Going to the Zoo!

Going to the Zoo is the first field trip of the year and there are only 27 more school days left in the school year. 

       I was excited about my students going to the Zoo. This was their first time away from the school for this school year. They did a great job. They were polite, were interested in what we were discovering. They understood the long lines, the queues at the exhibits and we were entertained by their comments.

It was a "planned event!" 

       We started planning two weeks before we ever left the school. Not with the students... they were only told about the field trip the week of -- on Monday before the event on Friday. We rolled it into our Monday Morning Meeting time and gave the students brief tidbits of information each day. Chunk after chunk after chunk. We knew that they could only digest one chunk at a time.

       We (my Paraprofessionals and I) had been planning along with the other Kindergarten teachers on how the event was going to work. How we were going to send home the communication letters, how we were going to get to the zoo (by Bus) and whether or not special accommodations were needed or not.  Next we had to determine how we were going to logistically move the students from the bus to throughout the Zoo property. Were we going to join with another class, go on our own, have a "buddy" system from other students join ours, and many, many more options. We decided that it would work better if we became a "family" unit of our own and we traveled through the Zoo property with four adults (we had me, two para pros and a father) and each adult would have 1-2 students depending upon the special needs of the student.

       We prepared the students with lesson plans about what we would find in a Zoo; what habitats Zoo animals required; how the Zoo animals needed us to be respectful of their home; plus we studied how to look out for each other; how to listen to the teachers voices; and finally that with all the fun we were planning we needed to make sure we took care of looking out for each other.

Success. 

      The day arrived and we quickly reviewed the important events using a game style method of review, we made up song lyrics, we closed our eyes to see if we could hear each other's voices and then the moment arrived -- we packed up an moved to the buses.

      The trip to the zoo was so much fun and I was so proud of each student. They didn't whin, they didn't stray from our appointed path, they did ask questions, they did recognize items that we had discussed, we took quick breaks to not only get our bearings, but also hydrate and get a boost of energy from a quick snack.

      When it came time to go, there was minimal protesting. We had discussed and planned that going back to school safely was as much a part of our day at the Zoo as was the arrival.

Let's do it again!  

     We are better prepared now. We understand what we will need and how to better plan for each child's needs and accommodations. We will start the process of planning for field trips as soon as our school calendar is set.

      I am so thankful that the young men that are in our class was able to enjoy themselves in this setting and they were able to feel not only the freedom of movement outside of the classroom, but to enjoy the freedom of learning.

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