Kindergarten students take a trip to the zoo!

Kindergarten students from Solvay Elementary School recently took a trip to the zoo – and spent the day with not only lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!), but also penguins, elephants, lemurs, and many more animals.

The students spent the day at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, where they were given the chance to interact with many of the animals they had discussed in the classroom throughout the year. For some students, it was their first visit to the zoo.

“It was magical to watch their excitement in seeing all the animals we have been discussing in our classrooms up close and personal,” said SES Kindergarten Teacher Sue Rivito.

During the trip, students were able to explore a variety of exhibits and see many different animals throughout the zoo. Their favorite exhibitions included the penguins, elephants, and lemurs. Students also enjoyed seeing the new, interactive robotic dinosaurs that greeted them as they walked throughout the zoo.

In celebration of their trip to the zoo, students decorated t-shirts for the day in art class. The t-shirts were decorated with zoo animals, including an elephant, monkey, giraffe, lion, and tiger – all animals the students were excited to see on their trip to the zoo. The students were delighted to be able to choose which animal they wanted on their shirt. Students worked with SES Art Teacher Miranda Raynor to first choose their animal, and then stencil the animal on the front of their shirt. They then used sponges to sponge paint around the edges of the stencil, as well as the details of the animals face. Once complete, the stencil was lifted and students were able to see the results of their hard work.

“When the stencil was lifted, you could really see their little faces light up with pride and joy in what they had created,” said Mrs. Raynor.
For the project and trip, each class had a designated color for painting to keep classes separated. Some classrooms even tie-dyed their shirts the same color of the animal to add more color to designs.

“This is a great project,” said Mrs. Raynor. “Students really seemed to enjoy getting to paint their own shirt. They loved having their own article of clothing that they can then take pride in and say that they have actual created themselves. Students were really excited to take ownership of painting their own shirt!”

See below for some photos from the trip!