The class also went on an overnight field trip to Elkus Ranch.
The trip started with a 4 mile hike from the top of Skyline down to Purisima Creek. The weather was beautiful and we saw lots of wildflowers as well as quite a few banana slugs. The kids then spent three days learning how to take care of the animals on the ranch, pulling weeds in the garden, and preparing their homesteading report. The kids were divided into families and they had to come up with a plan for how much land they needed and how they were going to use the land. On the second night, each family presented their proposal to the "town council". Gina dressed up in her prairie outfit. The night of the town council was also Gina's 9th birthday. The kids had already planned on ice cream for dessert so I made some cake to go with it.
After Elkus, the kids focused on their 1800 historic figure report. Gina had picked Laura Ingalls Wilder. She had read all the books and we found numerous biographies at the library. She worked hard on her project and did a good job on the report. At the end, the kids dress up as their figure and the parents get to go around to each kid and hear their presentation. Gina was one of the few who had their report completely memorized and she got a lot of compliments on her presentation.
The last two weeks of school went by quickly with the kids sorting through their work and bringing home bags of papers and art projects that I still need to sort through. The third graders got to walk to a nearby park on the day before the last day and had a fun day playing and running around.The last day of school was a little sad as I was sorry to say goodbye to Gina's totally awesome 3rd grade teacher. Gina had a good last day as she got to go off with her friends for lunch and frozen yogurt. Now it is 10 weeks until 4th grade...
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