Animal Safety is Fun!

With warmer weather approaching, children are spending more time outside.  Parks and neighborhoods are booming.  With outside play comes the danger of stray pets.  Knowing how to eliminate potential risks is just as pertinent as knowing how to handle an emergency.  My cousin, Dr. Mike Cornwell, has over 40 years experience working with animals and students in veterinary school. He took his expertise and created a program called "Animal Safety is Fun" as a way to educate children about staying safe around animals, specifically unknown ones.  I had the opportunity to view this video and share it with my first graders last week.  I was able to view the first portion of the video on my own and then I showed the second portion to my students.  The material was presented in a clear, concise way with real footage of people and animals.  The children were engaged in watching and learning about how to be safe around animals.  The two key ideas that my students took with them were: 1. Be a tree and 2. Act like a log.  These are two techniques for what to do if the children come across an unknown dog.  After the video, we practiced these two techniques and discussed what we had learned.  The students also colored a reminder coloring sheet which had a parent/family letter on the back.

May is Animal Safety Month, so why not check out this animal safety resource and share it with your children and students?  Click the image below to check out Dr. Cornwell's kit.  It's available as an instant download or DVD.  The image below shows everything that is included.

To follow Dr. Cornwell's blog, click the image below.

Have a great day and remember that animal safety is fun!

xo
Megan