Experience Learning for K-2 Students at AJA

Experience Learning for K-2 Students at AJA

Field trips are an exciting experience in Green Bay Adventist Junior Academy students grades K-2. This school year, so far, we’ve been able to explore familiar books in a new and interesting way and learn more about God’s creation by studying nature. We also were reminded again, through a puppet show, that it’s always important to be kind to others.

In September, the students had the opportunity to visit Book- worm Gardens in Sheboygan. It’s a whimsical botanical garden that lets kids experience children’s literature. The students could read the Little House on the Prairie book and then go into a covered wagon or play in a small wooden house, just like in the story. Or they could read Click, Clack, Moo, then experience what it felt like to type on a manual typewriter. They loved feeding the huge, colorful fish in the pond and climbing on the life-sized cow in the barn area.

They also had a lot of fun in the musical section of the garden. They played chimes and other instruments all while standing amidst towering trees and beautiful flowers. These activities were just a few of the wonderful ways in which they were able to interact that day.

In October, we went to Woodland Dunes, a 1,500-acre preserve located in Two Rivers. The mission of the preserve is to help students develop a personal relationship with nature and motivate them to care for the natural world their lives. During our time there, the students learned about different types of owls. They also felt feathers, listened to recordings of owls, and pretended to be different parts of an owl’s food chain. They played a game to see how owl populations can increase and decrease and then charted the results. They had the most fun though dissecting barn owl pellets to look for bones.

In November, we went to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. We learned about kindness and sharing while watching an ocean- themed puppet show based on the Rainbow Fish series of books.

In April, the students will be going to Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center to learn about where the food that they eat comes from, how it is produced, and who is producing it. There are interactive exhibits and a cow birthing barn that they will be able to explore also.

We’ve loved learning new things and seeing interesting places on our field trips this year. But perhaps, best of all, was being able to share those experiences together as friends and classmates.

Carmen Magray, Green Bay Adventist Junior Academy Teacher, Grades K-2