Weeks 1 – 3
We have had a lovely settling in time in the classroom, getting to know the children and the children getting to know us and the school environment.
As we spent time talking with the children about their families, we realised that a lot of them had pets and we quickly saw that here was a good opportunity to incorporate this into our first mantle. The first thing we did was to collect photographs of each child’s pet – this could be their pet, or a family member or a friend’s pet. We have created a display showing all the different pets and encouraged everyone to have a go at writing their name and the pet’s name
During these discussions several children mentioned pets that are no longer alive, allowing us to begin to think about what is past and present in a meaningful way:
“I have got happy memories of Bear. Bear used to sleep under my bed”;
“Tess was a lovely gentle cat. I would like another cat”
The children helped to group the pets in different ways. As a class we grouped according to type and then used other ways of grouping suggested by the children – by colour, the number of legs, type of coat (eg feathers or fur). We recorded how many there were in each group
Week 4
Word has spread that we know a lot about looking after pets, and when the school office staff noticed the email below, they thought of us and wondered if we could help
This generated some questions, such as what is an email? What is the public? What is support? What is the RSPCA?
“An email is a message telling you something”
“You get them on computers and i-pads”
“The public is all of us everywhere”
“All of us”
“They are asking people to help them”
“You can support a football team”
None of the children knew what the RSPCA was, but were keen to learn more and to find answers to some of the questions. A careful re-reading of the email, and sharing some non-fiction books, helped with their understanding:
“It is sad that animals need new homes”
“A new owner must know how to look after a pet”
“It is cruel to treat your pets badly”
“I think we would be good at finding new homes for them”
“We are good at helping people”
“I think we should help”
We talked about it and unanimously decided that we would help by setting up our own Bealings Pet Rehoming Centre
Week 5
Setting up Bealings Pet Rehoming Centre has provided opportunities for lots of:
- Mathematical language around weight and measure
“We need small bags of food for small cats and dogs, medium bags for middle size cats and dogs, and big bags for big cats and dogs””
“”Balance is the same on both sides; if it goes down it is too heavy on that side”
- Number recognition and counting
“You need to count and check how many tablets are in the bottles each week and put that number on the label”
” I will put the number above each blanket so we know how many there are”
“If we put a number on a bed we will know how many beads we have got”
- Size and repeating patterns
“We need small collars for cats and small dogs and bigger collars for big dogs”
“Kittens and puppies need tiny collars”
- Developing fine motor skills
- Writing for a purpose (labelling equipment)
- Awareness of health and safety for themselves and the pets in the rehoming centre
“My Mum keeps tablets on a high shelf where we can’t reach them”
“You should keep the tablets locked away or on a top shelf”
“If pets eat too many tablets they could get sick or die”
“You need a special code on a special box”
“Or a safe with a padlock”
We will continue to make this area rich in text and mathematical language, and provide many writing opportunities, as we develop this area.
Week 6
The team have worked so hard in order to get ready for an inspection from the RSPCA. The inspector was a adult in role, and the children responded well to their first experience of this particular convention within the Mantle of the Expert.
The inspector came with many questions:
Inspector “Can you tell me what you have done to set up Bealings Pet Rehoming Centre?”
Team “We have got heart checkers”
Team “That’s a stethoscope”
Team “Collars and leads to take them for a walk”
Team “Small bags of food for small cats and dogs, and big bags of food for big cats and dogs”
Team “Beds and blankets to keep them cosy”
Team “We are stitching them a toy to play with”
Inspector “What will you do if an ill or injured animal arrives?”
Team “We will care for them and look after them”
Team “Give them tablets and medicine to make them better if they are ill”
Team “If a pet comes in with a poorly leg we can put a bandage on it”
Team “We need to take a photo of the bone”
Team “An x-ray will show up if a bone is broken”
Inspector “It is important to store medication safely. How are you going to do this?”
Team “We have a special cabinet”
Team “With a number code”
Team “Only we will know the number”
The Inspector was pleased with the teams’ responses, and other than a few suggestions which needed attention, she said she was happy to pass the centre once she had evidence of these further requirements and that she would be sending two dogs for us to look after.
The first pets arrived:
“I wonder if the dogs will be in two boxes or if one in each box?”
“If they aren’t in the same box we need to beds for them to sleep in”
“We must be very quiet or we will scare the dogs”
“They are in the same box so they must be together”
“Look, the box has writing on it”
The team then worked together to read the writing using their knowledge of initial sounds and common words (Honey, Mum, Tilly, Puppy)
“I think one word says Mum”
“Maybe it’s their names”
“They need a bed together because it’s a Mummy dog and her puppy”
“If you take them away from each other they will be very unhappy”
“Lonely and they would cry for each other”
Several of the team checked on the dogs throughout the day
The workers from Bealings Pet Rehoming Centre arrived one morning to find the area closed off with tape
“The tape means no-one is allowed in”
“The pills are everywhere and the pets could eat them”
“It could have been a thief or a burglar”
“If they came in the night we might have spotted a dark shadow”
“We could call the police. That’s 999”
“We could have an alarm which is very loud”
“The alarm could go off at the police station and a camera could take a picture”
Each worker then designed either a camera or an alarm
The workers then decided that they should check the tablets were all there – a good opportunity to practice counting and fine motor skills
The cameras and alarms have been positioned around the centre to hopefully prevent this happening again.
Week 7
We have received another delivery of pets for rehoming from the Inspector: a Mummy cat and her two kittens found on a building site, living wild; a parrot whose owner is too old to look after it anymore; and a hamster which was found abandoned in an empty house
We shared our thoughts about the delivery
“Wild means they have no home to live in”
“No-one to feed them or care for them”
“The Mummy cat tries hard to look after them”
“They probably won’t be very friendly”
“They will need to learn to trust us”
“We won’t be able to get new owners until they like people”
An adult wondered if it would be a good idea to keep the cats and dogs together
“Dogs like chasing cats”
“They will knock everything over”
“They sort of growl at each other”
“I think they need a separate area away from the dogs”
From this suggestion a separate cat area has been created in the rehoming centre.
The group then discussed Peggy the Parrot
“Parrots can live for over 100 years”
“Cats eat birds so they can’t live together”
“Dogs don’t usually eat birds and parrots, so the parrot will be safe with the dogs and puppies”
The parrot has been placed with the dogs – in its cage!
Finally, we talked about the hamster
“If you are gentle with them they get very friendly”
“The cats will definitely eat the hamster so we need to keep the hamster cage with the parrot and dogs”
“You must wash your hands after you hold a hamster”
“You should wash your hands after you have held or played with any pets”
The hamster now lives with the parrot and the dogs.
The team continue to take great care of the animals.
We are constantly providing opportunities for mathematical and writing activities within the mantle, some of these will be with an adult, while many are independent
The story we have co-created with the children so far is displayed in the classroom – please do come in and share what we have been up to with your child. It will be lovely to see you!
Week 8
Each child has thought about the job role that they would take on in the rehoming centre and from this they have made an ID badge for when they are on duty. We have veterinary nurses, vets, treatment experts, pet dieticians, a cat expert, a puppy walker, an ornithologist, a radiologist and a sonographer.
A dog was found running around in the outside area of the rehoming centre, on a wet and cold day.
“He is cold, wet and shivering”
“It needs lots of towels and a warm blanket”
“We must check it is OK because it may have a cold or a temperature”
“It is whimpering because it is lonely and scared”
“I think we should x-ray in case it is hurt”
“I think it is just sad because it has lost its owner”
“It looks well looked after because it has a cosy coat”
“We should make posters saying it is at Bealings Rehoming Centre”
The rehoming centre workers have decided that the animals should have toys to play with and are working on these at the moment – a great opportunity to develop fine motor skills.
WEEK 9
Two boxes are delivered to the Rehoming Centre. The first contained a rabbit which was found running around on the road
“It looks like a baby rabbit”
“It will be very scared because it was nearly squashed”
“Rabbits live in a hutch and need hay to sleep on”
“And a run so it can exercise”
The next box was quite heavy and the children noticed the arrows on the side
“Twins maybe”
“It means they are the same”
“Not all twins are the same”
“They will need to be together”
“Number 5 is a big bed so they can both fit in”
“How can we tell which one is which?”
“We can make them a collar and put their name on it”
“The collars could be different colours”
The new additions were quickly settled into the Rehoming Centre
There was a concern that one of the dogs had a sore paw, and it would benefit from an x-ray to check the bones
Luckily, we have experts on hand to perform the x-ray and carry out the appropriate treatment plan.
WEEK 10
Our posters showing a lost dog have been displayed around the centre and in the local community. We have received a phone call from Mrs. Jones, saying that she is the owner and would very much like to have her dog back. Mrs. Jones explained that her dog had been scared by another dog and ran away from her, catching its name tag on a branch, so there was no contact number on the collar. The children listened, but did have some concerns – how would we know that ‘Snowy’ really was her dog, Scotty.
“She really has to show us she owns the dog before we let her take her”
“She could bring a photo of her dog and the name tag”
“If it is really her do the dog will be happy to see her and wag its tail”
“If it is scared of her it probably won’t be her dog”
“We must ask Mrs. Jones to come and see us”
Mrs. Jones comes to the rehoming centre, to answer some questions
“We have been calling him Snowy. We need to see that Scotty is pleased to see you”
“If he is not happy, we don’t think you can have him”
“He is happy to see you, and you are happy to see him”
“You can take him home. Our job is done”
“We will feel sad when he goes” (a child said with his head in his hands, looking very sad)
“Please look after him well”
“I am sad but I am happy as well”
“You could bring him to visit us”
The rehoming Centre staff didn’t have long to miss ‘Snowy’ as a large number of chickens needed our help. Due to an outbreak of bird flu, the chicken coop needed to be positioned inside the centre.
Our resident chicken expert explained that the chickens must be happy in their new home as the next day they began laying eggs. The eggs are collected and counted daily, and have provided plenty of opportunities for counting, 1:1 correspondence, 1 more then/ 1 less than, sorting and recording all of these findings.
WEEK 11
Staff arrive at the rehoming Centre one morning to discover that Goldie the hamster had escaped
“He ate some food and made crumbs”
“I’ve checked everywhere and can’t find him”
“I hope he hasn’t gone near the cats”
“There are cameras around the place so we could check them”
This was a great suggestion, so the children then created their footage showing Goldie’s escape!
We spent some time thinking about how we could recapture Goldie, and ensure that it didn’t happen again
“We could put food in his cave and food leading up to it”
“He will be asleep now because it is day time and he is nocturnal”
“We could make trap with a box and stick. When he goes under it it falls down”
‘”Goldie needs a more exciting home”
They strongly felt that the reason for Goldie’s escape was that his home wasn’t exciting enough and decided to design Goldi a new home
which they then initially constructed with the wooden blocks
This idea appeared to work as the security cameras captured Goldie having fun one evening.
Happily, the cleaner has since spotted Goldie climbing into his cage for food and quickly shut the lid!
WEEKS 12-14
Over the past weeks we have successfully rehomed the pets in Bealings Rehoming Centre – all in time for Christmas! We have created posters advertising the pets that we are still caring for and looking to rehome
The posters have been successful, and we had visits from several potential owners. The Rehoming Centre staff compiled a list of questions to ask each visitor to check they are suitable
The first visitor informed us that she lived in a small flat, on a middle floor with no garden, and did we have a pet suitable for her?
“If you don’t have a garden, you shouldn’t have a dog”
“If you have a cat in a flat it might try to get out of the window and fall down and hurt itself”
“You could have a hamster because they don’t need a garden”
“Would you like to meet Goldie?”
(whispering) “You must be very quiet or you will scare him”
The lady decides to take Goldie home.
Our next visitor already had many cats at home – in fact she had 16 – and clearly loved cats
“That’s a lot of cats. You have 16 already”
“If you have another three that will be 19”
The staff questioned her to make sure she was a suitable owner
“Do you have a ginormous garden because it would be chaotic with too many cats”
“We need to check that your cats will be OK with the new cats”
The lady reassured us that she had a large house and garden, with room especially for the cats, and sheds and a sunhouse outside in the garden. She also mentioned that she would carefully introduce the cats. While she was at the centre, she noticed Thumper the rabbit and said that she would like to give her granddaughter a rabbit for Christmas.
“Will you take care of the rabbit until Christmas day?”
“If it is a present you can’t wrap it up because it won’t be able to breathe”
“You will need a hutch and a run for the rabbit”
“Exercise makes a healthy rabbit”
The staff all agree that she is definitely qualified to look after the cats, and ensure that her granddaughter knows how to look after the rabbit. Another successful rehoming of one cat, two kittens, and one rabbit!
We received a last minute email from France from a family enquiring about the two dogs in our care, Honey and Tilly. The family are moving back to England, and are desperate to have dogs in their new home for Christmas. After a flying visit we could confirm that they would make perfect owners for the dogs.
This left us with Peggy the parrot and a number of chickens. We got a call from the owner of a local parrot sanctuary who told us that they only had one, rather lonely, parrot in their care, and they would happily take our parrot to join theirs. The chickens have found a new home at a farm, living in a large and cosy barn.
Bealings Pet & Rehoming centre has proved to be a very successful venture, and we have fulfilled all that was asked of us with care and compassion.
The last few weeks have seen us preparing and performing a magical nativity, the first in three years. What a success!
Hats have been made to be worn during the most delicious Christmas lunch, which was very much enjoyed by all.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and look forward to seeing you in the new year