I didn't know they made that noise!

    
     Last week was FFA week and the high school chapter organized a Petting Zoo to be held on Friday. As a Middle School Agriscience Teacher, I get to take my students over to the high school for this event. It's about a six minute walk between buildings and the weather on Friday was less than pleasant. This gave me the opportunity to teach my students about voting -  majority and 2/3. Since walking in the wind and rain would limit the rights of those who might want to stay indoors, we applied the concept of 2/3 vote. As a teacher who might have to make the trip six times, I gave pros and cons prior to voting to go to the Petting Zoo and made the con list as long a I could. Well . . .
    Going to the Petting Zoo provided a wonderful experience for my students. We saw 2 day old chicks, a pair of 6 day old kids, a ewe with her lamb, calves, piglets, goats, a steer, a pony, rabbits, a pet mouse, and a chicken. It is always a thrill for me to see my students' reactions to the animals. As we heard the sheep bleating, a common statement I got was "I didn't know they made that noise." Another common reaction was laughter. Yes, the joy my students had bubbled over in their laughter. Some students were seeing animals like these for the first time. For others they might have seen them before but never had the opportunity to touch them.

     With the high school FFA members there to answer questions, my students were free to ask questions in a one on one setting that they might be afraid to ask in class. When we move into our animal science unit, I will be able to make connections to this experience.

No "kid"ding about it. I love my job. It is another one of my joys.