The Rookery

I love getting out of the building early in the year and having a time for us to just be the Herons together.  Going to River Bend Nature Center for our annual campout gave us a chance to learn a lot about rivers and a lot about each other.  I was chatting with another teacher who takes his college students on a trip to South Dakota and he shared that when the students got back they seemed more willing to share ideas and more comfortable offering constructive criticism.  I agree.  I see the Herons more willing to take risks with each other, too.  They have, literally, gotten muddy together – making mistakes (mistakes which are so crucial to learning) is no longer such a big deal.

We started the day on an island in the Straight River – an island created when the river changed course
during the 2010 flood.  Students explored the island and mapped its features.  They also proved adept at identifying its natural resources and soon each group had set up its own village and was trading their resources with other groups.  We found grapes, ordovician fossils, glacial erratics, crawdads, caddis fly larvae, sandstone, and frogs.  I taught some children how to lash and they were soon creating tools.  Last year we studied first civilizations and I think that the fifth graders were definitely drawing upon that as the morning progressed.  Luckily(?) we left before they asked if they could smelt some iron.

We spent the afternoon catching and learning bout invertebrates that live in the river and building dams, lakes, meanders, and deltas in the Kids in the Wild play area which turns out to be a really cool, really muddy giant stream table.  The later afternoon was a little rainy so we stayed at home base and did some nature journaling and learned how to use a knife to whittle.  (I could write a whole blog about teaching whittling – there is a lot of trust involved on both sides and it's a good way for me to honor the fact the new-found maturity that many 4th graders feel upon "coming upstairs.") Oh, and we also pulled out about 300 buckthorn plants as a service project for RBNC.

I enjoy taking a breath during the pot luck to watch families eating and talking together.  It was great to have so many folks singing around the campfire and taking a night hike with us.  I also really enjoyed playing Skittles.  Sneaking around in the dark and shining a light on unsuspecting children seems to satisfy the teacher part of me that doesn't get to give pop quizzes.

Whew.  It took a lot of hands to pull together a campout in the first 2 weeks of school.  Thank you to everyone who chipped in.  So many people stepped up with what they were able to do.  I was especially grateful for those of you who let me know that you could do something "if needed."  This kept me from having to beg for help but also alerted me to the fact that that particular contribution might not be as easy for you.  I appreciated your willingness and your honesty.