Bringing the love for learning to the great outdoors with our students...

October 19, 2014

Good evening! 

Education should never stop within the four walls of our classrooms.  For this reason, Mount Vernon City School District places a strong importance on our Fifth Grade Outdoor Education Program.  I was fortunate enough to spend last Wednesday through Friday with our Fifth Graders at Pilgrim Hills near Danville, Ohio in Nature's Classroom.

Our three days and two nights in the great outdoors brought life to Ohio's Revised Academic and The Common Core Learning Standards, along with Personal Growth Opportunities for our students.  We were well immersed in every activity by making connections to how our particular task at that moment related to what our teachers instruct our students on everyday.  A few examples of these connections were:  Our students were guided through a hike in the forest and were identifying plant species, wildlife, and land formations, while having discussions about specific details regarding the past, present, and future of these items.  These conversations involved our students making predictions based on The Scientific Method.  To prepare our students for the workforce, our students were also engaged in "Adventure Team" Course that incorporated Science and Mathematics while developing their team building and collaboration skills.  Furthermore,our students were engaged in three sessions of workshops that ranged from: making interconnections between plants, animals, and plant life to developing a launchpad with a combination of a Two Liter Bottle, Pressure, and Water.  All of these workshops made direct connections to specifics that our students have already or are going to learn during their 5th Grade Year.  It thoroughly impressed me that Nature's Classroom connected even the simplest tasks that we incorporate into our daily habits back to learning.  One specific example was when our students ate their meals.  Our students were always connected back to the importance of: not wasting food, sharing food with others at your table or in the same room, and the use of table manners.  One way this was stress was through the concept of "Ort." "Ort" means a "scrap or remainder of food."  After each meal, the total amount of "ort" was measured and graphed.  Once the total amount of "ort" was calculated the students were involved in goal setting for the next meal and discussion about how they could help lower the amount of food waste. These are just some of the many great experiences that our 5th Graders experienced over the past week.  

There are some critics out there that would tell you that Outdoor Education is a waste of time and money.  I would highly disagree!  As I remember from my days working on my dairy farm with my family, I remember how quickly Math and Science came alive during these outdoor experiences. It is my belief that anytime we allow students to take and apply what they learn or are going to learn in our classrooms to the real world, they are going to be more likely to remember it and be more successful later on in their lives.  This same idea is directly related to our school district giving our students this same real world application of using what they learn in our classrooms to the great outdoors.  We cannot forget the great amount of personal growth that also occurs from Outdoor Education. For many of our students they experienced many first times of doing certain things: staying overnight for two nights away from home, eating meals all together in a family style setting all at one time, meeting other 5th Grade Students from other Elementary Schools in our District, and developing their problem solving skills. It amazes me every time I am a part of an Outdoor Education experience, how much learning and personal growth occurs over just a few days.  I am very grateful for all of the hard work that our teachers and parents that volunteered put into this great experience for our students!  

Please feel free to enjoy the pictures from this great experience in Nature's Classroom on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mvcolumbia.  

Outdoor education is an experience that all students K-4 should be excited about attending during their 5th grade year at Columbia Elementary! 

Just a few reminders for this week:

1) Trick or Read -this Wednesday (10/22) from 6-7pm (The Book Fair will open at 5:30pm)

2)The Book Fair-Is here this week! Your children will be going to the Book Fair during their Music and PE Classes. 

3)Technology Classes begins now-Our students will begin attending a Technology Class (K-5), every other week in our library this week on Fridays.  

4) Grade Cards-Grade Cards go home on Friday 10/24.

5) Nine Weeks Awards Assembly-10/31 for Grades K-2=9:15 to 9:45am; Grades 3-5 9:45-10:15am. Parents are encouraged to attend.  

I hope this information is helpful to you! 

Go Tigers!

Matt