Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Sacramento, CA

We are a home full of pets.  We have dogs, cats, fish, frogs... in the past we've had rabbits, ducks, chickens - you name it.  But most recently we have expanded our fish collection.  We have two modest fresh water tanks and while the lovely little swimmers are a pleasure unto themselves, what I've also discovered is that they are a great teaching device for my preschooler.

 Here are a few ways we use the little fishies to teach our kids a thing or two about life:

 Responsibility:  It is the boys responsibility to feed the fish once a day, turn off their light at night and on in the morning.  They actually delight in these little chores and rarely do I have to remind them.

 Colors: While we have mastered the basic colors, upon admiring the fish we have also mastered 'turquoise', 'amber', 'scarlet' and a hot pink color that Mordecai has dubbed 'jasmine'. 

 Counting: While the 6 year-old can count to what seems like one million (at least on long car rides it does), my 4 year-old needs a little more help and delights in counting and recounting the fish as they cruise around the tank.

 Respect: While initially my boys wanted to grab around in the tank and 'hold' their new pets, I have explained to them that fish don't work that way.  Also, that tapping the tank scares the fish and that they are our friends, creatures of the earth and to be cared for and respected, not terrorized. 

 I suppose you can use any family pet new or old to teach these lessons.  I love the fact that simple everyday things help us guide our kids to be respectful, responsible and intelligent little beings. 

 I won't say they stopped trying to 'pet' our fish on that first day, but let's just say we're working on it.