So the kids have gone back to school. Books, markers, homework and pets. That's right pets. The Classroom pet. I never actually ever attended a school that let a teacher have a classroom pet. (The mice in science class don't count neither do the frogs.) I did once get to care for a classroom pet. A friend of mine was a teacher and had a bird in the classroom. None of the kids could take it home for christmas and my friend was traveling for the holidays so I got to watch "Lovey" the dove.

So what are the popular pets? According to petMD.com it's everything from a bearded dragon to fish. Surprisingly turtles did not make the list nor did birds. Not having kids in school I can't really say if this top 5 list holds true but you may want to check in with your 5th grader to see what they might be caring for in the classroom.

I have a top five list of my own which is completely impractical but would make the classroom pet idea fun.

5- Tarantula

4 - Miniature Horse

3 - Penguin

2 - koala

1 - Monkey

Now I know it seems like I am mocking the classroom pet but really I am not. I think that teaching kids to care for an animal helps them realize a lot of life lessons first and foremost responsibility. And let's face not every kid can have a pet at home so learning about it at school is a perfect solution. Making kid aware that care for something is part of life is something that can definitely be part of the daily curriculum. Plus the pet adds other benefits to classroom learning including math, science and geography.

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