Saturday, January 23, 2010

Need a Free Field Trip -Try the Pet Store

If you need a quick field trip idea, visit a pet store. Many pet stores will work with a large group and provide a field trip, but a small family can also benefit from a self-guided field trip to a pet store. We have two pet stores in our town. One is a family run store and one is a chain store. Both of these stores provide ample opportunities to learn about animals.

Avlyn and I recently read a book about coral reefs. Today we visited the chain pet store while wasting time until it was time to pick up her brother from a birthday party. This pet store has one large saltwater tank full of coral and sea anemones. It also has a rock fish, clown fish, hermit crabs, and snails that live in the coral tank. In smaller displays they sell saltwater fish, shrimp, and sharks. They even had one stingray they were holding for someone.

Even though we don't live near the ocean, Avlyn was able to see all the things she read about in the book first hand. Well, we didn't see a sea cucumber or a lobster. But we catch crawdads in the summer, so she's well aware of the general makings of a lobster.

While fish and sea animals are one thing you can see at a pet store, you can also visit when learning about snakes, mice, birds, and other small animals. We spent 30 minutes exploring the store and talking about the animals. She didn't even realize she was learning when she was asking me a bunch of questions. Do you have any ideas for a fun, free field trip? Let me know. Happy homeschooling!

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