Dear Kristine,
 
Good luck with your project.  Here are some ideas that have worked for me in
many years of museum education, girl and boy scouts, and school visits with
ferrets and other things.
 
How many children do you expect?  10 girl scouts is very different from 52
(I've had both!) Are there young siblings likely to be there?  Consider
space and seating.
 
Send a cheerful, upbeat note home to all parents BEFORE the meeting.  There's
nothing worse than having a mis-informed parent come screaming into school
after the fact because they didn't know their child was going to be handling
a wwwwwwww wild, rabies-carrying varmint.  A pre-emptive strike is key!
Your note should say something like "Dear Parent, Scout Troop #123 will be
visited by Mary Jones and her pet ferrets on Thursday, April 16.  The troop
will be learning about animal care, responsible wildlife management, humane
shelters, and protecting the environment(whatever you wish to say).  This
will count towards their (whatever) badge.  Ferrets are domestic pets now
thought to be the third most popular in the United States.  They are clean,
quiet, fun-loving and house-broken.  Mary Jones' ferrets are healthy, do not
bite, are cared for regularly by Dr. Weasel at XYZ Animal Clinic, and, like
dogs and cats, are fully vaccinated for rabies and distemper.  Please let us
know how many will be attending.  If you have any questions, please call
Mary Jones at...." Include a cute picture or graphic if you can.
 
At the visit, keep your ferrets in a travel carrier out of sight and away
from poking fingers.  Have the children SIT in a circle on chairs or on the
floor.  Advise them kindly that they need to stay seated for the ferret's
safety.
 
PRACTICE first with small stuffed animals or Beanie Babies.  Take out the
toy and talk about how small the animal is compared to us.  Ask the children
to imagine how it might feel to see a giant coming up to them.  Ask them to
act out how they would feel if a giant hand was grabbing them.  Describe a
real ferret using the toy.  Point out its delicate feet, sensitive ears,
etc.  Let them pretend to pet the toy.  Suggest that they only use ONE
finger.  (This avoids squashing.) WATCH during this practice for kids who
are too rough or too silly.  Say things (nicely) like, "Some of us are not
ready to pet a real ferret yet.  If we did what Janie is doing right now,
the ferret might be frightened or hurt.  Show me you are ready by using your
BEST pet behavior.  I see Susie is petting very softly with one finger.
Susie is showing us she is ready."
 
Prepare to get the real ferret.  Remind the children to stay seated.  Tell
them nicely that if they get up and run around, you will have to put the
ferret away for its own safety.
 
Take out the real ferret.  Use a leash!  Sometimes my ferrets have been
absolute wonders, calm and adorable, but sometimes they have been squirmy,
wriggly scratchers that I couldn't let anyone pet.  Depends on the alignment
of the planets!
 
If the ferrets are in a good mood, move around the circle and let the
children pet.  Hold the ferret with its face towards you, in the crook of
your arm, so the children are only petting the back end.  Let no child near
the ferret's face.  That way, no one can claim later that they were bitten.
 
Sometimes I let my ferrets wander around, WITH the leash dragging, if both
the ferrets and the children are behaving.  Don't let any behavior get out
of hand.  The second you think there might be trouble, there probably will
be.  Just scoop up the ferret and say he looks scared.
 
If your ferrets reliably run through dryer tubes, bring one.  Consider
bringing a cage so they can see the hammocks.  All the time you are showing
the ferrets, tell them about how wonderful they are, AND that ferrets need
to be cared for WITH A GROWNUP.  Ferrets are not like gerbils, ferrets need
expensive vet care, etc.  etc.
 
Tell the children they may ask you questions.  "Raise your hand if you want
me to call on you." Don't let them shout out.  Soon they will all be yelling
and you will not be able to be heard over them.  Tell them you will be glad
to wait until it's quiet before you call on the next person.
 
Ask the children questions.  Can they guess what ferrets eat?  What kind of
teeth do ferrets have?  Where would a ferret like to hide/sleep/play?  What
other animal does a ferret look like?  Do ferrets like cats/dogs?  If you
had a ferret, what would you name it?  Etc.
 
Prepare a handout for each child to take home.  This takes time but is well
worth it, and once you do it, you will always have it ready to be xeroxed.
Include a coloring page.  You'd be amazed how much kids, even up to 4th and
5th grade, like to color!  I used a full-page-sized meerkat from Disney
Print Shop (I hope they're not reading this!) which I altered slightly to
look like a ferret.  Have information about ferrets, shelters, etc.  on some
of the pages.  Make up a simple crossword puzzle, wordsearch, and
wordscramble.  Kids love this.  Your handout might be several pages long!
 
You will have a GREAT time if you think ahead, plan ahead, and be prepared
for anything!  (Don't forget those paper towels!)
 
Kat
[Posted in FML issue 2282]