the tattooed teacher: Arachnids Need Lovin’ Too {and you need freebies!}

So last week in guided reading my Leaning Tower of Pisa group {yep…we are named for amazing landmarks!} was reading about Arachnids and Insects. They were fascinated with the scorpions..and frankly, so was I.
Enter Sunday
Usual trip through Petco
and I came home with an Emperor Scorpion!
Now, I swore off mammals in the classroom after Wicket {my Mini Lop rabbit}
just too much upkeep for 2nd graders
too much touching temptations
I We already have Harriet {a male tarantula we think…}
and lots of fish in a 20 gallon aquarium
And we have 2 Hissing Cockroaches…after an old teammate’s had babies
They are wonderful classroom pets!
{you can check out our critters here} though I haven’t updated since the dimise of Cookie and addition of yet to be named scorpion
The kids LOVE them and can do all the work!
So what’s one more arachnid??
I brought him to school Monday morning and they were so absolutely excited!
What’s it’s name? Not sure yet, but I like Virgo…we like April…oh geez, no
Can it kill me if I touch it? Would I buy something for school that could kill you…really…?
Can we touch it? No, I am not going to touch it and you’re not going to touch it…See those pinchers?

The Lowdown:

The bigger the scorpion, the less venom
Emperor Scorpions, much like Harriet, only cause irritation, not death!
He/She {thinking she…} eats crickets! yay! Just like Harriet, too

Here’s where it hides out. Feeding time tomorrow.

And just for fun, we have to do some more research. How many kids of mine do you think checked out books about scorpions from the library Monday? Four…that’s all that could find any! Isn't inspiration and excitement what this is totally about!?

I am ~~working on a minibook and comprehension activity for TpT,~~ finished my arachnid mini-pack plus have a little Venn freebie here. Click the picture

And here’s a little 12 page minibook about the history of Valentine’s. I know it’s too late for this year, but I did not do it until last night after scouring the Internet for child appropriate explanations! I read these and filled out Amy Lemons’ Who, What, Why foldable from her V-Day Pack.

Yosemite Sam anyone?
We had to use The Inspired Apple's “I Moustache You a Question” freebie! I took the pictures yesterday afternoon on my phone, uploaded to walmart.com, and paid a whopping $3 for the prints!