Kid Powered Fun

 

It is such a pleasure to spend our days with this group of bright, inventive young people! We get to watch amazing friendships blossom and the constant invention of new ways to have fun. 

Reading a book with a friend

Enjoying a giant stuffie together

Building a squirrel castle

A student photo of the castle, taking a different perspective

Sometimes you come to school in the same color as a friend...

...then you turn your fun accident into a color plan...

...and by weeks end the whole school is getting in on the fun. 

Free time one day turned into a cooperative Lego house building project.

When someone wears an awesome hat to school, it only makes sense to declare the next day silly hat day. 

New fun is being invented daily by this amazing community of learners. Often history, literature, math or science ideas sneak into recess time with the kids creating awesome games like Pioneer Dragons. One thing is sure, there are always fun new ideas in the works. Thanks, kids! 

Thematic Studies: Pioneers

Our pioneer unit focused on basic needs and how pioneers were similar and different from modern families. We explored a number of historic and historical fiction sources to learn about everyday life for pioneers on topics ranging from transportation and housing, to childhood chores and celebrations. 

The kids each built their own "log cabin" complete with fireplace, bed and bedding, table and benches, "grease paper" windows, and special items like tiny silk hankerchiefs that they traded for at the local store. 

After learning about pioneers, our students and their parents got to have some real life pioneer experiences at Philip Foster Farm. They loaded a covered wagon with essentials, built cabins with jumbo Lincoln Logs, ground a slate pencil and more.

Using a cross cut saw proved challenging, but great exercise!

No instruction was needed for the students to play like pioneer children. There is nothing like a run in the field. 

Everyone got a turn at using old fashioned hand tools to take dried corn off the cob and grind it. Our chickens were very happy to eat the ground corn that the kids brought back for them. 

We had a quick review of simple machines and the kids took turns being lifted on a hay bale using a classic block and tackle pulley. 

It is such an uplifting experience when everyone works together. 

No pioneer adventure is complete without a covered wagon. These four tried out the drivers seat, but ultimately they all decided to come back in cars since there were no oxen in sight. 

 

Thematic Studies: Salmon and Power

Salmon are incredibly important to our local history, our environment, and to the native people of the area. Students had an opportunity to learn about the salmon life cycle and the challenges faced by these amazing fish whose lives take them from the most remote mountain streams to the ocean and back again. 

The Northwest has a long standing dependence of hydro power with Bonneville providing power to 80% of the area. We briefly covered the conflict of clean plentiful energy at a cost to the fish population, and the many improvements that have been made to help hydroelectric power and salmon coexist. Students then studied the other types of clean energy that are rapidly replacing fossil fuels. 

With a knowledge of salmon and power production, the families from the school met up at the Bonneville fish hatchery and dam. 

The display pools at the hatchery were a crowd favorite. The kids enjoyed viewing the amazingly large sturgeon from underwater and feeding rainbow trout. 

The Bonneville Fish Hatchery opened in 1909. It predates the dam by 30 years and remains the largest hatchery in the state. Below, Sherilyn and the kids walk past the rearing ponds where thousands of young fish grow until they are large enough for release.

Next, we headed to the dam itself. The kids got to see how they compared in size to a turbine. The new turbines are designed to be more fish friendly.

The kids took part in an interactive demonstration of how power is made and distributed- from the river all the way to your home. 

Huge is pretty much the only description for the turbine hall. 

We also spent some time watching fish in the fish ladder. It is a unique opportunity to see the fish up close and we learned to identify whether the fish were wild bred or returning hatchery fish. You could spend all day watching these incredible swimmers!

August Camp Adventures

 August was all about pets, art and fun with friends. 

We are always impressed by the amazing tee-shirts the kids create!

Our busy artists created beautiful mosaic stepping stones, painted rocks, string art lanyards and more. 

The resident Double Creek animals as well as special guests joined us for pet camp. 

Misty and Kiwi love kids, hikes and adventure. 

Barley enjoys warm weather, pats, keeping watch and following us on walks. He is pictured below on a hike during camp.

Aqua, the parakeet, came to visit for the day. Here she is at her home stealing watermelon. 

A few native tree frogs joined us for camp. They are fantastic at camouflage and are often hard to find even in a small enclosure. Here is one of our newly metamorphosized frogs. 

Below, campers watch a more mature frog take on a big meal. Super sized flies, anyone? The frogs were returned to their native habitat at the end of camp. 

Simba, the bearded dragon, came to teach campers about reptiles. Below he is pictured at home helping out with laundry and catching up on his reading. 

One of our campers brought her amazing mother and daughters guinea pig trio, Melody, Anna and Elsa, to meet the group. The girls are incredibly sweet! 

And of course, the resident chickens were there, eagerly waiting for veggie scraps and dandelion leaves. 

This garter snake is not a pet, but also wanted to stop by and say hello. (Thankfully, there are no poisonous snakes in this part of Oregon.) 

We were very fortunate to have a veterinarian visit our camp. Dr. KC showed us how she gives dogs check ups, told us about being a vet and let the children listen to Misty's heart. Thanks for coming, Dr. KC!

Campers were given animal beads as they learned about the needs of each type of pet.

Campers created colorful goldfish, 

fanciful turtles,

pine cone pets,

friendly birds, 

and some amazing collaborative foot paintings. 

There was plenty of time for fun with friends old and new. Thanks for an amazing August, campers! We can't wait to see what adventures are in store next summer.