What I got was bunnies.
One of the 6th grade girls, Anabel, saw my invitation as the perfect opportunity to bring her bunnies in to class for a day. She explained that she didn't get to see them much because she wasn't able to keep them safe from dogs around her house, so her dad had arranged for them to be cared for by a man out in the countryside.
A few days later, here comes Anabel, grinning ear to ear and carrying three young rabbits in a cage.
I was kind of surprised by her reaction when I invited her to bring them out of the cage and pass them around - she shrunk back, afraid of being bitten or clawed! She had often admired them through the wire mesh, but had never been in the habit of holding them.
On the other hand, I really wasn't surprised to see who stepped forward to fearlessly grab the first rabbit - my own daughter, Hannah.
Since our move to Haiti, I have noticed for the first time, her interest in animals. And it's not just an interest; she seems to have a WAY with them. The Heckmans were calling her "The Goat Whisperer" one day when she was able to approach AND PET several goats on the seminary campus which had always shied away from humans in fear.
(My theory is that her vast experience in growing up with two brothers has prepared her well for working with other dumb animals.)
She seemed to have the same calming effect on each of these bunnies in the classroom, cuddling them, soothing them, and then passing them off to others with instructions on how to hold them properly ... and all of a sudden, she was the bunny expert.
The bunnies came to class in November, so it was almost inevitable that Hannah would ask for a bunny of her own for Christmas. She would hint and hint and then ask straight out and then say things like, "I know I won't get my own bunny." And all the while, Melissa and I would confirm that sentiment publicly and then, behind closed doors, agree that bunnies would make a great gift for her.
My only hesitation was that I wasn't sure where to FIND a rabbit in Haiti, so I cornered Anabel's father at the Christmas program to ask about where to buy one and he offered to GIVE Hannah any of the bunnies she might want! Quite sweet and generous. (Don't worry - Anabel was also on board!) He gave me the number of the man who kept Anabel's bunnies in the country and said my only expense would be buying a cage from the man.
So the day after Christmas we told the kids we were going to the market and they had to come with us because we weren't sure how long we'd be gone and we didn't feel comfortable leaving them at home. Our good friend Mikenn rode along with us to make sure we found our Bunny Guy (That's how I had him listed on my phone).
We parked far from any sort of market, far down a road none of us had travelled before, walked a dirt path into the midst of a dozen rabbit hutches ... and it slowly dawned on Hannah why we were there. The look on her face was priceless.
We were told by several individuals, including the Bunny Guy, that rabbits don't survive a solitary existence, so we picked out two bunnies - a male and a female - and negotiated a decent price for a bamboo hutch and headed home - with our two new pets and four very excited kids.
Hannah couldn't wait to show the bunnies to her friends next door.
And I, King Tightwad, was excited to learn these two enjoy eating the mangoes that fall from the tree at the edge of our yard - no need for Purina Bunny Chow!
We've had the bunnies two weeks now and my project over the last few days was to convert an old section of kitchen cabinetry taken out of Melissa's classroom during recent renovations, into a smaller, more secure hutch that would fit on our front porch - especially urgent after Melissa discovered one of the rabbits on the loose one afternoon a few days ago.
We had been concerned about the Bundy's dog finding a way to make a meal out of the bunnies. But to our surprise, Bella seems to have maternal feelings towards the two and is now their self-appointed guard dog!
So they've got a nice, secure home outside now, but rest assured they are frequent house guests inside as well.
The gray bunny, our female, has been christened "Cloudy" while the male is now known as "Cookie Dough".
And as far as using bunnies to promote science? Well, I can claim success there with at least ONE of my students - you wouldn't believe how much research that girl has done on rabbits in the last two weeks!
And all of this results in one very happy girl and, I'm guessing here, two happy bunnies.
What more could any of our kids want?
Oh... yeah. And with Sarah's seventh birthday coming up on Thursday...
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