A Paramedic Met a Degu When Nils Fainted

Last week, we had two paramedics in our classroom. We'll post more about the story later (unless the student involved wants to leave the story as a comment and I'll add to this post!). They'd never heard of degus and thought we made them up.

One of them was so interested in the boys that he had a little snuggle with him!

After they helped in our classroom, they were given Project Thank you cards and have already started to spread them!

When Nils Fainted - by Nils
First I went to hold a Degu then it bit me and I started bleeding so went to the sink and started to wash my finger and then I started to feel a little dizzy and after about half a minute I was lying on the floor and Shauna woke me up and got me a pillow to lie on. Then the paramedics came and checked me out they got project thank-you cards and one of them held a Degu then I went to my family doctor and said I looked good. Then I went home and had a little rest.

Now, it's 5 days later, and Nils feels totally normal! Thank goodness!

The class stayed very calm and collected even though it was a stressful situation. We were mindful and made sure that, despite our amygdalas firing off, we stayed mindful and used our pre-frontal cortexes to deal with the issue calmly.

The Amazing New Degu Cage!

Are you kidding me?

The cage that Clara and her dad built is absolutely incredible! Our boys are so much happier with their four-storey mansion than their over-crowded aquarium!

Degus Are Not Exactly Helpful During a Show What You Know

Fiona and Fin were working on their map Show What You Knows in the degu pen. Speedy and Caine were very interested in what was going on and even went so far as to steal Fin's pencil when she put it down for a moment. They didn't do much to help the girls with labelling their maps, though.

Degu Updates by Daniel

The degus look really cute, but it's not so cute when they escape all the time.

photo by Millie

When you're in the Degu Pen, it's really hard to catch them! They're thinking, "Freedom!"

photo by Millie

Now, instead of just the kids in our class going in the Degu Pen, kids from Heather C and Roy's classses go in with one of our students. And the younger students like it so much. The first time I saw one of the kids go in there, I saw their eyes light up like the sun!

-by Daniel

Baby Will Meets the Degus - photos by Sophia, words by Mel

Baby Will got into our classroom and he wanted to see the degus. And when he was in the pen with Mel and Speedy and Caine, we had fun and I picked up a degu to show him if he wanted to pet him and he had a lot of fun with the degus. I think he was really excited when he saw them.

I think his favourite part was when he saw the degus running on the wheel, he started laughing and almost started to laugh. I thought it was really cute.

He went home having a lot of fun in our classroom and I think he would be really happy to come back again and see the degus and everyone in the class!

-by Melodee

Escaping Degus! - by Daniel

The degus escaped once and now that they have, they've been trying to do it a lot! Speedy tries to get out a lot, he climbs on top of the water bottle and then he chews through the cage. We had to duct tape it a lot. And Caine, he doesn't really like escaping. He's just staying near his food! While speedy escapes!

-by Daniel

The Degu Pen!

My awesome mom, Laurie, made an INCREDIBLE Degu Pen for the classroom! It is fabulous! Two students at a time can go in it with the two degus and have a little quality time! It's a safe, fun way to hang out with our curious, active little pets!

The Degus - Photos by Thomas

-photos by Thomas

The Degus - Photos by Millie

You can see clearly why degus are sometimes called "trumpet tailed rats"!

It's hard to tell the degus apart except when they sit near each other. Caine is much fatter than his brother, Speedy!

-photos by Millie

The Degus are Named!

We had our Degu Naming Ceremony today as the degus took their third sand bath.

We are pleased to formally introduce...

Professor Caine Marshmallows, a.k.a "Sherwood"
and
Senor Speedy Gonzales Marshmallows a.k.a "Pie Head"!

It took a lot of discussion and democracy in action, but they're finally named!

Meet the Degus!

We got two new class pets and so far, the consensus is - they're AWESOME! Everyone in Room 209 is in love and can't wait to get their hands on Caine and little No-Name (the official naming ceremony happens next Wednesday).

The little guys are just getting used to being in our room and will need some time before they're ready to be held, but for now, they're really fun to watch in their big aquarium!

Without further ado, the degus...

Jack, Jackson, Fiona and Ethan went down to the car with Laurie to pick up the "Mystery Box". Fiona got some great photos and a video!

Upper view of the cage - photo by Fiona

Laurie and Denise carry the degus to their new home - Room 209 - photo by Fiona

One of the degus was very curious on his ride to his new home - photo by Fiona

On the PA Day, I watched the little buddies snuggle all day!

Lauren's mom, Paula, had a pet rat and knows all about rodents! She'll be a good resource for us!

How could you not love this little face?!

The degus and I say good-bye for the weekend!

I have already watched this five times! This is the moment when the "Mystery Box" is revealed to the students of Room 209!