Last week we wrote about two kindergarten classes from Bushnell Elementary participating in Wilderness Immersion week at the Wittenbach Wege Center. This week we bring you some photos from their time learning about animal adaptations. In part, students learned about hibernation, migration, and camouflage. The chilly and often rainy weather didn’t keep students, teachers, or parent volunteers from learning or even being outside.
Each day students worked on a service project. Here wood chips are being collected for transportation to another area of the center.
With some teamwork, the chips are taken from just outside the garden area to the pond.
The collection is dumped out in various spots around the pond and students are asked to “spread them like frosting”.
It’s not all work during Wilderness Week. Each day also brought some time to play in the garden area.
Being outside learning and exploring is a big part of the week as well. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Kluge and Mr. Elmi.
Students also kept daily journals. They would write about something they did or learned that day as well as draw a picture of something they saw, smelled, and touched.
Mrs. Kluge, Mr. Elmi, and parent helpers would help students and encourage their work.
As part of their migration lesson, students played a game outside. In groups, they were different kinds of birds trying to migrate south. At various stations they were told to do different tasks. Some were positive things, such as moving ahead six stations because of good winds. Other stations brought bad news such as drinking polluted water and having to go back two stations. There were even stations which indicated the group was killed. In the end, students learned that only half of them made it their final destination, which is similar to what happens to actual birds migrating each year.
Students also studied worms. They learned that the tunnels they make in the soil are good for plants. In their notebooks, they drew a picture of a worm and labeled its parts. Brave students also picked up their worms as they tried to “escape”.
On the final day of their time at Wittenbach, student made their own shelters. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Kluge and Mr. Elmi.
Mrs. Kluge and student teacher Mr. Elmi had a blast with their class during Wilderness Immersion Week. It’s pretty clear the students had a great time as well.
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