By Ms Imnasenla

With the completion of four books on different animals, including one about a zoo, the class A students of Star Kids had the opportunity of seeing most of the animals from their reading books on their recent visit to the zoo.On the 23rd of April 2015, 70 students from all four sections of class A, along with 7 teachers and 3 ayahs(helpers), took an exposure trip to the zoo to get a better understanding of what they were learning about.

They had already seen different animals like bears, monkeys, leopards, elephants, alligators, etc.in their reading books and were eager to see all the animals they had read about. Unfortunately, the zoo did not have elephants or alligators. However, the students were able to enjoy the sights of animals such as a fox, a deer, reindeer, bears and monkeys. The students were able to recognize the bears as they had already seen the picture of a bear in their reading books. They were able to point out that the bears at the zoo were black, unlike the bear in their book which was brown. The students got to see reptiles like python and turtles. But it was the monkeys that fascinated them the most as they had read about the five little monkeys in class. They were intrigued by the different sounds of the monkeys. As they stood outside the jackal’s enclosure, Kulvin Singh and Simerjeet of Great Bears and Twinkling Stars were trying to read the information board placed outside the cage. When asked about how they should behave at the zoo, Jenny of Little Dippers replied that they should behave well and should not run about the zoo. The students then bade goodbye to one little monkey that was playing and swinging by arope in its cage. Before making one last stop at the enclosure of the stumped-tailed macaques.

At the end of the tour, Ivy of Shooting Stars talked about her pet zoo and compared it to the ones she had seen at the zoo. As they sang different songs and rhymes with their new friends on their way back to school in the bus,their excitement could still be seen on their faces. They did not only have a lot of fun but they have also gained a whole lot of knowledge.

By Ms Menangmenla

On 24th April’15, a total of 99 children from class-B along with 4 teachers and 3 ayahs went for a visit to the zoo. As soon as we told the children that we will be going, their joy knew no bounds. Some just exclaimed they were so happy and jumped in happiness, some clapped and couldn’t stop smiling. They were all very excited especially the first timers. All along the way they sang songs and rhymes one after the other. Some were singing along with actions even though they were sitting and in a moving bus. They were so happy to see the new places, the far-away mountains, different kinds of vehicles, houses and railway tracks that we passed along the way. Some of the children even conversed with the teachers sharing their personal stories.

As soon as we reached the zoo, they were first explained about the do’s and don’ts. Then they alighted from the bus and were asked to stand in separate queues of boys and girls. Then we headed towards the enclosures. The first thing we came across were the porcupines. And since it was the first time, everyone was really excited and happy to see it. They were also very curious and were asking about the food they ate and if they bite, etc. As we moved from one animal to the other, we were so surprised to see that the children knew the names of the animals. They even tried asking, “how are you?” to the animals. Then we had a photo session near the enclosure of a pair of hoolock gibbons which mesmerized the children completely. After sometime, they ate their tiffin and enjoyed as if it was a big picnic party. The most remarkable part was that the children didn’t even want to go for their needs. They were so happy and excited. Even while returning, some of them were still so active and were singing songs. It was an enriching and memorable experience not only for the children but also for the teachers and ayahs as well.