We ventured on another walking field trip, this time to Petco. We were in search of some new fish for our classroom fish tank and also a new heater. The children and Teacher Thaovy had much discussion over what kind of fish we should get. The final vote was for fancy guppies.
During circle time we were talking about what we needed to do to get ready for the fancy guppies and one of the children asked how we were going to get them. And another child said with money. So we talked about dollars and coins and took a look at what money looked like and whose faces where in the middle. I gave them a couple hints to help them guess and one of my hints was that they were people who were very important and made a difference in our country. One of the children said, "mommies and daddies!!" It made me smile! The children decided that they needed to make their own dollars and coins to bring with us to Petco to buy our fancy guppies. The children made all different dollar amounts and used scissors to cut out their coins.
With money in hand and in pockets we set out the next day on our walking field trip. All of the children did great holding hands as we focus very much on safety.
The children instantaneously noticed their shadows and so did I. :)
Cheese! We are almost there!
There was a young man named Eli who showed us so many awesome animals and told us many fun facts about the birds. This was a very young bird that needed to spend so much time bonding with its caregiver that he sat on Eli's shoulder the entire time we were at the pet store.
N found the fish tanks! Very excited to find the fancy guppies the children kept pointing and asking, "is this a fancy guppy?"
Wow look at all the gold fish in these tanks. These were what they call feeder fish, that are basically used to feed other creatures.
Eli showed the children a chameleon, which was the book we read before we left school that morning.
SNAKE!!
One of the highlights - the Chewbacca squeaky toy!
All the children picked out the colored fancy guppy that they wanted and we got them packed up.
The children were so excited to check out and pay with the money that they made special for their fancy guppies. Eli counted all of their money and even gave them change back. It was such a neat experience and I apologize in advance if your children try to make fake money and buy something with it. But I never want to stop a creative mind! :)
All smiles! Thank you so much to all the parents who chaperoned the field trip. It was such an amazing learning experience for the children and it has kicked off their interest in the ocean and what is in the sea. Stop by our classroom and see the bios your children wrote about their fancy guppies and their stories about their under-the-sea art.
Hugs,
Teacher Kristina and Teacher Thaovy
