Cove students purchase chance to touch soft rabbits and hissing cockroaches

Mary’s little lamb may follow her to school one day, but a variety of animals and even bugs followed several Fairview/Miss Jewell Elementary School students to school. Students recognized for positive behavior choices were rewarded with a special petting zoo if they had earned enough “space bucks” to buy the privilege. Space bucks is a school currency students earn for following the rules in the classroom and being good citizens. Students can purchase items from the Space Buck store or save them up for big events such as the petting zoo. Amanda Brown, the school counselor, organized the event. “Our students worked hard and were very excited about earning this incentive for amazing Fairview/Miss Jewell behavior,” she said. Several teachers brought their dogs for the students to pet, but there were also so more unusual animals and even insects. Nicole Sisco, a fourth grade teacher, brought in several goats, a rabbit and Hissing Cockroaches for the petting zoo. Sisco uses the animals to teach about learned behaviors, inherited traits and adaptation in her classroom. “It is a positive reward for students who continuously make good choices while exposing them to animals that they may never have seen before,” she said. Although intended as a reward, teachers and staff used the hands-on opportunity to educate students about the animals and insects and their environments including what they need to survive as well as what they contribute to society. The outdoor lesson met several animal and organism requirements for Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. Lavon Mancha, a fourth grader, had seen goats before but said he noticed new things about the animals when he got to be close enough to pet them. “I didn’t realize that they had such big ears, horns and a ridge of hair on their backs,” Manchen said. Fourth grader Branden Shell is familiar with animals because he visits a friend’s farm, but he still found the petting zoo to be a great reward. “I did enjoy going to the petting zoo today. It is always fun to get to do something different,” he said. Kindergartner Jaycob Curbey was surprised how soft the animals’ coats of fur were and thought it was money well spent.“I like goats and rabbits and it was worth the space bucks to pet them,” he said.