I love this Best Practices suggestion from teacher Justin Parmenter and published on the Teacher2Teacher website. At his school’s recent Open House, he asked parents and guardians to respond to this prompt on a note card. He collected the note cards so he could share them with students who need encouragement at some time throughout the year. How do you involve your students’ parents and guardians in their learning?

Have you ever considered getting a pet for your classroom? Did you know that there is an educational grant program that could help you achieve that goal? Pets in the Classroom provides grants to teachers who would like to purchase and maintain small animals in the classroom. The program was established by the Pet Care Trust to provide children with an opportunity to interact with pets, in the belief that when children have positive experiences with animals, this can help to shape their lives for years to come.

Check out this website for more information: Pets in the Classroom. You can also view the YouTube video below to learn more.