Today is our first full day of being pet owners!
Talk about something new on a Friday for our little familia! (Hopefully it won’t be a bust like last week’s NFUF!)
With a husband and daughter who are allergic to cats and with the craziness of having three kiddos in just about four years, we’ve put off getting a pet for obvious reasons (my sanity).
But our kids–I felt–needed some fuzz in their lives to teach them the responsibility of taking care of a living thing, to show them how fun pets can be, and to teach them how to act around other people’s pets.
So our turn came yesterday when we picked up Golden and Guinea, our two
little girl guinea pigs!
- Guinea Pig Pets: We went to visit our county animal rescue on Tuesday, and on that day we submitted our application for our furry friends. On Wednesday, thanks to some really awesome websites about guinea pig care, cages, health, and everything else guinea, we set up and created our cage and purchased supplies. On Thursday we picked up our babies. Today, we went through the motions of feeding, cleaning, and playing with Golden and Guinea.
We decided that according to whose day it is, that person will be the one who helps get fresh water and food and who helps mom or dad clean the cage. That person will also be the first to hold and pet one, too.
Today, before rest time, I also created these rules with the help of Maddy, Owen, and Cora so that my little ones are reminded of appropriate ways of interacting with our precious G & G. And–hey–I’ll admit it, I’m always looking for ways of sneaking in a little bit of learning in our days, so this chart won’t hurt with our early literacy skills either, right? The rule, next to a picture of it (or something similar), helps emerging readers to decode unfamiliar words.
Our Guinea Pig Rule chart which now hangs above G & G’s cage.
We even found a new life for our good ole Sensory Box that had been hanging out in our living room, sadly unused for the last few weeks. I think it’s much happier as a guinea pig hideaway. Or maybe not.
Golden is peeking through her new hideout.
Maddy’s feeding Guinea.Tomorrow morning, we’re heading to the library to search for some good Guinea pig books. We only have a few Max and Mo books which feature hamsters as the main characters, which (I think) might be as close as we’ll get, but it’s worth a try. I see a new series in the making. . .
We’ll see how it goes. Our New for Us Fridays won’t get much more awesome than this, I fear. Maddy, Owen, and Cora are in heaven right now, and although I know the excitement will not last forever, it’s been fun for us today.
Welcome, Golden and Guinea, to the family!
That is great. We have a dog and there have been so many great teaching moments associated with caring for her.
I remember reading a series of picture books to my studnets about a piggy named Fluffy (fluffy goes apple picking, etc). He goes on lots of adventures in his classroom. We had a hamster named fluffy and we just pretended that the character was a hamster.
Congratulations! It looks like your new friends will be well taken care of. They are adorable!
My favorite part about guinea pigs are their little grunting noises. I am sure your kids will enjoy their new friends!
What wonderfully fun and exciting teaching moments you will have this summer! I'm thinking of doing a bunny next year… although I'm afraid of taking on more responsibly???
I'd love to hear more about your pet + kid journey as it continues this summer…
Last time we bought a gerbil it died within a week and wasn't a good investment. Bummer!!
This story is too long for a comment, but I'm sharing it here anyway. ;P
When I was counseling in grad school, my advising psychologist has a chart, that much likes yours had an emotion face with a descriptive word. It said things like "Happy," "Sad," "Frustrated." The other grad student and I made him a new chart with less appropriate emotions and faces that we made ourselves. Moving on…
I looked at your awesome charts (need to make one re: Jackson!) and immediately saw myself making a chart for my home with an angry picture of me and a happy picture of me.
Mommy Doesn't Like:
1. No yelling
2. No biting
3. No pushing sister down the steps
Mommy Likes:
1. Pushing your chair in so we keep all five toes
2. Eating your cereal before you down your whole glass of milk
So you think that chart would work? 😉
Welcome to G & G!!! Congrats 🙂
thanks, ladies!! RMommy, you are a nut. I'd love to see that chart. . .
Congrats on your new family members! Sounds like a lot of organized fun at your household. Tastey healthy treats are a great way to bribe your new pet and to learn to trust you.
Cheers
Jodi