Snails

I have a student in my class that is unique...very unique.  And his little quirks make me love him even more...he is hilarious, entertaining and extremely intelligent...but unique.  He is obsessed with snails.  Fresh water snails.  NOT salt water snails, as I have been informed many times that there is a HUGE difference.

At the beginning of the year I was asked by this student if he could bring in one of his fresh water tanks for the class.  My first thought was, "What a mess!"  Then I thought about it more and if a fresh water tank was going to let this student focus on school work and stay "centered" in my classroom then, "Why not?"

Many more conversations arose between this student and myself and as I listened to him talk about, in great detail, the fish and snails (again, with another reminder that they were fresh water animals) that he cares for at home I was very intrigued by the knowledge he was sharing. 

So, we came to a comprimise.  He could bring in 4 freshwater snails in a small tank that wasn't any bigger than a gallon of milk. 

The very next morning, skipping with joy and excitment, I had a mason jar sitting on my desk with 4 fresh water snails.  Disgusting.  However, they are closely monitored and cared for by this student.  Not to mention all the other students' enthusiasm about these snails have grown immensly. 

I've been looking at these snails for the past 8 weeks and the other day I noticed something different about them.  There appeared to be more....A LOT MORE! 

We have baby snails!  They are cute and fun to watch.  We have new life.  We have science.  We've had outstanding teaching moments. 

I now LOVE the snails.