Pet Smart and the London Children's Museum

Our school curriculum is project based learning, meaning a large portion of our daily routine is hands-on group participation.  This allows for open discussion, the development of team building strategies, and real world applications.  I would venture to say our kids spend more time out of the classroom than in it.  It's been a very hard contrast to our previous school experiences that did incorporate these initiatives in small doses, but the day-to-day learning was more individually focused in a classroom learning environment.  At first I was a bit concerned about how this method would impact Brenna and more specifically if it would cause her to lag behind in skills when this assignment is over and we return to the US.  But as time goes on, all those concerns have fallen away.  The kids are so much more engaged with the subject matter and because of that they seem to retain the information much easier.  It's been a very enlightening experience and I won't ever look at education the way same again.

That leads me to this post.  Earlier in the year while covering our Animals Unit of the curriculum, we took a field trip to Greenview Aviaries.  You can check it our here Class Field Trip to Greenview Aviaries.  Keeping with the same idea of hands-on learning, we took two more field trips a couple of weeks ago to supplement our curriculum unit.

The first trip was to Petsmart.  The kids had been pushing our teacher, Mrs. R, for a class pet.  But they couldn't come to an agreement on what to get.  So, Mrs. R decided to use this as an opportunity to incorporate some more fun into the curriculum.  First, she stretched their descriptive writing skills with an assignment to write what pet you'd like to have and why it's the best choice.  Next she tied it into their math and research skills by provided a trip to Petsmart.  The kids broke into groups based on which pet they wanted.  Then they had to research all the needs of the pet and calculate its total cost, including both one time purchases like habitats and monthly costs like food.  There were groups for guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, birds, turtles, rabbits, and lizards.

The plans are to have a fundraiser and then use the money that they make to determine which pet the class can afford based on their findings.  Brenna is certain that a hamster is best choice.  It was a quick and easy field trip that had a big impact on the kids and they had a great time!

Later that same week we enjoyed another field trip to the London Children's Museum.  It was a long, bumpy, and loud bus ride to London (which is about an hour east of Sarnia) but it was well worth it.  The field trip was focused on our Space Unit, and while we did tour the entire musuem, Mrs. R had arranged some very special programs for the class.  The first was an information session given by a Canadian astronaut.  He explained the training required to become an astronaut, the time it takes to travel to different destinations in space, and what its like to live at the International Space Station.  The kids really enjoyed some of the videos from the Space Station and he took the time to answer all of their questions. 

Next, we moved on to the Space Exhibit in the museum, where one of the curators described all the planets and provided a model of our solar system, complete with a demonstration of the different phases of the moon that required total darkness, a flash light, and a very large bouncy ball.  Then the kids were able to make their own planets from foam balls and colored play dough. 

Finally, we entered the planetarium where the curators took us through all the tales of the constellations and gave the kids a chance to find them on their own.  Once again, it was a day full of fun, but still very educational!

We still have two more field trips planned for this school year.  Most of our friends back home have kicked off summer.  Here our school year is still going strong with a little more than a month left.