In the category of Never a Dull Moment…
I’ve been teaching for 22 years. I’ve seen a lot. I have had all sorts of excellent…and funny…and puzzling things happen….but, never…ever, this. Until this week.
We have two crested geckos. I’ve always believed in having a lot of pets. It is a time suck when you’re the one ultimately responsible for caring for them (even with lots of helpful hands), but the lessons for the students are invaluable. We’ve had your run-of-the-mill hamsters and gerbils…and now the coolest guinea pig around. We’ve also had a hedgehog and a rabbit. We’ve had birds…and more fish than I can count. We’ve also had tree frogs, anoles, a tortoise…and now geckos. There were a few years before I had the boys that I had a fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal all at one time so that we could really learn first-hand the different classifications of Phylum Chordata. I digress.
The children have always treasured having the opportunity to interact and care for these critters and they’ve also provided fantastic learning opportunities.
What better way to learn the parts of a fish…ventral fins, pectoral fins, dorsal fin, caudal fin, gill openings, lateral line, etc…than observing a real live fish?
You get my point.
So, this week we learned that when a gecko feels threatened (don’t ask) it will “drop its tail” in an attempt to distract the predator so that it can flee. Fascinating. Most geckos will grow a new tail. Crested geckos do not. They can, however, live happy and healthy lives without their tails. Phew.
What happens after the tail falls off, you may ask? Well, see for yourself.
Good Morning Gloucester 
I wish my kids had you as a teach
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Thanks, Donna! That was very nice of you to say 🙂
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Your students may not appreciate the extraordinary experiences you provide just now. But one day, one of them will write a piece in a future blog about you, the gecko (or another member of your menagerie) and people will comment, “Boy I wish we had teachers like that now!”
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Thanks so much! I hope that is true! So kind of you!
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I agree ~ your posts always leave me wanting more ~ what if all teachers had the Nichole approach ~ oh my 😉
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Thanks so much, Mary! You are all so kind. I can’t believe that no one is commenting on how horrific the video is….but, I’ll gladly accept the compliments.
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Oh horrific ~ that goes without saying ~ but umm ~ I just had cataract surgery and have to go 10 days without eye make up ~ I’m on day 6 ~ i can now really see horrific ~ 🙂
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Excellent! Real live lessons and – one thing I can say we used to go out on the field trips a lot elementary days too later and fall did not have to go far for the lessons.. No daydreaming in your class out the window let’s go experience it first hand 🙂 Dave & Kim 🙂 Nubs!:-O (Winter, spring, summer Beginning of first week June, or fall, you got a friend (James Taylor)
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