Around the World and Back By Lunchtime

I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty awesome that this morning my 2nd graders and I managed to fly to the other side of the world, tour another country, and make it back in time for lunch ;) Of course, none of this was possible without a little a lot of help from Google Earth!

My classroom theme this year is Ms. Wertheim's World Travelers! Part of my classroom management plan is our Superstars Suitcase. When I see the class working hard or going above and beyond, our Travel Agent for the week gets to choose an item to pack in our suitcase. When the suitcase is full, the students get to pick anywhere in the world to take a field trip via Google Earth.

Since we are sponsoring a student at Kopila Valley School in Nepal, the kiddos voted to take a trip to Nepal. It was a blast! First, we made sure we had our passports all ready to go, complete with a passport photo, of course ;) Next, students had to "buy" their plane tickets and received their Boarding Pass and Trip Itinerary. Then we boarded the plane and got ready to take off from the Asheville Airport runway. As you can see, they were super excited! This photo means the world to me. This is what teaching is all about--making lessons so magical and watching these kiddos' imaginations soar. This is the look of pure joy when we were about to take off on the runway. So much for reminding them to stay in their seats with their seat belts fastened ;)

I wanted to make our trip feel as realistic as possible. I used street view in Google Earth to make it look like we were really on the runway, and when we took off I played a YouTube video of a plane ride so the kids could see what it really looks like from the window of a plane. Hanging out in the clouds is something everyone deserves to experience :) They pretended to sleep for the remainder of our 16 hour flight across the world.

When we arrived at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, we talked about the time difference and jet lag. Most of them wrote in their journals how "tired" they felt from the long flight. They immediately noticed the difference in the terrain and the buildings in Nepal. This lead to great discussion about architecture, natural resources, and economics. 

After touring Kathmandu, it was time for us to take a long, bumpy, windy bus ride to Surkhet to visit Jarana and the other students at Kopila Valley School. We got to see pictures of the school, talk about similarities and differences, and even had the chance to "meet" a few students from Kopila.

What trip to Nepal is complete without a visit to Mt. Everest!? The kids couldn't wait to "hike" to the top. They especially loved looking at all the Google Earth pictures posted at the peak. And, in true imaginative fashion, I let them "sled" down Mt. Everest, which I must admit is pretty fun in Google Earth ;)



Throughout our trip, the kids wrote about their experience in their passports, which double as a journal. They even learned how to say a few words in Nepali, including my favorite--Namaste.

I know it's unrealistic for us to go on field trips all the time, but with Google Earth in the classroom the possibilities are truly endless. I can't wait to see where we go next! ;)

Thank you for stopping by, and Happy Thanksgiving!