It's always a pleasure to make suggestions for follow up activities, and then to actually hear back from a student that they tried it at home and liked it! Yesterday, I held a large, but not fully mature, Lubber Grasshopper (Romalea guttata) for my students. I told them how when they get their full set of wings, you can actually open the wing and see the most beautiful colors. One of the young ladies in my class today said she did that last night. She said it was beautiful and better than she imagined it would be!
The young man from yesterday morning's class, that I found the chert for, loved his new rock treasure. My regular class came back today so "attached" to the habitats from yesterday's hike, reciting them by name and feeling connected. So many of them turned the corner from "yuck" to "cool" today, that I lost count. Shoreline sampling will certainly do that to them. They laughed at the funny-looking glass shrimp and called one a "spaz" for the way it flipped around in the net. Another student fought for the life of a caterpillar, saying that "it had a family, too!" The empathy for nature started to grow within this class. You could feel it. We are supporting and creating budding Naturalists every day out here! Life is good!
Late entry; Here is a quote from a letter I just received. This is from a young man in my previous 3 day class;
"Thank you Mrs. Spence! I wasn't excited for this field trip, as I HATE the Outdoors. However, I've changed in the past 3 days. Nature is truly beautiful and I finally understand that, so thank you for teaching me! PS - I hope to see you in Summer Camp!"
Wow. What a grand day!
Muddy hands search for critters!
Photo my visiting teacher took and sent to me today! Thanks you SO much, Ms. Echenique!
Glass Shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.)
This is why we do what we do. These moments are magical even with May's heat and humidity. Keep,up the goodvwork.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mike, for everything you have taught me! I am just continuing in your giant footsteps!
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