Ian's Field Trip

I was able to go with Ian on his field trip this year. We went last Wednesday on the 12th. We traveled to This is the place state park. Our school has never been there on a field trip before, so we didn't know what to expect, but the kids had a great time, and it was a lot of fun.
We were able to do four activities while we were there, the first of which was the train ride. The kids were excited to ride the "Jupiter" train because this year in school they learned that this was the name of one of the two trains that was at Golden Spike where the railway lines met. They were also excited to see the Indian dwellings because they learned about those too, and were able to name them (Hogan, and Teepee). The train took us all around the park.

After we ate lunch, we walked up the hill and met with a pioneer woman who talked to the kids about how the pioneers/indians grew gardens. She also talked about corn and how they would plant it with a squash and a bean plant, so they would protect each other. The corn grew tall, the bean plant would climb the cornstalk, and the squash would spread out around the base so that the corn and bean would not get taken over by other plants or weeds.

The kids then got to grind some corn into flour. It was a lot tougher and took a lot longer than I think any of the kids thought it would. They spent about 10 minutes grinding with the rocks, and we decided that we might only get one or two tortillas out of the flour the entire 3rd and 4th graders made. I think it was pretty eye-opening for them to see how much they would have to grind to be able to make anything.

The next place we went was to the mountain man (or lady in this case). She talked to them about the indians and how they would use every part of the animal. She talked with them about how smart they were to figure out how to make leather for their clothing. That was pretty gross, and made me glad I wasn't an Indian back then! Ian thought that part was awesome that the girls would have to do that gross task. (Let's just say that brains were involved). She also had them name all the furs she had there, and let the kids feel the furs. By the end they could name all of them in order! (Bear-not pictured, Arctic Fox, Muskrat, Ermin, Otter, Beaver, Beaver, Rabbit, Deer, Racoon, Badger, Mink, Red Fox, Coyote, Wolf, Buffalo)

The kids then got to pull handcarts. The handcarts weighed 150 lbs. each, and they had 3 boys and 3 girls on each cart. They switched halfway through so each could have a turn on the front and back. I was laughing at them when they all took off their coats so they would have something to pull in the handcarts.

I think the school was my favorite part of the whole day. The "teacher" was amazing. She stayed in character the entire time. She started by having the class line up outside the school with boys on one staircase and girls on the other. Then when they got inside she put them that way in the pews (the church also served as the school).

She told them that if they wanted to speak they had to raise their hand, when called on, stand up and place hands together (recessitation pose) and then speak. She taught them a history lesson (Abraham lincoln was president and the civil war was going on). She taught them a math lesson using buttons to count and the children writing answers on their slates. She taught them about the Deseret Alphabet and had them spell a word using it. She showed them what would happen if they got into trouble at school. They would have to stand with their nose in the corner, and their hands behind them, holdind a stack of books. If they failed to do their homework, they had to sit in front of the class with a dunce cap on. She told them about payment ($3.00/year) and what she would/wouldn't accept as such. She went up to one girl and told her that it was her families week to house her as she had no home of her own, and told the girl to be sure to tell her parents that she would share a room with others, but not a bed. She required her own bed, and if the family needed to juggle kids around so she could have her own bed then they needed to do that before she arrived after school that afternoon. She was great! I think the kids learned a lot about how the school system was run in Utah's early days.

We took pictures of the classes-this is Ian's 4th grade class--Ms. Durrant is his teacher.

After that, we loaded up and headed home. It was a VERY long bus ride (twice as long as the time spent there), but we had fun. I taught Ian how to play Soduku, and we also did Cat's Cradle. I'm glad he wasn't "too cool" to sit with his mom. :)

Thanks for the fun day, 3rd and 4th grades!