La Martiniere students with a golden retriever during the pet programme. (Arnab Mondal)

The foyer at La Martiniere for Girls resembled Old MacDonald’s farm last Friday as students of the school’s nursery section took turns to cuddle dogs, pet guinea pigs and rabbits or befriend goats and geese.

Shinjeeta Das was delighted at a chance to spend time with the animals. “I don’t have any animals at home because my father says I am too small to take care of them. I cannot have a pet till the time I can toilet train it myself,” said the Upper Nursery student.

The animal farm was the culmination of a two-week pet programme for students of the pre-primary section of La Martiniere for Girls.

“The objective is for children to hold the pet, feed it and to teach them how to overcome fear and take care of the pet,” said Lorraine Mirza, the principal of the school.

Volunteers from Cape Foundation brought in cats, white mice, a Golden Retriever, mongrels, geese, guinea pigs, country hens and goats to the school campus.

The children spent time with the pets, observed them, learnt songs and stories about them and made art-and-craft items inspired by the animals.

“We taught them the difference between guinea pigs and rabbits as one having long ears and the other small and also told them what different animals eat. This kind of learning will remain with them forever,” said Debjani Rudra, the head of the nursery department.

The La Martiniere girls were joined by children from the Smile Foundation on the closing day of the pet programme, which is a part of a year-long peace campaign —Let Peace Abide — integrated into the school’s curriculum from Lower Nursery to Class XII.

Teachers and experts felt that one way to ensure peace within was to bring children closer to nature. “The objective is to familiarise the children with animals and 95 per cent of them were very easy with them. As they get older, fear starts building and it also brings with it an element of cruelty,” said Radhika Bose Makar, a Cape Foundation trustee who has conducted the workshop in Montessori schools in the city.

Fear was the last thing on the minds of the little girls as they befriended the dogs. “I have dogs at home. But they are not real. This one is. See, see he is scratching,” exclaimed Siya Goenka, an Upper Nursery student who refused to part with Mickey the golden retriever.

The teachers, too, were happy to see the children at ease with the animals. “There is a child in lower nursery who would cling on to her bag and to me and cry for her mother in class. But after this programme, I realised she has become more free and comfortable and now I see her hopping around from one animal to another, patting them,” Rudra said.

The school authorities took care to ensure hygiene and keep the children safe from germs.

“After every session with the animals, the children were made to wash their hands with antiseptic liquid. The desks and the chairs were swept to maintain hygiene,” Rudra said.

Though the pet programme was meant for children of lower and upper nursery, the older students too were eager to join in.

Class IV student Arifah Islam sneaked in a visit between her math and moral science classes to check out the animals. “I have four birds and four fish at home. I wish I could spend more time with these animals but I have class now and I will come back during lunch break,” she said.

Several students did sacrifice their 15-minute break to catch a glimpse of the animals. “I wish this programme had been for us as well,” said Divya John of Class XI.