Skip to main content

Pets or No Pets for Your Family?

 I have an important question for all my fellow homeschoolers...


 Pets or no pets? 


This is actually a serious question. For so many reasons!

Pets are a big commitment. They add a lot to our lives, and to our homeschools, too, I suppose. But they require a lot as well. 
It's not a one-size-fits-all thing, this question of pets or no pets.

And not all pets are created equal.
Dogs require a lot more work than, say, goldfish.
An ant farm can be part of science for the homeschool family, but can a slew of ants be considered pets? (rhetorical question - we all know the answer). 

So, are you a pet-loving homeschool family? Do you have your own personal version of a hobby farm? 

Maybe, like our family, severe allergies limit what kinds of pets are a viable option. 
If so, did you find a workaround that allowed your children to enjoy some form of pet in spite of allergies or other concerns?

Pets or no pets?

Pets that have a long life-span, or shorter?

If you've come to the end of your time as pet owners, would you say it was worth it, or did the hard outweigh the happy?

I'm guessing there are some homeschoolers who are kicking around the pet idea and your comments may well give them the input and info they need to make the best possible decision for their family.

As for us, we had the typical garden variety of pets throughout the years...and some pets turned out to be non-options due to extreme allergies that triggered life-threatening asthma. 
No cats or gerbils or birds for us. Instead, we had fish, hamsters, and three pugs. 
And it was a lot of work, but overall I have to say that our children were blessed to grow up with pets, they did learn a fair bit about responsibility by caring for their pets, and now that they are all adults, they reflect back with fond memories of their pets, in particular the three dogs (squat little pugs) we raised from puppyhood onward. (We still have one living pug who is almost 15 years old - and here is a recent pic of the old fella.)






What's your take on the pet question? And what's your best advice for homeschoolers who are considering getting a pet? Leave your comments because inquiring minds want to know!

~ Jan

Also, I'm blessed to be the prayer coordinator for an upcoming online homeschool summit. If you'd like to check it out, here's a link for info and for a free pass. If you sign up, please let me know you read this blog post when I "see" you there! 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

A Homeschool Mom's Devotional by award-winning podcaster Jan L. Burt

Colossians 4:17 tells the reader to "be sure to carry out the work the Lord gave you". How can this be applied to the enormously busy lifestyle of a homeschool mom? First of all, we must always remember that the Word of God has the answer for our every need and we can trust fully in God to use His Word to lead us, guide us, correct us, and bless us. Keeping that in mind, let's consider what this verse is saying. We are told to carry out, or complete, the work the Lord has given us. We are wives, mothers, homeschoolers. Those three BIG job descriptions come immediately to mind when I think of homeschooling mothers. Applying God's Word to our life means carrying out our work as wives, as mothers, and as homeschoolers. When I am exhausted from another long day (or long week, long month, long year, etc.) I still must honor the Lord by blessing my husband. Maybe that means having a hot meal on the table when he arrives home from work. Perhaps your husband
6 comments
Read more

I Gotta Let You Know Two Very Important Things (Seriously, They Are Truly Important For You To Know...)

 First, a big --- fat --- hefty dose of encouragement for you, my wonderful homeschooling friend.  As you get ready to roll into the fall of 2020...stop for just one moment and hear what God's Word has to say to you right here, right now, on the brink of the last stretch of what has possibly been the most turn-your-whole-world-upside-down year ever.  Psalm 125:2 - As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.   You are surrounded.  Completely & totally, that's exactly how surrounded you are.  Going into the great unknown as, say, a working mom whose children are going to be doing school online at home (or a working mom homeschooling and working from home for just the next several months, but not planning on continuing to home educate after things "normalize" again).  This is God's promise just for you as you embark upon this season of life. I really, truly believe He wants you to know that He has you surrounded
1 comment
Read more

My Preferred Bible Reading Plan

We all know that reading our Bibles is a key part of living a healthy life as a follower of Jesus. But busy homeschool moms may, at times, struggle to know what part of the Bible to read on any given day. Some people read the Bible through, Genesis to Revelation, and when they finish simply start over. Others have reading plans that follow along with the sermons their pastor is currently preaching. And yet others find themselves "stuck in the Psalms", since they're not quite sure what to read. I'm not going to tell you how many chapters a day you should read, or that you need to do exactly what I do. I'm just going to share what has worked for me, and hopefully encourage you to get into the Word using some type of plan ~ because every homeschool mom knows what happens to our plans when we fail to create a plan, right?! I use a prayer and Bible reading guide called "Prayer Point" , published by Samaritan's Purse. About every 8 weeks, I receive a
3 comments
Read more

Schoolhouse Review Crew ~ A Thomas Jefferson Education (This Week in History)

Rachel DeMille, of Thomas Jefferson Education , promotes a fascinating educational philosophy (based on The Seven Keys of Great Teaching ). Her website, www.TJEd.org , provides a thorough explanation of this philosophy. It's also an excellent history resource that I hope my blog readers will consider using in their homeschools. I really love what Rachel is doing! I am not reviewing everything available at the website - trust me, there is quite a bit to be found there! What I am reviewing is " This Week in History ", a resource that covers a wide variety of subjects and topics on a daily basis in an engaging and interesting manner. I have used this as a part of our history curriculum, but it really is so much more than history.  Each week I receive an email with the current week's " This Week in History ". I am also able to access this information at the website, along an archive that covers the current year. And I also receive daily emails, called &q
1 comment
Read more

Do You Homeschool? Then You Need to Read This Article!

Whether you have been homeschooling for a month, a year, or a decade, you've inevitably faced the "questions". Questions about socialization, college, athletics, driver's ed, high-school biology, etc. etc. etc. and so on..... It seems as if homeschoolers are ripe for questions from day one; but the flip side seems to be that there really is no flip side. We are expected to patiently answer any and all questions, smiling politely and pretending we've never heard this line of questioning before. But when we try to ask a few questions about, say, public schools as a whole or the issue of private schools being used as a last-ditch landing spot for students expelled from public school, well...ahem...we're pretty much told to keep quiet. No one wants to hear our questions, and often times no one really wants to hear our answers to their questions. They just kind of want us to....go....away. I'm not planning on going away any time soon. And neither are my fiv
4 comments
Read more