Josh's Frogs
Classroom Pets
How educational animals can bring teaching to life
Kids nowadays are distracted. Their screens, the latest internet memes and a thousand other things are vying for their attention. If there’s one thing that's losing this fight for focus, it’s their learning. Fortunately, there’s something you can bring into the classroom to help - a classroom pet!
At Josh’s Frogs, we’ve used animals for educational purposes since 2004. We’ve volunteered for hundreds of classroom presentations and outreaches, and we've partnered with teachers to bring a bit of nature into their schools. To that end, we’ve created kits to help educators keep animals in their classroom. We offer Classroom Pet Kits for both frogs and geckos. Each Kit contains everything you need to set up and care for the specified animal. Plus, you can pair each with a feeder bundle on a subscription program to keep your pets fed. These kits are focused on 3 easy-to-keep species: Crested Geckos, White’s Tree Frogs, and Dart Frogs.
There are many different ways to incorporate a classroom pet into your lesson plans, depending on the subject you’re teaching. I’ve listed some ideas below to get your creative juices flowing. If you have any ideas (or even lesson plans for these species that you want to share with other teachers), please reach out to us!
Lesson plan ideas for classroom pets
Crested Geckos
- Binomial nomenclature - scientific name
- Nocturnal vs Diurnal animals
- Threatened and Endangered species - crested geckos were once thought to be extinct!
White’s Tree Frogs
- Reproductive strategy - R reproductive strategy (lots of offspring, not investing a lot of energy in them)
- Amphibians as indicator species
- Adaptation
Dart Frogs
- Reproductive strategy - K reproductive strategy (few offspring, invests in parental care)
- Aposomatic/warning coloration
- Speciation and species diversification
To learn more about these amazing animals and what you need to bring them into your classroom, please check out our care sheets and guides, as well as our complete classroom kits, which contain everything you need, including a habitat, supplies, food, and critters!