This week we had our first visit to the zoo for the school year. Now the children have their year passes, we can expect to be visiting on a more regular basis to enjoy all the emergent learning opportunities for the children as they are inspired by the animals to be curious learners. This week the children saw the meerkats snuggled up against the morning frost, the giraffes eating their breakfast, the bison wandering their enclosure and the gorillas sitting by the glass intently observing a school group presentation. It is lovely to see how excited the children are and many of them connected the trip with their own experiences of the zoo from family trips. On our next visit we will explore some of the other animals that live at the zoo that the children requested to see. In the warmer months we hope to spend longer days at the zoo. Perhaps even over lunch!
After our trip to the zoo, the children discussed the types of transport that we had seen while we were there. We saw a van transporting workers around the zoo, one worker on a bike, several workers using wheelbarrows to transport goods and even a front loader transporting sticks! We then brainstormed types of transport that we might use to move animals from place to place. The children then crafted their own pictures of animals on transport which you can see up on display.
This week we had a treat of double Music with the music teacher. She sung some songs with the children and they practiced keeping the beat with instruments she brought to share. The children really enjoy this exploration of sound and technique with Inga. In our own music this week, the children learnt “The wheels on the bus” and we made up our own lyrics in addition to the song.
