My pre-K studio at school is my second home, and I’m sure a lot of teachers feel that way about their art room. About a year ago, I discovered, applied for (and was awarded!) an easy grant that helps teachers get classroom pets for free! It’s seriously the easiest grant application you’ll ever lay eyes on. Find it at PetsInTheClassroom.org.

At my school we ended up with a cute little betta named Chaseaway, who we love to draw and talk to. Below read about Philly art teacher Johanna Marshall’s experience with PITC:

(above, Johanna’s sweet little bundle of joy “Cupcake” chills in his cage)

From Johanna:

Pets in the Classroom gave our tough little corner of Philadelphia an opportunity to have a sweet, funny, goofy pet to love. We got a baby crested gecko, and if you’ve never seen one, imagine a thumb-sized dinosaur that licks its eyeballs and likes to nap upside down. Students got ready by learning about how to take care of a gecko, and then designing a habitat that would meet all its needs.

A few of my challenging older students helped me set up the tank and introduce the gecko to it, and they’ve been transformed by responsibility by the task, checking in on it each day and making sure other students follow the rules of pet care. We held a schoolwide vote on its name, talking about the democratic process, and decided on . . . Cupcake!

Cupcake has been the subject of many loving sketches, and when it shed its skin we tried it out by peeling glue off our hands. As soon as it’s more comfortable being handled, we’ll bring it out to draw, paint, and sculpt. In the meantime Cupcake reminds us to stay calm in the art room, and will reward us by coming out to climb around its tank and check us out, and sometimes come around the room to visit everyone.