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| Boarding the charter bus was quite the scene. |
The Kittredge 5th graders take an annual four day, three night trip to the Jekyll Island 4-H center to close out the year. Jackson was not sure if he wanted to go on the trip with his 150 classmates but by the time it was over he had a great time and was glad he went.
The accommodations were on par with a Philippine prison but no one seemed to know the difference. As you can see, it didn't take long for the shenanigans to begin once the kids got into their room. Steve went on the trip as a chaperone and slept in the room next door. Yes, the kids were alone in their bunk room that quickly stunk of shoes!
This was the scene at the mess hall prior to each meal. The place was actually very efficient and moved the kids through quickly.
The schedule was packed from dawn to dusk! Everyday we
had two hour and a half classes before lunch, 2 more after lunch, followed by an
evening event after dinner. Then, lights out at 10:30 pm... it made for a long day
for the chaperones especially!
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| Our group name was the "Squids." |
Our group kicked off our first class with maritime forest. They started beach side on the sand dunes to learn how the forest started and ended in the beautiful canopy of the maritime forest.
The Squids stopped to take a picture on a huge oak tree called the "grandfather."
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| Shell collecting |
The beach class was interesting because we learned how the beaches form and change due to the effect of the ocean currents and other factors.
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| This shell phone works great. Hi mom! |
Super Jax elevating over the beach. It was usually in the mid to upper 70's, but Jax never took off his hoodie.
Seining and Nets started off with a class preparing the kids to identify different species and reviewing the parts of a fish. Jackson must have studied his pre-work diligently because he seemed to know all the answers.
Preparing the seine or dragnet for the first round of fishing in the sea. The kids caught all kinds of little fish and creatures through outstanding teamwork.
Jax is learning how to identify a barnacle under the microscope prior to visiting the dock to catch them in the wild. Stiv thought the the dock outing would be the least impressive experience, but the kids loved catching little shrimp that were everywhere.
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| I caught 10 shrimp in one swoop! |
Dad and son before heading out to the marsh. The group all had to wear waiter boots to keep dry... they weren't enough for most the kids.
The group entering the marsh... still dry.
The marsh ended up being one of our favorite classes as we got to play with fiddler crabs, eat sea pickles, slosh through through water and rub mud all over each other.
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| Humming |
Fiddler crabs were all over the ground. In fact, they look like they were the ground until you started to walk toward them and they would all scatter. The kids learned that if you hum to a fiddler crab they crawl out of their shell... it's true, try it!
Stinky marsh mud made for great face paint. As a chaperone, all Stiv could think about was how much the kids already smelled.
The north beach was a spectacular site that we could not capture with a photo. At low tide, the beach is vast and open for miles with giant "driftwood" looking trees spread up and down the beach.
The slough was a cool class as the kids got to sift for tiny creatures. We even saw a rare soft shell turtle!
Jax was proud that he had the coolest find in a tadpole with its hind legs grown out. The water scorpion was cool too.
The last night we celebrated an awesome trip with fun around the campfire. We told silly stories and sang even sillier songs before calling it a night.
The trip was such a fun learning experience and we had a blast together. This was an amazing trip that father and son will always remember and talk about many years from now.
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