Mrs. Cantrell's Class: pioneer

I just realized that we never posted about our traveling field trip. They talked non-stop about it once we got back. But just in case they forgot....here's your update!

Earlier in December we finished our Social Studies unit on maps, communities, and transportation (thanks Miss Alison!!). We ended the unit with an all morning field trip with Miss Davis' class where we traveled around Springfield to landmarks that are key to our area. We also had a HUGE map that we looked at to see distance and compare travel times between points.

It started out as a SUPER cold morning!

Our first stop was at Pleasant View Middle School. It took us about 8 minutes to get there from Fremont. Although we didn't get out but instead just sat in the parking lot, we learned quite a bit. We discussed why were at PV: it is where these students will go for middle school. We used that time to check out what was similar or different from our school.

The next stop was a new field trip spot for both Miss Davis and myself. It was also possibly the best part! We rode 22 minutes to the Springfield Branson Airport for a tour. And wow, what a tour we got! To be honest, we weren't quite sure what all we were getting ourselves into but wow wow wow. It began with a tour of the check-in area, viewing the weather maps and travel update tvs. The guide then took us behind the scenes to see and we were able to see the security cameras -- the kiddos thought it was neat to rewind the tapes and watch us walk through the corridors. Next up was a trip down into the basement where the luggage is all handled and then on out to the tarmac where the airport fire engine was waiting for us. We were able to talk to the firefighter and then he showed us the water cannons.

Yes, cannons. The fire truck has 2 cannons on the front and sprayers underneath. Those cannons shoot super far! I wish I could remember how far and had a picture of them actually in action...next time I'll get it. There also just happened to be a small plane waiting at the gate next to us, ready to take off! This was completely unplanned but amazing as we got to watch it taxi out and then take off right in front of us!! (See, I told you it was the best stop ever! But wait it gets better...) While we waited for the plane to take off, 2 military jets did a fly by...again, unplanned! Our guides said the military jets randomly fly over every few days and this just happened to be that day! Let me say, the kids loved the airport. What an opportunity for these kiddos! And how many people get to go in the basement? And onto the tarmac? AND have the firetruck shoot water cannons just for fun? And don't forget about the plane and jets. Whew. I'll stop now.

The airport stop took over 1.5 hours, longer than we expected but we definitely weren't complaining. So it altered our next stops just slightly. We rode for 14 minutes to the Nathaniel Green Park on the SW side of town to see the Campbell-Grey Farmstead. This was a great connection to our Pioneer studies as we got to see log cabins, a cemetery, and a few other buildings. The students had a lot of questions and made connections back to the stories we had read.

The last two stops were more of drive-bys since we were running short on time. We drove by Bass Pro Shops since it's a landmark, being the first and largest Bass Pro Shops in the United States. The discussion came up about what type of store it was and we talked about the animals (dead and alive) that you could go see. We also drove through the parking lot of Battlefield Mall. Several of our students had never been to the mall and didn't understand what a "mall" was whenever it was referenced in the classroom. It also served as key point on our map, representing the intersection of main roads Battlefield and Glenstone. Again, we discussed what kinds of shops were in there since someone thought it only had clothes.

After that we ended back at Fremont to have a sack lunch in our classroom. The kiddos used our field trip to label a smaller version of our map to show where we went and what roads we took to get there. This was a mini review and assessment of the part of a map (label, title, key and compass rose). Hopefully these maps made it home and your child shared it with you.

As you can see, this was a field trip PACKED full of learning and fun. It was quite possibly the best field trip...ever!

I hope your kiddo shared at least some of these details with you. If not, go ahead and ask them about their favorite part. I'd be interested to see what they said! Comment below to let us know if it was PV middle school, the airport, the park, Bass Pro, or the mall.

Whew...These past two days were a whirlwind of excitement and now exhaustion! And this is a warning....this post is full of pictures!

As mentioned in previous posts that we've been reading about pioneer life while reading aloud Little House in the Big Woods. We're soon going to be taking a break from the book and looking at the Nutcracker. So what better time to celebrate what we know about pioneer life and spend some time actually doing things like pioneers might have?

We experienced many things:

making bread and butter
learning how to weave and make a basket
saw a duck and a chicken, talked about raising farm animals
learned games like hopscotch, Cat's Cradle, and leapfrog
made rag dolls

I hope that these activities truly impacted your child and made a lasting impression, driving home the similarities and differences of the times back then. I hope too that these past 2 days your child learned a new skill or found they enjoy something new.

We also had our first FAMILY LUNCH TIME on Tuesday. It was great to have more of our classroom family with us for lunch. I will let you know if and when we will have another one. If you have any suggestions or comments please let me know.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving break...hopefully you get to spend some special time with your family.