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June 2019
 Get inspired this summer! Zoe Weil, President and Co-Founder of the Institute for Humane Education, has recently coined the term Solutionary. This term refers to an individual who is able to identify inhumane and unsustainable systems, and then develop solutions that are healthy and just for people, animals and the environment. Solutionaries are motivated by compassion and justice, and are driven to cultivate their creative-, critical-, strategic- and systems-thinking skills in order to address the underlying causes of entrenched and interconnected problems.
To create a more sustainable, equitable and peaceful world, we must reimagine education and prepare a generation to be solutionaries—young people with the knowledge, tools, and motivation to create a better future. In her book, The World Becomes What We Teach, Zoe offers educators key tools to empower students to take on the world’s greatest challenges.
 It’s been a great year, but it’s also been a lot of work! Both teachers and students deserve an end-of-year party. So why not make it animal-themed? Here are some ideas:
• Summer is almost here, so hold a Popsicle Party! Use it as an opportunity to discuss the dangers summer can pose to pets, such as Hot Dogs in Cars or other summer hazards.
• Have students bring in animal-themed snacks, like animal-shaped crackers or cupcakes iced with animal faces. Go around the class and ask your students the most interesting thing they learned about animals this year.
• Hold a vegetarian pizza party! Discuss how Meatless Mondays can help animals and the environment.
• Host a beach day to create awareness of environmental concerns. Discuss how litter can affect all of the wildlife living there.
• Have a film party and screen movies about animals, such as Ratatouille, Chicken Run, Finding Nemo or Lassie. Discuss the films with your students. Do these movies help animals? Portray them accurately? Why or why not?
• Have your students come to school dressed as an animal. Ahead of time, ask them to research the animal so they can share their knowledge with their classmates.
 Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox
by Danielle Daniel
Reading Level: Grades K-1
In this book inspired by the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals, children put on different masks in order to illustrate and explain why they feel like different animals. By identifying personality traits and positive descriptors of different animals, this book fosters connection and compassion between humans and other living creatures. Filled with vivid, whimsical paintings, this book teaches children about a variety of animals as well as the Anishinaabe culture.
Read more reviews of our recommended books.
 It’s quite common for older pets to get overlooked at shelters while kittens and puppies are also hoping for their forever homes. Cats and dogs are considered “senior” or “mature” around the age of seven, and come into the care of the BC SPCA for a variety of reasons, such as when their senior owners pass away or can no longer care for them.
Puppies and kittens may be your first instinct when it comes to adopting. But keep in mind that there are many great benefits to welcoming a mature companion into your home! For example, unlike younger animals, older pets are often house-trained already, and have already developed their unique personalities and temperaments. Perhaps most importantly, older animals are still happy to hang out and play, and still have plenty of love to give!
To learn more about senior animals, and help to give them the golden years they deserve, read the full story here.
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The BC SPCA has classroom resources for grades K-7. The lessons integrate animal issues and information into existing provincial learning outcomes.
Click on a lesson plan below to learn more.
Kindness counts
(Primary)
Bite free
(Primary/intermediate)
Making the right choice
(Intermediate)
You can make a difference
(Intermediate)
The farm-food connection
(Intermediate)
Cats in the community
(Intermediate)
Including animals in social justice
(Intermediate/Secondary)
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