Randle Highlands In-House Petting Zoo Brings the Farm to the School
November 28, 2010
Randle Highlands Elementary School, Ward 7 | Photo by Fred Lewis
Randle Highlands Elementary School, Ward 7 | Photo by Fred Lewis
Randle Highlands Elementary School, Ward 7 | Photo by Fred Lewis
Field trips. Sure, they can be fun and educational, but they’re not as easy to pull off as you might think. After all, you have the permission forms, the buses, the lines, bagged lunches, more lines and, of course, all those mad dashes to the bathroom.
Wouldn’t it be nice to bring the field trip to your school instead?
That’s exactly what teachers at Randle Highlands Elementary School did last week with their annual in-house petting zoo, a fun school-based experience linked to standards in various subjects such as art, health, music and science and cut out transportation costs.
“We’re taking what they do in class every day and we’re building on it to enhance their learning,” said Darlene Ferguson, physical education and health teacher at Randle Highlands. “I didn’t know that a lot of our kids hadn’t been to the zoo or seen a live animal before, so that motivated me to bring the zoo and the farm to them.”
From about noon to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 18, students in kindergarten through second grade filed into the school’s gymnasium for chance to check out the duck, chicken, tortoise, rabbit, goat, pig, miniature horse and llama from John Phillips’ Squeals on Wheels mobile petting zoo from Potomac, Md.
While one class watched Phillips’ presentation and lent their voices to a rousing rendition of “Old MacDonald” (aided significantly by live animals), another class participated in physical education, music, art and library activities on the other side of the gymnasium partition.
At the health and PE station, students maneuvered an obstacle course based on nutrition and food groups; in art, students transformed ink-stamp thumbprints into pig- and chicken-decorated bookmarks; in music, students sang “The Farmer in the Dell”; and in the library station, students explored books and online information about the animals that visited the school.
“They will learn about different habitats, sounds the animals make and explore their history and environment. This is a great opportunity to address performance standards, too,” said school librarian and media specialist Harriet Frost.
“I’m excited,” said music teacher Nathaniel Rogers. “It will be fun to see how the students like it and what they get from it.”
Judging by the smiles, laughter, wonderment and questions, students got plenty out of the visit.
Phillips, a military veteran, introduced students to the animals, giving them some general information about each, before presenting them – by hand or leash – to curious children for a quick and sometimes apprehensive petting.
“I like the llama the best,” said one excited first grader.
“I like the pig,” said another, whose exclamation was followed by a chorus of, “Ewwwwww!”
Art teacher Kyle Davio said activities such as last week’s in-house petting zoo inspire students in a variety of ways across a variety of curricula.
“The more experiences and exposure they get, I see their imagination and creativity grow, too,” Davio said.
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