Creepy, Crawly Critters Visit Sandy Hook School

By Susan Coney

Students in Mrs Perry’s kindergarten class were in for a treat on Monday when Rick LaDue from the Critter Caravan made a classroom visit with all his creepy, crawly critters in tow. Educators from the Pratt Center in New Milford bring all kinds of animals into classrooms to expose children to different types of living creatures. The Critter Caravan presents an exciting opportunity to educate children about a wide range of living organisms.

As the students sat patiently, cross-legged on the floor, Mr LaDue brought out one creature after another from various containers he carried on a traveling cart. Initially Mr LaDue asked students to guess what type of animal he had to show them, providing them with hints and characteristics of the animal. A hissing cockroach was the first critter to be handed around the circle of anxious kindergarteners.

 Mr LaDue told the children, “It’s a good sign that you are so quiet and cooperative with the animals because the cockroach is not hissing. He hisses when he feels threatened.” Mr LaDue said that the cockroach makes the hissing noise when it blows air out of tiny holes in the sides of his abdomen.

As the children inspected the cockroach they observed two little bumps on top of his head located near his antennae, which indicated that he was a male. They also noted that he had six legs, wore his skeleton on the exterior of his body and blended in with the leaves and bark in his cage. Madeline Manfradonia commented, “It felt a little tickly. He sticks to your hands.” 

Next in the line of critters to be studied was a yellow spotted salamander. Mr LaDue told the children that they had to be careful not to squeeze him and that they must wet their hands prior to holding him. All the children noted that he felt cold. which brought forth a discussion about cold and warm-blooded animals. Grant Untiedt giggled and said, “He feels rubbery.”

Finally Mr LaDue brought forth a furry, wiggly, ferret, which delighted the children with his comical antics.

Mrs Perry’s students learned a great deal about the similarities and differences of the creatures from Mr LaDue’s Critter Caravan. They were exposed to new vocabulary terms such as amphibian, nocturnal, and camouflage. The students learned a great deal from Mr LaDue and his critters and enthusiastically participated in the hands on experience he provided for them. It was evident that the visit from the Critter Caravan was a big success with the kindergarteners.