May 2015

May is Be Kind to Animals Month, or BKTAM for short! How do you plan to promote animals this month?

Here's one idea: Do you know how many kittens can be born over two years if none are spayed or neutered? Check out our new animated story, Ginger: The Story of an Unspayed Outdoor Cat to find out, then share the lesson with your students!

Whatever you do to celebrate BKTAM in your school, classroom or even at home, we'd love to hear about it. Let us know and we’ll add this to the total of youth reached for our Million Acts of Kindness campaign.

Looking for more tips on bringing animal welfare into the classroom? If you did not receive a copy of our teacher guide, Meow!, and you would like to, please email us and we will send one to you.

Champlain Heights Elementary is a school that cares!

The Champlain Heights We Care Team, which consists of students in all divisions, decided that they wanted to do a fundraiser for the SPCA. They started by inviting a BC SPCA representative to the school for a kick-off assembly in early March. Students and the school community were challenged to bring in items needed by the SPCA, as well as financial donations. The donations came in with zest! The We Care Team members were thrilled when the SPCA arrived at the front of their school with a van ready to pick up the many items the school community donated. 

“This was a very positive experience for our school and the members of our We Care Team! We plan to do this again next year!” says We Care Team leader Melissa Helen Manninen.

Thank you, We Care Team, and all the students, teachers and parents at Champlain Heights!

Before You Were Mine
by Maribeth Boelts, illustrated by David Walker

Before You Were Mine follows a young boy as he speculates on his adopted dog’s previous life. He wonders what his dog’s name used to be, and if he had another boy who loved him. He imagines that perhaps his lovable companion’s last guardians had to move and couldn’t take their dog with them, or left him tied up on a chain outside, or didn’t look for him when he became lost. When all his speculation is done, the boy remembers finding his dog at the animal shelter – and thinks that maybe it doesn’t matter what happened in the past, because now his four-legged friend has a loving, permanent home.

With soft, sweet illustrations, Before You Were Mine is a touching tale that asks many of the questions people have when adopting a stray animal from the shelter – and could lead to further questions during classroom discussion. Along with the story’s gentle encouragement of pet adoption, the book includes an afterward by the author which outlines some of the reasons why adopting an older pet can bring great joy to both the animal and the guardian.

With a reading level of Kindergarten to Grade 2 and a sentiment appropriate for any age, Before You Were Mine is sure to leave a mark on the hearts of animal-loving children and adults alike.

Read more BC SPCA book recommendations.

If you see a baby bird on the ground, do you know what to do?

Spring is the time when young birds learn to fly or may fall out of their nests, making them vulnerable to predators. When should you just wait and watch and when do we need to step in to help them?

To help you make the best decision, check out our What Do I Do? flow chart. Plus, learn some interesting trivia about the birds that come into care at the BC SPCA Wild ARC.

Learn more about this news item and other BC SPCA news that you may want to include in class discussions.

Kindness Counts
(for K- Gr. 2)

Companions for Life
(Gr. 3-5)

You Can Make a Difference
(Gr. 5-7)

  Cluck - The life of an egg-laying hen (Gr. 4-6)

  Bite Free (K - Gr. 5)

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On behalf of all the animals we care for and protect, thank you for your support.