Trip To The Sea Aquarium

Part of Nat’s learning journey is to expose her to a  world outside of her normal routines. Last week, my wife took leave and we brought her to the sea aquarium at Resort World Sentosa. We have been teaching Nat about fishes through flash cards and drawings. With this trip, we hope to broaden her knowledge of marine life and hopefully, enable her to see a world beyond static pictures.

This new “world” captivated Nat the moment she set foot into the aquarium.

Nothing better than the real thing to get her attention

There is even an educational corner for kids. This activity aims at teaching children to care for marine life. Nat was trying to fish out rubbish being dumped into the sea that was damaging to marine life. You could also make an activity like this at home to teach them about social responsibility!

Follow-up Activities Back Home
I mentioned that one of the objectives of the trip was to broaden Nat’s knowledge in marine life and to introduce her to a world beyond static pictures. Children associate and learn better with things that they are familiar with. Right after we got home, I printed out some pictures and words that Nat has seen during the trip. I also made a story book of the trip to re-enforce what she has learnt. Nat was able to sit attentively while going though the activities, it is a sign to me that this topic has engaged her in her learning adventure.

Re-enforcing what she learnt with word and matching activity

Nat is engaged in reading the home-made story book about the trip. I made it a point to share and ask Nat questions about things we encounter when viewing the pictures. I learnt from Nat’s teacher at Gymnademics that by doing that during reading time, we are teaching our kids to pay attention to details and learn how to question pictures. This is part of comprehension skills.

No doubt it takes some effort to come up with all the learning materials after the trip, but the result was positive as the topic was something that Nat could relate to and more importantly, it was something she has experience personally outside her known world.

So if you are planning the next trip for your kid, get your camera ready and consider doing up your own home made teaching materials for your little ones. It could prove to be a great teaching resource in their learning journey.