On the 25th, my lovely bunch of 5th grade friends got to take a trip to the nature center near our school. Along with 2 other 5th grade classes, we all hopped on a bus and went exploring nature with the help of our trusty naturalist -- whose name I cannot recall.
With all of the excitement -- our bus was a little rowdy. The kids were singing and chatting and making enough noise for 2 full classes -- but I didn't mind it. I feel -- happy singing kids are better than angry quiet ones.
When we arrived at the center we were given a group presentation about the layers of the forest we would be studying. A few of my students were part of the simulation -- showing the canopy, understory, and ground level.
They especially loved her demo of creating soil... especially when they got to smell it. ICK!
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| Taking in some fresh air. |
After this, we split into lovely little groups of 10 and I set off on a trek through the forest with a bunch of my kids. We tested the best kind of seedlings for our weather pattern, searched out tree types and plants -- and even started a caterpillar scavenger hunt. Our count reached 5...and then shot back one, when one of mine squished it under his foot right as another said, "Watch out for that caterpill... Oh, too late." Poor guy... just trying to make it across the boardwalk.
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| Lil' fuzzy guy! |
An overall highlight was when we went through the swampy area and the guide asked us why we thought it smelled so bad... to which I replied (under my breath)... "This is where everything goes to die... it's basically the cemetery of the forest." The boys in the back loved that -- they looked at me and snickered. Then I took it further and told two boys (and one parent) "This is where I take all of the students who just WON'T stop talking." This really got them going -- which was hilarious for me to watch as they told everyone the story on the bus ride back.
We were blessed with a gorgeous day and great attitudes from the kids about trekking through nature. Aside from the two who were certain they were dying of thirst from the one hour we spent outside -- dramatic, much?--- everyone had a GREAT time!
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| Testing out seedlings. Which will travel furthest? |
:)
Always interesting.
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