Warm Fuzzies
Today, I went on a fieldtrip with my grade fives (an all around super adorable class) to Duffin's Creek, a conservation area. The fieldtrip was survival themed. Students got to learn how to make A frame shelters, tie knotts, and build fires. My teacher had told me earlier, that a lot of the kids at my school have never been outside of an eight block radius of their homes. Most students have never been camping. In fact, one grade three told his teacher that it was scary to be outside all day.
I had a group of five boys to supervise during the second half of the day when the kids were set free to take what they had learned and build fire and shelter. First, they made the shelter. The boys did a very good job of teaching their team how to tie the proper knotts, and how to construct a sturdy shelter. There was only one point that I had to step in, and that was just to untie the rope slightly, so that they had more slack to tie it to another piece of rope. Aside from that, they did everything without prompting. It was very impressive (and made me want to make my own shelter).
Next, they had to build a fire. The two boys that did the fire workshop in the morning, instructed the other three on which pieces of tinder and kindling to gather and how to arrange it (first in a pyramid and then build a log cabin around it). They were given a match (the goal was to make a fire and keep it going with only one match), and they lit their fire. It caught beautifully, and in no time it was big and warm. Then, one boy said, "I've never seen a real fire before... It's so hot." I watched a mix of excitement and fear flicker across his face. I said to him, "Why don't you add a piece of wood to the fire." He hesitantly picked up a piece of wood and studied the fire. "I don't want to catch fire," he said, standing back. I told him that he wouldn't catch fire, and that his hand would feel hot before it would get anywhere near close enough to get burned, so just to quickly place the wood onto the fire and back up. He got close, but ended up giving it a little toss to get in. Still, I was proud of him. I asked, "Does this mean you've never roasted a marshmallow before?" He said he hadn't, so I gave him the first marshmallow to roast and tried to explain what only years of practice roasting could teach someone. He was successful though, and enjoyed his first marshmallow in a smore.
There were a lot of kids who had never eaten a smore before (admittedly, I hadn't until very recently), or even seen a campfire. The kids were thrilled. As we walked back to the bus, nearly every single one of them was raving about the fieldtrip and roasted marshmallows. It made me feel so happy to be able to experience that with them (and it also made me want to buy a tent for my future classroom, so that students could borrow it on weekends and experience camping with their families).
-Xenos
Funniest Part of the Day:
Girl: Where do you want to have your honeymoon?
Xenos: Err..
Girl: I'll give you three choices!
Xenos: Okay.
Girl: Hawaii, Montana, or Great Wolf Lodge.
Xenos: (Tries very hard not to laugh) Hawaii.
Girl: That means you are romantic!
Xenos: What would I be if I chose Great Wolf Lodge?
Girl: Fun. And Montana is wild!
I had a group of five boys to supervise during the second half of the day when the kids were set free to take what they had learned and build fire and shelter. First, they made the shelter. The boys did a very good job of teaching their team how to tie the proper knotts, and how to construct a sturdy shelter. There was only one point that I had to step in, and that was just to untie the rope slightly, so that they had more slack to tie it to another piece of rope. Aside from that, they did everything without prompting. It was very impressive (and made me want to make my own shelter).
Next, they had to build a fire. The two boys that did the fire workshop in the morning, instructed the other three on which pieces of tinder and kindling to gather and how to arrange it (first in a pyramid and then build a log cabin around it). They were given a match (the goal was to make a fire and keep it going with only one match), and they lit their fire. It caught beautifully, and in no time it was big and warm. Then, one boy said, "I've never seen a real fire before... It's so hot." I watched a mix of excitement and fear flicker across his face. I said to him, "Why don't you add a piece of wood to the fire." He hesitantly picked up a piece of wood and studied the fire. "I don't want to catch fire," he said, standing back. I told him that he wouldn't catch fire, and that his hand would feel hot before it would get anywhere near close enough to get burned, so just to quickly place the wood onto the fire and back up. He got close, but ended up giving it a little toss to get in. Still, I was proud of him. I asked, "Does this mean you've never roasted a marshmallow before?" He said he hadn't, so I gave him the first marshmallow to roast and tried to explain what only years of practice roasting could teach someone. He was successful though, and enjoyed his first marshmallow in a smore.
There were a lot of kids who had never eaten a smore before (admittedly, I hadn't until very recently), or even seen a campfire. The kids were thrilled. As we walked back to the bus, nearly every single one of them was raving about the fieldtrip and roasted marshmallows. It made me feel so happy to be able to experience that with them (and it also made me want to buy a tent for my future classroom, so that students could borrow it on weekends and experience camping with their families).
-Xenos
Funniest Part of the Day:
Girl: Where do you want to have your honeymoon?
Xenos: Err..
Girl: I'll give you three choices!
Xenos: Okay.
Girl: Hawaii, Montana, or Great Wolf Lodge.
Xenos: (Tries very hard not to laugh) Hawaii.
Girl: That means you are romantic!
Xenos: What would I be if I chose Great Wolf Lodge?
Girl: Fun. And Montana is wild!