Today I chaperoned a field trip for my daughter’s 4th grade class at a local farm. I’ll admit that initially I was just not very excited about the idea of walking through the woods in 93 degree heat with 80 wound up 9 and 10 year olds, but in the end I am really glad I went.

Local agencies work together on this project which brings science and geography to life for local students. The outing was held at a local farm.  There were 8 “classrooms” set up throughout the property. Each class started at a different classroom and professionals from the forestry department, department of agriculture, 4-H, and the local farm extension group each taught students for 20-30 minutes at a time on topics in their area of expertise.

The taxidermy specialist showed off animal bones and pelts while engaging the class to determine the animal based on the type of teeth it had, placement of its eyes, and shape of its jaw.

The kids learned how to determine the age of a tree and observed different species of trees in the forest.

They got to try their hand at putting out a fake forest fire with real water - that was a favorite!

The students learned about local agriculture and industry - why certain activities are more successful in our region and how they evolved.

Using an interactive 3-D model, cocoa and water, the kids got to see first hand the effects of construction, farming and industry on the watershed.

I truly applaud all of the instructors for being able to present all of this material to the kids using hands on, engaging instruction. It was so cool.

In addition to seeing the creative ways our educators are trying to teach the students, I was able to see how my daughter and her classmates interact with each other. The kids had a chance to get to know me and my daughter really felt special being able to have Mom spend a day in the life of a 4th grader.

The only part of the day I did not like was the school bus ride there and back. But for more on that, you’ll have to check out my entry at Weary Parent - Parenting Teens and Tweens today.

PS - I was also invited to share some parenting advice at Alex Shalman’s blog today - check it out.