Ewe and Me isn’t just a class with learning opportunities for children; their adults often learn something new as well.
“Often the adult doesn’t have a lot of information about the animal either, so they learn too,” Early Education Specialist Patty Rice said. “It’s fun to see the parents see how the kids can learn so much about animals just from some of the fun activities we do.”
Ewe and Me is a class designed to teach children about animals and the environment.
Each class has a different topic. The class focuses on learning through song and story, as well as through tactile elements. Working on fine-motor and gross-motor skills are a key part of the class.
“They can participate in different hands-on activities that have something to do with the topic,” Rice said. “We do story time, we show them things that actually come from the animals like hair, or bones, or sometimes shed skins- things like that.”
Ewe and Me is 90 minutes, longer than most education classes offered at the Zoo. This allows for more activities during the class. In addition to story time and songs, a staple of all Zoo education classes geared towards toddlers, Ewe and Me includes crafts and a trip out into the Zoo.
“Usually, we take a half-hour walk out into the Zoo and go and see either the animal or something related to that animal. I love that we’re able to go out to the Zoo,” Rice said. “It’s important to come dressed for the weather, and be prepared to go on a walk.”
Ewe and Me has two class times- 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
“We do offer a morning time or an afternoon time so if they attend half-day preschool, they could choose one or the other,” Rice said. “We’re currently on Thursdays because a lot of times if four-year-olds only go a few days a week it’s Monday, Wednesday, Friday.”
Ewe and Me is a class that encourages curiosity in children. They can seek out more information on the topics they learn about.
“It’s fun because they’re getting to the age where they ask really interesting questions,” Rice said. “They just think of things that we never would think of.”
