Trip to the Zoo

A turtle at the zoo.

On March 14 I took my 1st graders to the zoo for a field trip. I took my kids last year and they loved it and I wanted my first graders this year to have the chance to take a fun field trip. My first graders this year are also really interested by animals so I knew that they would be able to see and learn a lot. It was a beautiful and sunny day when we went and the kids kept saying that it was the best day ever! I also had 12 parent volunteers which was wonderful since I only have 20 kids. It made it easy for everyone to enjoy the day while making sure the kids were safe. When we first got to the zoo we took a class picture, from there the lady who works at the zoo took us around the zoo and talked/fed the animals. The kids enjoyed watching the animals be fed and to see different kinds of animals. The zoo is a small zoo but it has a leopard, lion, monkeys, lizards, pigs, guinea pigs, rabbits, ducks, emus, and a baby bobcat. After this part the kids were able to feed the guinea pigs with carrots. They loved this part! From there the kids played on the playground and were able to see the animals they wanted to look at longer. The only downside of the trip was the Fish and Wildlife people usually come and talk about the brown tree snake and the kids are able to touch and see the tree snake. Without this the field trip was cut shorter than expected. All in all it was fun to see my kids enjoy their time at the zoo, feed the animals, and enjoy being able to do hands on learning. One of the God moments for me on this trip was that one of the parents paid for my entrance fee since I would have had to pay to get in. It was such a blessing!

Students looking at the turtles.

The whole class before we started!

Watching the monkeys being fed.

Watching the monkeys.

The students looking at the deer.

Students and parents.

Pigs.

A student with an animal.

Two students feeding guinea pigs.

A student feeding a guinea pig.

A really cool looking animal.

An exhibit where the kids could be the animals in the zoo.

Two students hanging out.

Students at the playground.

Swinging.

A student looking at the guinea pigs.

Silly faces!

It was a great time and it was worth all of the time spent organizing the trip.
Hope you enjoyed the pics!  My students ask when will I take them on another field trip and I said that I only do one a year:)
-Kara-

First Grade Field Trip to the Zoo!

Last Tuesday the 17th I took my first grade class on a field trip to the zoo. I had 7 parents help with the supervision and it turned out to be a great day. When we first arrived we met up with the lady in charge at the zoo. She was easy to work with and led the students around the zoo. With each animal she would stop and feed it and while she was feeding it explain the animal and answer questions. The kids eyes were all excited because they love animals so much. The zoo is a very tiny zoo, but there was still lots to see. There was a leopard, lion, emu, turkeys, monkeys, fish, and fruit bats. One interesting story was there were ducks walking around the zoo and one of my little girls screamed bloody murder that there was a duck by her so for the rest of the field trip I was on duck patrol making sure it would not get close to her. The duck was so funny that it kept on following her and her scream. Poor girl. The kids' favorite area was the feeding area where they were able to feed guinea pigs and rabbits. I have never seen a guinea pig in a zoo before since I used to have one growing up, but it was super cute to see the kids running around trying to feed the animals carrots. From there they went into the main building and a guy from the Department of Natural Resources was there with a brown tree snake. Brown tree snakes are an invasive species in Saipan and they kill birds so if you find one here you need to capture and report it. The kids had so much fun learning about the snake and getting to touch it as well. The boys were so into the snake as they have loved the topic of snakes all year. From there the kids with my permission got to play at the playground there until it was time to go home. One quote from the day from a kid, "This was the best day ever." Another kid I asked what his favorite animal was and he said the cat. I asked if he meant the leopard and he said no the cat and I realized that the cat he was referring to was the kitty cat that was just walking around the zoo. How funny that we go to the zoo and his favorite animal was a regular old cat. Hahaha. The kids were very happy and I loved seeing them learn and experience the zoo!!!