Wednesday, October 3, 2012

I was able to wake the boys this morning to the sweet, melodic tunes of Anthrax. there is nothing like a good dose of heavy metal to get them going in the morning. The weather looks like it may be a little damp and cloudy for their 4 hour hike today. However, they do go on it rain or shine. They will be learning about nature and looking at animal tracks and the scat they leave behind. They will also be practicing thier skits for Thursday Night Live tomorrow night.

Well, the weather is being less than cooperative. It has been raining all day. However, it is not deterring the kids. After a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and bagels they picked the class they wanted to participate in. Some of today's choices were water rockets, building a bridge, identifying types of trees, and turtle dissection. After the classes were over the boys decided to stay outside and play dodgeball. They quickly realized how wet they were and came back to the cabin to dry off.

The kids packed their lunches in the dining hall and headed out for their four hike. Many of the groups went across the street to high spot and were able to see a lake that was once home to many beavers. They also saw the places where the town of Freedom had controlled burns to thin the forest. When they came back Mrs. Hennessey and I got hot chocolate for them. They were very appreciative.

Tonight after dinner, pasta and meatballs, the students will experience the Underground Railroad. They have many misconceptions about this activity. During this learning activity the students are "slaves" on a slave ship. They are then sold to an owner who shows them how to pick cotton. All the chaperones are conductors on the Underground Railroad. when the students come out in groups two chaperones take the group and tell them they are bringing them to freedom in Canada (the dining hall). Along the way there are facts about the Underground Railroad the conductors read to the kids. Also, there are bounty hunters, the Nature's Classroom staff, looking for the runaway slaves. The chaperones need to come up with a story so the bounty hunters won't look in the back of "wagon". Many of the staff are using the today's reality shows for their story lines. We do try to make it entertaining as well as a learning experience. This is the one activity that the students remember for a long time.

More tomorrow!

I will be posting all of the pictures very soon on separate website.