Salmon!

I was at home this morning working on getting our ABC's curriculum up and running.  We've already done A for Apple and next was going to be B for Banana Slug.  But then I remembered the salmon were spotted in Bear Creek and we just had to go visit them!  So-not sure how Salmon fits into the ABC's but we sure learned a lot today about Salmon!

Everyone arrived today in their layers of clothes, along with hats and gloves.  As a teacher, I dressed not warmly enough for my class yesterday-so today I had on a turtleneck shirt, fleece, warm jacket and waterproof coat.  I didn't forget my hat or gloves, waterproof pants and fleece pants and waterproof boots. In the Northwest we are all about the right clothing!  But I know that it worked for me today.  I wasn't cold for a minute!  And I could take off a layer if I needed to.  Better warm and dry than not!

That said, we had some fun gathering today and playing with another set of cool blocks that Teacher Jen brought in.  Magnetic blocks.  We put the buzz in the kids' ears that magnets have two sides, positive and negative and need the opposite in order to stick together.  We believe that learning can take place anywhere and anytime and non-invasive learning is the easiest.  I'm not sure if anyone was listening today about plus and minus poles for magnets.  But my guess is that they will eventually hear it.

Circle time was all about salmon.  Some of the kids raised their hands and told us a little about their experiences at the salmon hatchery.  Some had seen the salmon in the stream nearby.  As we talked about the life cycle of the salmon, (ask your child about "it happens over and over and over again" and they may make a motion with their hands...) we learned how the female salmon lay their eggs in the gravel at the bottom of the stream and the male fertilize the eggs. Then both of the parents die and fertilize the forest.  We had fun acting out the life cycle by beginning as eggs, hatching as fry and growing in to smolt before we swam out to the ocean.  When we swam back up the rivers and streams to find our birth place in order to lay eggs, we followed our sense of smell.  The kids loved being salmon and "swimming" around. 

Then on to our long hike to Juel Park to see the salmon.  The kids were fast going there and very eager to see the fish.  On our way there we stopped for snack and a story called "Salmon Forest."  When we got to Juel we did indeed find about 5 salmon in the stream.  Bright red and beautiful.

 The hike back took a bit longer-but everyone persevered.  There weren't any tears just some tired kids.  It was exciting to see the special fish in our very own waters.  I hope you are hearing about the salmon at home too.