During the fifth week of school year 5 headed to Kelly Tarlton's sea life aquarium in Auckland for an overnight visit! The kids we so excited although many of them were a little nervous because it was their first time sleeping away from home. However, once we got there it was a magical experience for them and thoughts of home were quickly forgotten!
We had an educational and fun time receiving special tours with the aquarium all to ourselves! Highlights included walking through a simulation of an arctic tundra, feeding stingrays and other fish, a special penguin viewing ( too cute!), and sleeping under a shark tunnel. It was also so much fun to see my students in a setting outside of school and it was a real bonding experience as we had lots of laughs and explored the aquarium together.
Girls from my class looking on in awe at the stingray feeding!
The stingrays were huge!
Shark tunnel poses!
Ahhh, run!
Adorable penguins!
My only challenge was getting my students to sleep when they were so excited! I was particularly grumpy when a few boys from my area of the shark tunnel woke up at 3 in the morning thinking it was 7 am and beginning to pack up. Me: "Boys, what is that ruckus?! Back to bed this instant!" Boys: "Miss Lauricella, we have to hurry because we have to meet the bus!" Me: "IT'S 3 AM urgggggh!" We laughed about it the next day, but in the moment I was not pleased.
Look at all of these ecstatic faces! Sleep? Yeah right!
The shark tunnel that we slept under!
Super sleepy selfie the next morning!
The next day was also an adventure as we headed to a Marae, a Maori sacred meeting place, in Howick. The students enjoyed taking part in Maori ceremonies, learning about the history of the Marae, and going on nature walk. It was also a neat experience because our school had worked alongside the community to re-open the Marae in recent years, so students felt a personal connection to it.
The trip was not only an excellent opportunity to spend time with students outside of school hours, but also demonstrated the importance of providing experience-based educational activities for children. Students left with more knowledge of the world and can use this knowledge across subject matter. They've already written some impressive creative writing pieces about the trip and made text-to-self connections in guided reading groups due to the trip. Plus, it was an opportunity for students to grow in their independence by taking a trip away from their parents and learning to be responsible for themselves and their belongings. this is done purposefully in year 5 to prepare students for the year 6 camp they will attend (more on that to come!)..
Thanks for reading as I try to post as much as possible before I return to the U.S. soon! It is so much fun to re-live these incredible experiences through blogging.
Lots of Love,
Katie
Fun Fact: In preparation for our trip to the Marae our students drew koru patterns. These are widely used and extremely important in Maori culture as they represent a new unfurling silver fern and symbolize new life, growth, and strength. I somehow managed to teach this art lesson with success :).
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