personal responsibility.
- Food preparation and knowledge; what does each animal eat? How much? When and how often?
- Measuring and planning food and water quantities.
- How to care and handle the animals with respect, taking turns, allowing space and time for the animals to rest; knowing when this is needed.
- Logistics like how can we better share how best to care for our animals with our wider parent community?
In addition to practical and social skills, our school pets offer primary students at FMS a wide range of explorative learning opportunities and scope for deeper academic learning, should a child’s curiosity be raised.
These may include – but are certainly not limited to:
- Exploring the interaction of animals with their environment.
- Following the evolution, traits and characteristics of various species (we have birds, mammals, reptiles, fish).
- Understanding natural threats and survival adaptations of each species.
- Comparing native and non-native animal species
- Exploring the natural habitat of an animal and the ecosystems they require to thrive
- Learning about the human-animal interactions over time and through history eg. farming practices with chickens
- Ethical considerations of human impact on animals such as fishing and farming practices
- Comparisons between domesticated, farmed and wild animals
- Learning about the impact on changing environments on animal numbers, and sustainability.
This list could go on and on.
Exposure to animals in the school environment opens a world of curiosity and opportunity. Who knows – we may have the next Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall or David Attenborough among us!
Exposure to animals in the school environment opens a world of curiosity and opportunity. Who knows – we may have the next Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall or David Attenborough among us!
School Pets are an important and unique part of the educational landscape at FMS.
While we are grateful for the inspiration and learning opportunities our animals provide, we also acknowledge that every child benefits from the simple feel good joy and pleasure of watching the fish in our aquarium, playing ball with Monty, or giving one of our guinea-girls a cuddle!
