By Fox23.com News Staff
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Pre-K and Kindergarten students at Aspen Creek Early Childhood Center are learning about new cultures in a hands-on way with imaginative “flights” and “trips” taken inside the classroom throughout the year.
“The theme of our year is ‘Around the World,’ so each month we travel to a new continent,” said Amanda Hundley, a multi-age Pre-K and Kindergarten teacher at Aspen Creek ECC. “Today was Flight Day and we are traveling to South America. This will be our sixth continent to visit this year.”
Hundley explained how the imaginary travel process works inside the classroom.
“On Flight Day, we try to go through the whole process that you would when you go and take an actual flight. They have their passports, they have tickets, they go through TSA security check, they get on the flight, we talk through our safety routine, we talk about how the plane gets from taxi to the runway and up. We’ve even had kiddos that have gone from never flying to going to the airport and their parents say, ‘oh, they knew exactly what to do because they did it in your class.'”
The trips give students a fun way to learn about new places and cultures.
“I want them to know that the world’s bigger than the four walls of our classroom. A lot of kids might not have the opportunity to go and visit these places, so I want to bring the world to them. I want them to experience different cultures, different foods, different animals, different habitats and so that’s the goal is to bring our big world into our classroom so that they can see and hear it all.”
Hundley said the hands-on experience helps engage the students and sparks their excitement for learning.
“I think with the hands-on, they’re going to remember it. It’s something that they can be fully engaged in and it excites them. They know. They watch for Flight Day on our calendar. They know what that means and it’s not something that we talk about. We actively act it out. We get to be silly with them and take on the role as pilots and just guide them through it. It’s not just a learning experience, it’s a memory that they’ll make and hold onto.”
Hundley said she hopes the imaginary trips will start a lifelong interest for learning about new places and cultures.
“At four and five and six, we talk about maybe they don’t remember things that happen in school, but I have kids that do remember and they come back and they’re like ‘I remember going on flights in your class!’ They remember the continents, they remember different countries and cultures that they learned about. I hope that that excites them and leads to further exploration through their life, that we’ve just planted this seed and that they continue to grow it as they grow.”
