#28 Cute! Fun! The Great Adventure of Class Pets Tippy & Jellybean - From an Australian School -

Hello everyone. I'm Hojiko, a mother of two working as an assistant teacher at an Australian elementary school.
In Australia, spring break has ended, and the final term of the year has begun. In less than two months, the school year will end, and we will head into the long summer vacation.😉

Today, I would like to introduce a classic activity in Australian elementary schools called the "Class Pet."
This is something often done in the lower grades of elementary school, where the class keeps a stuffed animal pet that visits students' homes one by one each week. During the week the pet comes to their house, the student takes the pet wherever they go, and the pet joins the child in activities like eating meals, playing, and sleeping together.
They take photos of these moments and keep a record in a diary. Since every student in the class takes a turn doing this, by the end, everyone can share how the class pet spent its time and at whose house it stayed.❣️

In my second-grade son's class, two koalas named "Tippy and Jellybean" are the class pets.🐨✨ Luckily, Tippy & Jellybean came to our house for two weeks during the school holidays.

From here on, I would like to introduce our two weeks of school holidays through photos with Tippy & Jellybean.

● Sleepover Birthday Party

First, my son went to a birthday party for a close friend from class. Actually, this was my son's first sleepover. I was more nervous than he was as a parent. Since all the invited friends were also having their first sleepover, the parents communicated quite a bit about whether or not to let them participate.
Contrary to the parents' worries, the children seemed to have a great time!!

● Camping

We went camping again during the school holidays. This time, we headed north for three hours. Although it was a campsite, we drove for 45 minutes off-road, like a roller coaster, on a 4WD. We drove through bushland that left many scratches on the car, so it was truly in the middle of nowhere. All there was, was the beautiful ocean.❣️ That was enough; that was the real thrill.
We had the ocean all to ourselves, burying ourselves in the soft sand, being exposed to the sound of the waves and the wind, and spending a luxurious time gazing at the starry sky.
However...
Suddenly, my daughter got sick and couldn't stop vomiting. It was gastro.😭 (In Japanese, this refers to gastroenteritis like norovirus or rotavirus.)

Living in a tent was too difficult, so we cut our planned four-night trip short to two nights and headed back to Perth. Things like that happen, right?
After that, the gastro spread to my son, then to my husband... In the end, we spent the remaining 12 days of the school holidays fighting off gastro.😂

● Activities while recovering at home

During the gastro, everyone was feeling far from their best, so we ended up spending most of our time in bed from morning until night.
Since we were also in home isolation, we spent our time painting, tie-dyeing T-shirts, and playing in the garden so we wouldn't be bored at home.

● Keeping a diary of memories with Tippy & Jellybean

In this way, he compiled a diary of the two weeks he spent with Tippy & Jellybean. I just printed out the photos my son chose, and he created the rest himself. He wasn't feeling well, so it's a bit messy, but I'd like to overlook that.

By the way, this is the class pet diary from when my son was in first grade. Considering that last year I had to write the sentences and have him copy them, I felt that his writing skills have improved significantly over this past year.

I think the best part about class pets is sharing the pet with everyone. Looking forward to when it's your turn, or looking forward to hearing what Tippy & Jellybean did at a friend's house. There is a class pet in the class where I work, and the children's eyes light up with joy when it's their turn to take care of it. Also, even though it's a stuffed animal, they cultivate a kind heart while taking care of the pet.

When you think of pets in Japanese elementary schools, goldfish or insects in the classroom, or rabbits or chickens kept by the whole school come to mind. Nothing beats keeping a living creature, but stuffed animal pets are also quite cute❣️ Above all, I think it also leads to creating a sense of unity throughout the class.