Excursions are a really great way of learning about the outside world and our local environment. Today, we took a small group of children with a group of staff members and two parents to the local shopping centre. We took the local bus from across the street, learning about the use of our ‘opal cards’ and how to catch public transport. The trip was a short one, which the children appeared to really enjoy.
Our first stop was Hurstville police station and WOW, what an amazing experience. They took us into the lock up, where we got to see where they put the ‘prisoners’ and explained a little about that, and even showed us some hand cuffs! We then had the opportunity to sit in some police cars. The children really enjoyed this, even though they were a bit hesitant about entering the police station, after the police officer explained a bit about what they do and who they are, they were more enthusiastic about the experience.
Once we were finished visiting the police station, we took a short walk into Westfield. An educator took two children for a walk through the Westfield to the information desk as before Christmas, we entered a special competition with our recycled items, we created our robot, and submitted it to the competition, and we were so glad to find out that we WON! We waited a while to get out prize, and the children were so happy to accept it!
Finally, it was time to go and grab a bite to eat. We ventured to the food court where we found a large table to sit at and educators went to find some treats. We were able to enjoy some lovely hot chips, which the children really LOVED, and finally, for a added sweet treat, we had some baby chinos and doughnuts.
It was great to experience something different, to spend some time out of the child care center and into the ‘real world’. Though it was a tiring experience, it was really an enlightening one and such a great way to venture into different settings. We hope to do something like this again soon.
