A New Adventure Outside the Classroom

Ten classes in the elementary school will be going on field trips on April 7th and 27th to Wonders of Wildlife in Springfield, Missouri and Wonderworks in Branson, Missouri.

All five of the kindergarten classes will be going to Wonders of Wildlife. With all five of the classes attending this field trip there will be over 100 students so teachers will have some help. “Each teacher will have two designated parent chaperones and any other parents who wish to participate,” stated Ms. Shockley, a kindergarten teacher. Ms. Graves, another kindergarten teacher, also added that, “All kindergarten teachers and paraprofessionals will be there.”

Not only do the students have fun on field trips, but so do the chaperones, “I like getting kids out into the community. Some of them have little exposure to these fun learning opportunities. It is always fun,” explained Graves. Along with that Shockley shared why she enjoys the field trips so much, “Giving our students experiences they may not get otherwise. (for example, Wonders of Wildlife is very expensive to attend, we get a very discounted rate).”

Majority of the teachers would say that the students’ favorite part is riding on a school bus, seeing new things, playing with their friends, getting out of the classroom, and getting to learn in a really fun way.

These field trips aren’t just all fun and games, secretly the students are still learning. Shockley said, “They are using manners and question asking skills in a real life setting. They are getting information from experts in their field beyond our regular Kindergarten curriculum.” Graves shared, “On this particular field trip, they will be seeing ocean animals during our animal unit in science.” 

All five of the fourth grade classes will be going to WonderWorks. All of the 4th grade teachers will be attending as well as one chaperone per classroom. Ms. Hollingsworth says, “My favorite part of field trips is the hands-on learning and excitement with learning that we can’t offer in the classroom.” Hollingsworth also says she loves being very hands-on and geared towards all things science.

There are many other classes that will be attending field trips later in the year along with more outside of the classroom activities to help students grow in their social skills, communication, and comprehending that there’s a new adventure outside of the classroom.