Fourth Grade Field Trip to the K.I.S.D
Outdoor Learning Center!(A Mom’s Point of View)
 |
| Laureli, a 4th grader, holding a
5’
long corn snake |
Last Monday I joined Ms.
Blum and Mr. Sumner’s fourth grade classes on their field trip to the Katy
I.S.D Outdoor Learning Center. With 24 years of parenting under my belt, I have
been on my fair share of field trips. It didn’t take long, however, to realize
this one was going to be different.
Several parents
accompanied the classes, but rather than strolling through the field trip as quiet
observers, Mr. Sumner assigned each parent a group of kids and put us right to
work. We started out in the history building, where the kids could see, touch,
and learn all about Pioneer life. There’s a store, a home, a Native American
section with a tepee, and the one that the students were most inquisitive
about… the school room. They spent 10-15
minutes in the first three sections, choosing mystery items and trying to
figure out what they were. Some things haven’t changed much over the years – a
waffle iron still looks pretty much the same now as it did then. But I had a
great time watching the students choose something more difficult to figure out,
and then helping them solve the mystery (with my handy-dandy cheat sheet).
Then Mr. Sumner had the
kids sit down on the Pioneer school’s benches (after bowing and curtsying like
Pioneer boys and girls must do), and went straight into the role of a Pioneer
teacher. The kids ate it up – even the ones who had to stand in the front of
the room wearing the “fidgety girl” and “fidgety boy” signs for being, well,
fidgety! (So many giggles.) Mr. Sumner has a way of getting his entire class
completely submerged in his teachings. They listen, they question (a lot), and
they learn. (In the middle of a sea of raised hands, he smiled at me and said
he thinks he averages about 680 questions answered daily. I think it’s great –
if they weren’t so engaged, he wouldn’t have this situation!)
When the history hour was
up, we moved on to the science building where Mr. Sumner turned us over to Ms.
Blum for our next adventure. We had to walk in slowly and quietly because the
first order of business was holding (only if you want to!) a 5’ long corn
snake. The kids lined up in silence and waited patiently for their turn. I
learned later from other parents that their children came home talking all
about the snake!
The science building is
also multi-sectioned. Ms. Blum is clearly in cahoots with Mr. Sumner because she
too put us parents to work, giving each a group of kids to go through the
learning stations. I loved every single minute of it, and learned more about
fossils, birds, bugs, mammals, etc., in one hour than I ever remember learning
in my own school days. We looked at all sorts of things in jars of formaldehyde
(quite a mixture of oohs and ewws in that section!), and felt the fur coats of
so many different animals. The butterfly display was amazing, as was the
display of skulls where my group had fun deciding which were predator and which
were prey by the size and shape of their teeth! Ms. Blum walked around
answering questions and filling their minds with all sorts of interesting
facts.
As the field trip came to
an end, the students lined up to get back on the bus. Their conversations were
a mixture of what they had just experienced, and trying to decide which songs
they should sing on the ride back to school.
My daughter Laureli had the
best time, and is still talking about it days later – as I’m sure many others
are too. A big “thank you!” to Ms. Blum and Mr. Sumner for a wonderful day
filled with hands-on learning. (And if you ever need a field trip “assistant” again
– count me in!)
~Jennifer Moody
