Grade 6 Bird School

Recently the PA subsidized the student's portion of their latest field trip to Petro-Canada's 'Bird School'. The Parent Association's mandate is to support the learning environment with funds that we raise.

With this in mind, I asked Mrs. Summers to 'poll' the students after the field trip to find out what they thought they learned from the experience. I wanted to share the responses with you. After you read them, I think you'll agree that our mandate was well met and that the grade six class are literate beyond their years... not that I'm biased or anything!

Ms. Summers responded with their comments and this: "I can also share my educational perspective and say that the time spent outdoors has indeed changed both their outlooks and their output. They have evolved into a hardy group that is inspired by the time they spent alone outside. I have writing samples taken from their journals which shows the dramatic improvement to both the quality and quantity of their writing. Those samples are being sent to both Petro Canada and the Open Minds coordinator."

See the responses by clicking the ...

• I learned that if you dress warm enough you can stay outside to enjoy nature
• I learned how to identify certain tracks such as hares, coyotes and deer
• I learned how to reconstruct a bird skeleton from an owl pellet
• I have learned how to wear four layers of clothes without being uncomfortable
• I learned the patience to wait for animals to come to you
• I learned how warmly you have to dress to stay outside in a blizzard
• I learned how to tell a mule deer from a white tailed deer
• I have learned how to make a rocket that is made from a film canister
• I learned that the snow can be fun even though it is cold
• I learned how animals adapt to their location and that certain birds have beaks that allow them to feed in an optimal way
• I have learned that observations when it is colder (as in "bone-cracking") are always way better than when it's warmer
• I learned how to create a short story using the animal tracks that I found in nature
• I learned that the bigger the Alka Seltzer tablet you use in your rocket, the bigger the BOOM you get
• I learned that owls swallow their fool whole
• I learned to stay very calm and still when an animal like a deer comes close to me
• I learned that it is better to learn about most things in hands-on situations
• I learned that birds such as geese and ducks migrate depending on what their food is
• I learned that owls eat more than one animal before they produce a pellet
• I hvae learned that when building Alka Seltzer rockets whatever amount of tablet you put in, you should match the same amount of water to get the best chemical reaction
• I learned that the colder it gets, the warmer you have to dress
• I learned how active nature really is
• I learned how to pick out the beauty in nature
• I learned that water mixed with Alka Seltzer produces the gas CO2
• I learned that I can lay perfectly still on the ground and feel very comfortable and relaxed
  
• I learned that Bird School can teach you a lot about animals -like how good the Great Horned Owls' hearing is. Each time I hiccuped, it turned to look at me