Class Trips to Central Park

Every Thursday, my assistant and I lead 16 first graders into Central Park for a morning filled with exploration and discovery.  It has become the highlight of my week.  Each week, we pick another destination in the park.  On our very first trip, we visited the Great Lawn.   We did a scavenger hunt and recorded the things that we saw people doing in the park.  The following week, we visited Turtle Pond (a first grade favorite) for the first time.  My kids laugh and say that it should be called Duck Pond, though.  That's the only animal we've seen there so far.  The first time we went, we all just crowded around on a large rocky area and observed.  A not so shy duck approached us and I watched as my kids laughed and enjoyed the moment.  The next time we went, we came equipped with thermometers, recording sheets, pencils and cups to hold water from Turtle Pond.  The kids loved touching the water, looking at it through magnifying glasses and measuring the temperature of the water.  So far, this has been my favorite Central Park outing.  We'll see what next week holds.  

Here are a few pictures I snapped with the IPad on our walks through the park.

Cleopatra's Needle

http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/things-to-see/great-lawn/obelisk.html

Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir

http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/things-to-see/reservoir/reservoir.html 

Turtle Pond

http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/things-to-see/great-lawn/turtle-pond.html