Going to the zoo
Posted by odea200h on November 14, 2007
On the long weekend I went to Calgary with a couple of my friends and as typical tourists, went to the zoo.
I thought it was great fun but got pretty tired after walking around all day.
Afterwards I was thinking about the field trip to the zoo that every kid does on a a school excursion. Do children really enjoy going to the zoo? Will they get anything educational out of it or will they just forget everything they saw at the end of a very long and tiring day?
I will definitely take my school kids to the zoo but I want to develop some strategies that will make it a more enjoyable day for the kids and worthwhile educationally so they learn something from it.
There are some obvious things we sometimes forget. My recommendations are…
Make sure you have enough batteries in your camera. Take spares! But dont spend all your time taking pictures. Look at the animals.
Have plenty of pit stops: Morning tea break, Lunch break, Afternoon tea break and even some treat stops in between those.
Make sure your lunch break is long enough. Give it about 45 minutes to an hour depending on how tired or eager the kids are. Have a large lunch prepared for them or make sure they come with lots of food in their lunch boxes. Have kids allocate some money to buy an ice-cream or lollies because this always makes it more fun and is another quick break. Teachers should get an ice-cream too.
Know your zoo! Make sure all the teachers have the zoo map earlier on so they know where to go. Don’t wait till you go through the gate to decide which way to head first. Organize kids into smaller groups and decide which animals are priorities to see.
Try to time your where abouts in the zoo to any special feeding presentations the keepers are putting on. This gives the students a more memorable, exciting and educational interaction with the particular animal and also another rest stop for your legs.
Teachers, talk to your kids about the animals. Look, wonder, question and gasp at the funny features of animals. It will make your kids more interested and they will get more out of it.
If you have any other ideas to make the zoo trip better and educational in your classroom after the field trip let me know.
