There was some disappointment to start the week especially after last weeks classroom tranformation into the international space station and mission control. The students walked in this week to find the classroom back to normal. Oh well! This week we learned about ocean animals. When the students arrived they got right to work. Each student chose a underwater creature and did a research project. The students used books and iPads to find out new facts. The put together their final reports using file folders called lap books. Unfortunately I was out one day and forgot to take pictures the other day so our two school days are short on pictures, but I did take lots of pictures on our field trip.
Our field trip though definitely made up for it I think. We were able to get in touch with a local lobster boat Captain named Captain Bridge from Peaks Island. We met him down at the marina where he ties up his boat when he needs to get things from the mainland. We did not go out on the water on his boat, but we were able to sit on the boat while it was docked. He was fantastic! He had pulled a trap all ready which had two lobsters in it as well as some other creatures from the Maine coast. He started off by explaining how lobster traps work. They have the kitchen and the bait and then there is a parlor. He took out the lobsters and explained the different parts of a lobster and how to tell if its a boy or a girl. He demonstrated how to band the lobsters so they would not pinch and then handed them over to the students to look at and explore. The students were thrilled.
We then got to take a look at some of the other creatures that were in his trap. He had a green crab and some snails. The crab got away on the boat, but the snails were fun to look at. Captain Bridge also showed up what he uses for bait. He had a huge squid that he laid on the deck and some fish remains and frozen mackerel. The students were very interested in this and not grossed out which I was surprised at. They were touching and exploring the squid and the fish. They asked some really good questions about lobsters and other creatures in the ocean.
Captain Bridge also showed us the jaws of a shark he caught years ago. He passed it around so the students could see and the teeth were very sharp. The jaws could easily fit one of their heads inside!
We finished up with Captain Bridge and headed down the trail to a grassy area to eat our snack. We got to see the narrow gauge train go by a couple times.
When we got back to school we finished up our research projects, but ran out of time to share what we learned with the other students. Some student went fishing for sight words as well.
It was a great week and nice to learn about something so close to home.We only have one more week left of Learning Camp. We are setting sail to become Pirates and find ye' buried treasure!
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