October was a great month for Outdoor education. A little rain, but overall a lot of beautiful weather. Our Third grade made a trip to Blok Orchard to collect apples. The apples were used by elementary students to make cider in our presses. Other highlights included 7th and 8th grade students removing invasive species from our ACS property. The market cart has been transitioning as our summer crops dwindle and we transition into more of our cool crops for the fall and winter. 5th and 6th grade has been in full swing now in the chores for goats and chickens.  

Kindergarten students enjoyed a variety of activities in OE this month.  We learned about camouflage and played some games in the woods to practice hiding.  We helped in the hoophouse by planting a lettuce for some of our winter beds.  We also enjoyed being joined by some parents to help practice math skills with pumpkins!

First grade had some practice with pilgrim skills. They used their dried herbs to make bags of tea and later used different herbs to make a seasoned salt. Another time we headed outside to forage. We found crab apples (which were a bit sour), rose hips that we made into tea and  wild grapes which we used to make grape juice. The juice was students’ favorite. To continue in making great treats, we followed up with smashing apples and squeezing them in the cider press to make cider!

Second grade had a special guest to help us with our bees. Mr. Wanner’s dad came in to help us extract honey from our school’s bee hive. We extracted about 5 gallons! Second grade also enjoyed a scavenger hunt in looking for things in nature that go with all the letters. And of course, they were able to help make cider, this year they even cut some apples.  

Our third graders have been working a lot with plants. They spent time planting some seeds that will be part of a seed journal in which they track the sprouting and growth of their seeds. They harvested popcorn from our 3 sisters' garden. They also spent some OE time heading to an orchard to collect apples so all the grades could enjoy making cider. 

Fourth grade spent some time working on some of our harvest to help keep the cart stocked. Additionally they spent some time learning about balance in ecosystems and tied it into what they learned in science. One activity had them running around looking for enough food to fill their deer bellies in a simulation that showed how food availability and population size are linked. And of course, fourth grade enjoyed partaking in the cider process as well!

Fifth graders are finally getting into the process of the goat chores. Many students have begun taking turns in the barn to care for our beloved goats. This month they also made landform maps of the school property to observe how glacial melt carved out our state's landforms. 

Sixth graders are now full swing in the chicken business. Multiple groups have taken a turn at the chores. Each student applied for one of the chicken jobs. Now their jobs have been assigned and they will be able to work those jobs when their team's week arrives. In Bible and math class, sixth graders also spent time at the archeological site learning how to set up plots and search for ancient items.  

Seventh grade has focused primarily on tree identification.  They have learned how to use a dichotomous key to identify trees. They also began learning a few specific trees to identify based on their leaf or needles. Additionally, we took some time to talk about invasive species at our school and how to remove them before we joined forces with the 8th grade to participate in an invasive species removal day here at school. The students did a great job. They will learn more about invasive species in science class later this year

In eighth grade we expanded on knowledge of invasive species. We talked about how they impact ecosystems and discussed methods of removal. All this in preparation for the invasive species removal day at school. The removal day went well and students made a big impact on removing and slowing down the progress of invasive species.