I agree with Bryan and others that the benefit of having classroom animals, if undertaken thoughtfully, is a life lesson for kids. In Lexington, we have the following rules for teachers who want to raise wood frog tadpoles:
• containers are clean and not used for anything else
• 6 egg limit (Eggs come from a number of egg masses so as to not deplete any one. Eggs are from the same easily accessible pool.)
• water is from the native pool and includes leaves and mud for yummy microorganism lunches
• tads are returned to their native pool as soon as one has 4 legs and a tiny tail
• efforts are made to help students understand the special nature of vernal pools and their inhabitants
We feed the tadpoles powdered Xenopus tadpole food (from Carolina Biological) and they seem to do well on it. We are careful to not overfeed so that the water stays in good condition.
The journals kept by students as their tads change demonstrate that watching the wonder of metamorphosis is a great incentive for young scientists to learn the skills of scientific illustration and observation. There are lots of predictions and questions too. Like the kids who noted that one of their tads had disappeared. Close inspection revealed a dragonfly nymph hiding in the leaves!
I have a care sheet for wood frog tadpoles if anyone is interested.
Fran Ludwig
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