Next month, kindergarteners at Nicholson Elementary will take a trip on the wild side to learn more about animals, thanks to an $8,994 grant from the Lower Pearl River Valley Foundation.
The funds will be utilized to pay for 76 of the school’s students and three teachers to ride the Amtrak train from Picayune to Hattiesburg for a field trip to the Hattiesburg Zoo, a LPRVF release states.
“Studies have shown that children who are exposed to learning environments early in life usually get a head start on those not exposed and usually have more success in their professional life,” LPRVF president Clyde Dease said in the release. “This grant makes it possible to begin building an educational foundation at a very young age in our children by exposing them to both classroom and field learning opportunities. A future world-class zoologist may be among these kindergartners.”
Kindergarten teacher Deidra Thompson said she is always looking for ways to make learning more exciting and fun for her students.
“We always do an animal unit and I wanted to make it more memorable and exciting,” Thompson said. “I heard about the grant and made a list of resources.”
To prepare for their trip, students are utilizing classroom tablets to search for information about various types of animals including, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Funds from the grant will allow Thompson to purchase headphones for the devices.
Soon the students will be building animal habitats, utilizing small plastic animals that will be purchased with the grant funds, Thompson said. Also, the students will be able to complete floor puzzles with pictures of animals.
Friday, to kick off the instruction on animals, representatives from the Hattiesburg Zoo brought a snake, rat and lizard for the children to see, Thompson said.
“We have a stuffed class animal named Care Bear and he goes home every day with one of the students,” she said. “They take care of him and learn more about mammals.”
Finally, Thompson decided to add in the train ride while writing the grant.
“Many of them have never been on a train,” Thompson said. “There’s no better way of transportation to offer to the kids. When they are in fourth, sixth or eighth grade and asked about animals, they will be able to remember the types of mammals and reptiles because of the experience they are having.”
Nicholson Elementary Assistant Principal Lisa Howie said Thompson is a phenomenal teacher and is an asset to the school.
“She makes learning fun,” Howie said. “The connections the students are making between books and learning lasts a lifetime.”