Wetlands

Darrell and I (known as Grandpa, or Abuelo and Grandma, or Abuela Harmon to the kids) loaded a bus yesterday with Mrs. Harmon's (Bethany L) 3rd grade class.  Having just studied wetlands, all five 3rd grade classes at the school went for a field day to explore the real thing, just a short drive away.

We all donned rubber boots in order to trudge through the water, sometimes reaching higher than some of the children's boot tops!



It was like being in a jungle...........  or our yard at home!

We learned about things like pH.....

.....did some net fishing and examined specimens we caught under the microscopes.....

.....saw pelts of some animals that live in wetlands, then made plaster animal tracks.....

.....had a plant walk, learning the different plants that thrive on wetlands, and guess what?  Most of them are right here in our yard.  Hmmmm.

We also heard about the different birds, most of which I have spotted here and knew the names of :o}

Our yard isn't entirely like this.  But some of it certainly would qualify as a wetland I think.  But we've left most of it natural, so I believe we are okay ;-)

It was an educational and fun day, albeit somewhat long!  Everyone was tired and a bit cold by the time we returned to the school, but glad we had this experience.

Busy Day at School

What a fun day at school!

First Bethany J and I went to help out in Bethany L's classroom, during which time Bethany J shared some information about Guatemala to the students. She also spoke to Scott's classroom, as well as a 2nd grade room who had a Flat Stanley to give her. She will take it back to Guatemala with her and present it to a classroom there, take Flat Stanley's picture with the kids, and mail it back to this group of 2nd graders! They were sure excited about that, and meeting someone who would actually go with Flat Stanley to Guatemala!

In the afternoon we popped into Scott's classroom to bring a craft/gift for them to make.

What does one make with these ingredients?

Snowman Soup!

The 4th and 5th graders stamped, cut, colored, glued, taped, packed and stapled the treats together. And what an awesome class of kids they are! Follow directions perfectly! Must have a good teacher ;-)

And who can't help but love that kid who is so immersed in a good book that he gets a slow start? Way to go!

Salmon Hatchery

Last Friday I had the opportunity to accompany my son's 5th grade class on a field trip to a Salmon Hatchery.

We rode on a school bus up to the Goldbar area, where, as it turned out, there were several bus loads of students.

The kids got to examine some insects the fish feed on with magnifying glasses, and see the various stages of a baby salmon's life cycle. Do you know what a sack fry is? How about a button-up fry?

The main highlight was watching them split open a male and a female fish and seeing the 3000 eggs spill out of the female, and milking the milt from the male! It was a totally hands-on experience! Did you know that of those 3000 eggs, only 1500 hatch, and only 300 make it to sea? Of those 300, only 2 make it back to spawn again!

Actually, probably the most excitement the kids showed was when they were given fish food to feed the baby salmon that has already hatched! They sparked to life for that!

I had a good time anyway!

Goodbye to the First Graders!

School is out on Friday June 13th. Today was my last day to be a part of Bethany Lynn's 1st grade classroom. I enjoyed those little rascals this year! The kids presented me with this book that they made as a thanks to me...........

Benito, a fun-loving boy with a wonderful smile, drew this picture. We made a pumpkin pie from scratch from my home grown sugar pumpkin in October. In December we had fun making a big mess stamping Christmas gift bags! Hayden drew this full-colored memory............
Liliana is a very sweet and helpful student who obviously liked the butterfly hatching project. They each had their own caterpillar that made a caccoon, turned into a butterfly and then were released outside.
Jose drew all his classmates perhaps. Jose is my favorite. Is that okay to say? At the beginning of the year he only spoke spanish. He was in his own little dream world most of the time. His clever teacher is bilingual, so was able to help him keep up with the class (as much as he was able) and learn English in the process.
Sophia is more than ready to move on up to 2nd grade. She got a little big for her britches now and then, but is a sweetie that colors beautifully!
Who wouldn't love a little girl who says all of these nice things about you?!?! Thanks, Alondra!