La Mar Goes To School

La Mar,who, if I haven't mentioned before, is our fish that I have managed to keep alive for a year and half so far, had a fun afternoon last Friday. And by fun, I mean, his peaceful life of swimming around in circles was totally disrupted by a class full of third graders. Sam requested that I bring La Mar and all his fishy belongings to the school for show and tell.

His belongings are few, but Sam felt they needed to make the trip. His bowl was too heavy to carry with him and his water in it so he had to hang out in a jar for the trip. But I brought the empty bowl.

I brought the brush we use to clean his bowl and the net we use to get him out of the bowland the plastic plant we put in his bowl when the look suits us. (All in the Skippy Jar.)

The food came along too because Sam wanted to teach his class the rules for feeding La Mar. The rules are: One pellet at a time. No giving him another until he eats the first. Then, one at a time up to 6. No more than 6 pellets in one day. Sam's plan was to teach them the rules, feed him a pellet so they could see him eat, then call up five volunteers to have a turn feeding the fish. La Mar did not cooperate. He wouldn't eat the first pellet.
Also along for show and tell was the mirror we use to harass the poor fish. Sam asked me to bring it so he could show his class what La Mar looks like when he's mad. You see, when La Mar sees his own reflection he thinks it's another fish and then flares out his gills and fins like he's about to fight.
Some of Sam's classmates got a little ticked when he relayed what the pet expert at Walnast, where we got the fish, told us... "If you see a beta fish with beautiful colors such as red and blue, then it's a boy. The girl beta fish are ugly." So, yeah, the girls weren't too happy to hear that. I'm sure the smug look on Sam's face when he told them didn't help.
I found it impressive that Sam had his show and tell presentation all planned out in his head before he even talked to me about bringing the fish and making it happen. I also found it typical that I had to make it happen. I guess that's what being the mom is all about. Helping the offspring achieve their ideas and desires. Luckily for Sam, this was a desire I could support.