Desk Pets are a fun way to promote positive behavior and get students excited about learning. With a little creativity, desk pets can be used in many different ways to support your classroom community of learners. There are so many different ways to use them in the classroom. Here are some great ideas for using Desk Pets in your classroom. I hope they inspire you! But first…
What are Desk Pets?
Not to be confused with live classroom pets, desk pets are miniature eraser animals that come in a variety of animal types. The most commonly used desk pets are mini erasers and tiny 3d animal puzzle erasers.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to how you can implement desk pets in your classroom. I’ll go into more detail later in this post, but you might use desk pets for any of the following:
-As an incentive for good behavior
-To celebrate student birthdays
-As a desk buddy for increasing time on task (the desk pet is watching for hard workers!)
-To learn about responsibility and to teach about taking care of animals. This is especially helpful if you plan on introducing desk pets during the first few days of being back to school. It leads into a great classroom discussion about taking care and respecting each other, the classroom, specific parts of the classroom such as the classroom library, etc.
The ideas are truly endless.
Who Created Desk Pets?
Marissa Begay coined the term “desk pets” in her TikTok video where she explained her creative way to use mini erasers in her music classroom as a positive reinforcement tool. She shared how they can be used as a great incentive throughout the entire school year.
That video took the teacher world by storm and ever since, teachers everywhere are finding a fun way to use desk pets in their classrooms.
Where to Find the Best Desk Pets:
When it comes to desk pets, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. You can often find them in bulk for a better deal. The best desk pets are ones that are small making them easy to manage. They should also be something that is not too distracting or noisy for the classroom setting. Avoid ones that wind up or make sounds.
Target Dollar Spot Desk Pets
The mini erasers at the Target Dollar Spot are one of the best places to find desk pets.
I have collected so many over the years before the desk pets craze because of their versatility. I’ve given some away as prizes and rewards, but I keep a lot on hand for small groups. They make great math manipulatives! They are perfect for desk pets because they come in a variety of animals and you can usually find different themed ones throughout the school year as the holidays and seasons change.
Amazon Desk Pets Collection
My first official desk pets collection was this set:
I had the flat mini-erasers but wanted more 3d style.
Here are a few more options that would make great desk pets from Amazon:
Oriental Trading desk Pets
Of all the places to find desk pets, Oriental Trading Company just *gets it.* If you search “desk pets” on Targets website, they show you… home office desks. If you search “Desk Pets” on Oriental Trading, they have you covered with pretty much everything you would need to get started with desk pets.
This is a desk pet collection *and* matching desk pet homes:
You can search Oriental Trading for any type of desk pet animals you would need!
Dollar Store Desk Pets
You can also find desk pets at the dollar store. I found a bunch of cute animal erasers that would work great as desk pets. The con is that it can be hit or miss with their stock! I’ve been disappointed a few times!
Desk Pet Accessories
Desk pet accessories are a great way to add to the desk pet experience. You can find a variety of desk pet accessories on Amazon and Oriental Trading.
Miniature erasers that are shaped as food can serve as desk pet food.
I used plain rice, food coloring and vinegar to make desk pet “food.”
Students can “drop off” their desk pet at different colored restaurants:
I also found these tiny food erasers on Amazon:
Getting Started with a Desk Pet Starter Kit
If you’re new to desk pets, I recommend getting a desk pet starter kit. That way you have all the supplies you need to get started.
A desk pet starter kit should include:
- a collection of mini erasers aka “desk pets”
- desk pet food aka food mini-erasers
- desk pet shelter aka small containers or paper habitats that your students make
- desk pet store or desk pet adoption center- this is a place to display your desk pets
- desk pet signs and adoption papers
Desk Pet Adoption Center Ideas
Having your students “adopt their desk pets” serve as a great way to promote responsibility and compassion in your students. When students know that they are now responsible for making sure their desk pet is safe and happy students step up and take ownership. As a result of students wanting to take ownership, the class “buy-in” of wanting desk pets increases-and we all know how important student buy-in is when introducing anything new.
Free Desk Pet Adoption Certificate
This is a free desk pet adoption certificate that you can use in your classroom. Once your students choose the desk pet they want to adopt, they can make it official with these desk pet adoption papers!
Free Desk Pet Application
A desk pet application can be used for students to “apply” to adopt a desk pet.
Fun Ideas to Use Desk Pets in the Classroom
Pictured above, desks are having a movie night using a TV cell phone holder I found at Target Dollar Spot.
There are so many great ways to use desk pets in the classroom! Here are some of my favorites:
Classroom Desk Pet Competition: Have a desk pet competition! How much food can a table or group collectively earn for their desk pets in a day? or Week? This is fun once in a while but isn’t necessary to do every day/week.
Desk Pet Would You Rather: Students can bring their desk pets with them as they partner up for a round of would you rather using would you rather task cards or slides. This is a great way to get students excited about desk pets and also learn more about their classmates.
Desk Pet Day: Have a day where everyone reads their favorite books or their own writing to their desk pets. They can also walk around and visit other desks during a designated time to listen in on their classmates. This is a great way to promote social interaction and desk pets.
Desk Pet Adoption Parade: Have a desk pet parade around the classroom (or school!). This is a great way to show off all of the different desk pets in the classroom that your students have been working hard to earn.
Desk Pet Cafe: Set up a desk pet cafe where desk pets can get food and water. This is a great way to promote responsibility and desk pet care.
Desk Pet Home Blind Build Stem Challenge: Group students into 2-3 students. Have one student build a desk pet home using common objects while one of the students is blindfolded or in another area of the classroom where they can’t see the desk pet home. Once the desk pet home is built, a messenger has to relay how to build the desk pet home using only descriptive words. At the end, the group compares the original with the “blind build.” This is a great way to promote teamwork and communication.
Desk Pet Writing Activities
Animal research writing projects and activities lend themselves well to the desk pet craze. After all, your desk pets are animals! I find that students get very invested in finding out fun facts about their desk pet.
Science Writing Activities
Desk pets can be a great way to encourage students to write about the following topics:
- taking care of pets
- different habitats animals live in
- the food chain and how different animals eat
- the life cycle of animals
- endangered animals
Students can use recyclables to create their desk pet habitats as a fun Earth Day activity.
Desk Pet Houses
Your classroom desk pets will need a place to call home. You can have your class make desk pet homes or you can buy desk pet houses for your students.
Ideas to Make Desk Pet Houses:
-Tissue box desk pet house
-Cardboard desk pet house
-Toilet paper roll desk pet house
-Paper plate desk pet home
Paper desk pet homes are a great way to get students involved in the desk pet experience because they design and decorate their desk pet homes however they want. This is a great way to promote creativity and desk pet ownership.
Buy Desk Pet Houses:
Desk pet domes:
Small plastic containers are a great way to make a desk pet home and keep them organized.
Give Your Classroom Management System a Refresh with Desk Pets
Trends may come and go, but the desk pet craze has to be my favorite “trendy” classroom management technique. I love how it sparks creativity and student investment.
Desk Pets as a Classroom Management Tool
A classroom management tool is any system or technique that teachers use to keep their students organized and on task. Desk pets can be a great addition to your classroom management system because they provide a visual representation of good behavior.
For example, if you have a student who is struggling to stay on task, you can give them a desk pet to help them focus. The desk pet will be a visual reminder for the student to stay on task.
How to Use Desk Pets to Promote Positive Behavior
There are many ways that you can use desk pets to promote positive behavior in your classroom. Here are a few ideas:
– Give desk pets to students who were great at teamwork, participating, or making good choices
– Use desk pets as a reward for completing tasks or reaching goals.
– “Desk Pet and Owner of the Week” chart: Instead of a traditional student of the week, you can have a quick photoshoot of the student and their desk pet as a way of recognizing a student who went above and beyond that week.
By using desk pets to promote positive behavior, you’ll be on the right path to a well-managed classroom. Literally, there’s a reason desk pets are a craze, they work!
Classroom Rewards Using Desk Pets
Desk pets can also be used as a reward system. If students are behaving well, they can earn points that can be used to buy food or accessories for their desk pets. This is a great way to encourage good behavior and motivate students.
You can also mix in traditional classroom rewards with desk pets. For example, if your students earn a play card games day as a class incentive, they can bring their desk pets as an extra reward. If your school has a pajama day, students can decorate a blanket (tissue) to tuck their desk pet into their beds to go with the pajama day theme.
Desk Pets with Class Dojo
Most teachers agree that desk pets aren’t an entire classroom management system, but when infused with the systems you already have in place, magic happens. For example, if you use Class Dojo as a positive reinforcement strategy, then adding in desk pets will be a breeze! Just share how students will be able to earn points for your desk pets or desk pet store. One way to use desk pets with Class Dojo is to award points to students for taking care of their desk pets. Another way is to keep how they earn points the same, but add desk pet accessories as an option to “cash out” their points.
Using Desk Pets in Your Class Store
If you have a class store, you can use desk pets as a reward. Students can use the points they earn to buy food or accessories for their desk pets. You can also assign adoption points to each desk pet. For example, if a desk pet is 25 points, students would need to earn 25 points, before they could submit an application for adoption.
If you choose to do that, make sure you set clear guidelines on how to earn adoption points.
Classroom Economy: Desk Pet Dollars
Desk pet dollars are dollars that you give out when students are doing a great job following your expectations. You can use these as a reward system by having students save up their desk pet dollars to buy food or accessories for their desk pets.
How to Introduce Desk Pets
Student buy-in is KEY. Of course, there may be a student who says, “Waiiit…aren’t these just erasers?” Yes, yes, they are, BUT, if you introduce desk pets in a way that gets your students begging you for their own desk pet, then you’ve won my friend. Pat yourself on the back. But how do you make that happen?
Build anticipation.
Start a mystery countdown. Write on the board 3 days until our mystery visitors come. Then change it to 2 days, then 1, then BAM the day has arrived to introduce them to your “mystery visitors” (desk pets) and your students are already on the edge of their seats!
You can begin the hype up by starting a conversation about pets. If you have a funny story about your pet, take a picture and display it so everyone can see the picture of your pet as you tell the story. If you don’t have a good pet story to tell, start talking about pets and I’m sure you’ll have some volunteers share why they love having a pet at home.
Now that your students are fully engaged in the pet talk, say something like, “You know what would be nice is if we could each have our pets with us in class to keep us company while we learn.”
Take a quick class vote for who agrees. Then transition to telling your class that you think you’ve found a solution: desk pets!
From there, explain what they are, how they can use them, and all the other details of how you envision using them in the classroom. Some teachers only use desk pets when paired with academic activities, while others love using them for positive reinforcement. So make sure you have a clear vision of how you’ll use desk pets with your students before you introduce them to your class.
Desk Pets at the Beginning of the Year
If you introduce desk pets at the beginning of the year, use them for get to know you activities, when practicing classroom procedures and routines, and to establish classroom rules and expectations. If you’re using desk pets as a positive behavior tool, let students know what they’ll have to do in order to earn a desk pet.
Desk Pets After a Break
If you have been flustered by your students’ behavior, introducing desk pets after a break provide a great “reset” of expectations. I’d call this using desk pets as a secret tool out of your toolbox to get your class running smoothly again.
Desk Pets at the End of the YEar
You can have students earn desk pet dollars or class dojo points for completing end of the year pack up tasks. I have an entire set of end of the year pack up tasks that your students can use to help make your end of the year tasks smoother:
Desk Pet End of the Year Gifts
You can let your students keep their desk pets by hosting a farewell PAWTY.
Desk Pets for the Classroom: The Verdict
I hope you found some helpful ideas for using desk pets in the classroom. I think that if you’ve been considering on whether or not desk pets would work for you and your students, I think they can. They are so many things you can do to make them work for your class. If you have any questions or ideas to share, please leave a comment below. And be sure to grab your free desk pet adoption certificate!
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