January was a mild one for us.  We missed out on snow until the very end of the month and then we quickly took out the snowshoes to make sure we had a chance to enjoy them.  Leading up to the snow we still found many ways to enjoy God’s creation while outside as well as enjoy learning about God’s creation inside. We spent time in the greenhouse planting and eating, we had a puppet show in which we learned about how animals behave in winter, we searched for birds and identified them around the campus, and learned how to start fires.  With or without snow we had a great time in OE in January.  

Kindergarten began the month by taking a special close look at ducks and the two groups called dabblers and divers.  We learned about the different adaptations God gave them to eat in different ways.  We also acted out some of the different ways the two types of ducks interact.  LAter we made our way into the woods and learned how some animals use scent to communicate.  We hiked through the woods to see if we could find where the “peppermint beetle” left its mark and on which trees.  To end the month, Kindergarten enjoyed the entertaining puppet show describing how animals survive winter.  

1st Grade

First grade began by taking a close look at what we could find in the woods.  There are many interesting things we can find when we stop to take a look.  We then played a few Predator and Prey games in the woods and learned about how animals interact with each other.  We also took time to work with herbs in the greenhouse.  Then we went into the woods to look for signs of animals and plants using trees and the importance of trees in the forest.  First grade enjoyed another round of the animals in the winter puppet show with a new script.  Lastly, wrapped up the month with a snowshoe outing!

2nd grade

Second grade began with some time at Native American village. We spent time visiting the 3 structures they lived in and talking about what life was like for the Native Americans. We focused on how they were able to find all they needed from what was in nature and how smart and resourceful they were. Later we learned how they would use a bow drill to make fire. We followed the demonstration with some cooking over the fire to enjoy a staple of the Native Americans, corn. We enjoyed parched (toasted) corn and popcorn. 2nd grade ended the month enjoying the first big snow of January with some snowshoeing in the woods. 

3rd grade

Third was all about birds! We had fun practicing identifying common Michigan birds, learned all about beaks and even practiced using them. From this activity we saw how God designed birds with different beaks that helped them with their specific foods.  Lastly, we got out for some hikes using an app to help us identify the birds around us by their sound. The free and useful app we used was Merlin Bird ID.  

4th grade

In 4th grade for OE we focused on the lumber industry in MI. We learned about the white pine, how lumber camps were run. We did this through a game that simulated some of the choices and situations a lumber baron might run into while trying to run a company. We also talked about nutrition and had the chance to create salads with greens from our own hoop house. 

5th grade

In fifth grade we focused this month on goat reproduction and Nutrition. We learn how to adjust the goats diet to give them the healthiest pregnancy possible.  5th graders also spent time considering their own nutritional needs and then harvested and ate a salad using greens that were growing in our hoop house.

6th grade

In sixth grade we revisited the importance of their jobs caring for the chickens and how that affects their business. Sixth also learned about proper nutrition for chickens and what things we do to make sure they have the best quality of life and eggs.  We also spent time considering their own nutritional needs and then harvested and ate a salad using greens that were growing in our hoop house.

7th Grade

In seventh grade we continued to work on fires and combustion using different methods to start fires. We even learned how to start a fire with a bow drill (with some small success). We wrapped up with a fire starting challenge. To finish the unit we made some small backpacking stoves that we used to make hot chocolate.  

8th Grade

In 8th grade we wrapped up the finishing details on our legacy project presentations. The presentations will be shared with classmates, administration and other teachers for feedback on the ideas.  While we worked on the projects we also took some time to plant some fast plants that will be used to study the genetics of the flowers.  We pollinated the plants and began learning the parts of the