Today we went to the zoo.
Matt Damon wasn’t there. I feel misled.
Or maybe he was. I wouldn’t have noticed. Herding the animals I brought with me was WAY more work than watching the animals that were already there. I have a compulsive need to count my students every forty-five seconds when we’re out on a field trip. I am terrified of losing one. Absolutely terrified. So I spent most of my time with my arm in the air, counting, and squinting against the sunlight. I did manage to take this pictures of the first animal we saw. After that, it was downhill. The kids were awesome, but I’m a paranoid nutter.Our zoo used to be extremely depressing. The enclosures were tiny and sad. And the animals just kind of sat there and looked at you, like, “Well. Hello. Isn’t this place horrible?”
I’m not super crazy about zoos. They bug me. I wouldn’t appreciate being taken from my real house in my real neighborhood and put in a fake house in a fake neighborhood with walls around it. I do appreciate that some of the animals have been rescued from deadly situations, so I just try to think about that. So we went.
Our zoo has been completely updated. It’s much nicer now. The elephants don’t just stand there and sway anymore. They look alert. The zebras have room to wander a bit. It was fun.
Our babies had never been on a field trip. In the third grade, and never been on a field trip! When they were in kinder, there was a campus emergency and we were displaced from our school building for the whole year. The last two years, there was no money. So this year we were determined to take them somewhere.
There were a couple of high points. One was the elephant show. It was pretty cool. And the kids were so engaged in watching it, we (teachers) were actually able to eat lunch. The kids had already eaten.
But this was the best part (according to the kids)As we approached the lion enclosure, I saw an elderly couple sitting on the bench, watching the male lion. My students (and other students) crowded against the plexiglass, drooling over the lion. Suddenly, they started screaming. I (did I mention I’m paranoid?) assumed that a child was being smushed to death against the plexiglass by the other students, so I shoved toward the front of the mob. Guess what I saw?
An enormous lion, one leg straight in the air, licking himself. himself. As in the parts you don’t lick in public. Or hopefully, in private, either.
I don’t want to tell you how any different times I reworded that sentence. I tried all sorts of euphemisms before I settled on ‘himself.’ I think you get me.
Needless to say, the elderly couple got up and hobbled away in disgust. Not of the lion – of our kids who were freaking out about the lion. I chewed them out. But between you and me, it was a bit disconcerting. I mean, it’s one thing when it’s your dog or cat, but these…uh…family jewels were like 18 times the domestic size. Yowza.
Grab the little book we used for free at TPT! Print it double-sided, and it’s an eight-page minibook to keep kids engaged and focused at the zoo! Great kickoff for a life science unit.
Also, these are things you want to know.
1. I am having a muy superwow sale this weekend at TPT. They’re having a muysuperwow sale, too, so can you imagine the dinero you’ll save?
2. I am also having a muysuperwow sale at
Teacher’s Notebook and they’re having a Teacher Appreciation Sweepstakes! You should definitely check it out to win $100 worth of free Teacher’s Notebook stuff!
3. AND, this stuff is for free!!
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I am laughing out loud at the line of herding the animals you brought with you. I am impressed that you even got a field trip. We have crummy ones in our district. 🙁
Our zoo used to be equally as depressing….however last time I saw Vince Vaughn there, so that made it a bit less depressing. No Matt Damon, but it was fun nonetheless. 🙂 Thanks for the freebie!
~Stephanie
Teaching in Room 6
Oh my gosh you are so funny!!! Thank you for making me laugh!!! I am paranoid too and I count the kids on field trips too. Sometimes I also count them randomly during the day just to make sure (you never know!!!)…Glad you had fun!!! 🙂
Haha…I'm a compulsive checker as well. We're going to the zoo in a few weeks and I really hope this doesn't happen in front of my kids either!
The zoo book looks so cute!
Michelle
Apples and ABC's
Haha that's great! I'm headed to the zoo with my kiddos tomorrow. Last year, I had a random woman (no idea who she was) come up and tell me that the monkeys were touching themselves. Yes. She said this in front of my 7-year olds. Thank you for that.
Your zoo book looks awesome!
Sara 🙂
Smiling In Second Grade
The lion and his gigantic self was the best part of the whole field trip!! Well worth the trip!!