All School Crosby Farm Day 2016

It was a glorious day for FSM’s all school Crosby Farm Day! Throughout the year, 7th and 8th grade students traveled monthly to Crosby Farm Regional Park in the Mississippi River Valley. They learned the natural history of the place, measured river height and rates, studied wildlife, and wrote and sketched in a specific habitat. Students went back to the same spot each month of the school year and tracked how the natural space changes throughout the seasons.

This week, 7th and 8th graders shared their learning and knowledge with the entire school on an all school field trip to Crosby Farm Regional Park. Activities included:

River Station: boat building with natural materials to “race” and to observe the current of the river. We learned that the current is not the same in all places in the river and boats sometimes even drifted upstream.

Water Critters: On the boardwalk, kids learned about catching flying insects- they got a damsel fly and dragon flies. The leaders put on the waders to help net water animals such as tadpoles. They also could see the eagles nest through the telescope.

Prairie: Student leaders talked about the prairie and kids looked for toads, snakes and then played the game Thicket. We were also introduced to many native plants. Students particularly like the smell of yarrow.

Fort-Building: In the woods, 7th/8th grade students had gathered a lot of branches and other materials for kids to use to build forts.

The whole school had a lovely Meeting for Worship with a query was about field trips and outside experiences: Think about and share, if you wish, a memory you have from a field-trip or an overnight.

At the end of the day, the whole school played the game Ships Across the Ocean together. We were thankful for the great weather, all of the thoughtful and fun activities, and great interactions between 7th and 8th grade leaders and all the students they were teaching. Teachers found it gratifying to see our oldest students take over some of the leadership of the group; both the activity leaders and the students who travelled with us, guiding us from place to place.