Richardson Family Raconteur: Out Standing in their "Fields"

You just know its nearly the end of the school year when all the field trip permission slips start coming home. The second to last week of school both Henry and Jed's classes went on field trips, and both of them were, in the true sense of the moniker, "field" trips. Because I am a hands on mom and volunteer in the classrooms a lot throughout the year I can usually get one of the few coveted spots as a parent chaperon on the trips. Fortunately I was able to accompany both Henry and Jed on their final "field" trips of the school year.

Jed's second grade class took a field trip that is a classic at La Madera, the twins went on this field trip when they were in second grade, and last year I was able to go on the same field trip with Henry's class when his second grade class went. In our school district, in the hills of the Saddleback Mountains, is the Trabuco Canyon public school that also offers a "field" study program for other elementary schools. It is one of the smaller schools in the district, is located in a more rural, wooded location surrounded by trees and creeks and horse stables. There is even a bonified general store across the street, and the school is bordered by O'Neill Regional Park, which has wilderness and campgrounds, and is where Cub Scout Day Camp is held every year.

The students participate in the Field study program which examines scientific and natural elements, talks about the history of the area and some of the first inhabitants, and has many many hands on activities for the students to participate in. The school even has a barnyard next to the playground complete with a chicken coop, horses, goats, ducks, roosters and a big old pig.

The trip is just a short bus ride away, straight up El Toro and into the hills.

the school bus ride is always half the fun, right?

Trabuco School

The first activity Jed's group does is learning about the Native Americans in the area and some of their history and culture. They marker paint a story rock with a symbol on it, and decorate Popsicle sticks to represent a dice throwing game that was very popular among the people.

Jed copies symbols from the key to decorate his sticks

After learning a bit about the geological history of the area they kids go outside to break open rocks and discover what's on the insides. Usually for this activity the kids are taken down to a creek that runs past the school and break rocks on its banks, but fresh mountain lion tracks were spotted there this morning, so the kids stay on campus and hammer away.

This sorting activity was fun for the kids - a large scoop of dirt was placed in the can with four different levels with four different sizes of sieves. The larger rocks and gravel are captured on top, the more course rocks at the next level, sand, and then finally silt on the bottom.

Shake the canister to distribute the material

Final step, open the canister and explore the contents of each level

Lunch break!

After lunch and a lesson on fossils and such the kids are taken to this (stocked) sandpit to "dig" for fossils - they put a scoop into their sieve and shake out the dirt, left behind are shells, shark teeth and different types of rocks, some with small fossils in them. The kids can choose three items to keep in a baggie. The sharks teeth are small but sharp!

using different tools to search for fossils

A visit to the resident farm animals which include:

big pig

chicken coop - kids could go inside and interact with the chickens

my favorite was this beautiful woodpecker that hung out during our visit

holding a live salamander that felt exactly like it was a gummy candy

Madagascar hissing cockroach (shudder)

On return to La Madera we found out that the campus had been locked down while we were gone due to nearby gun activity (!), so we missed almost as much excitement as we experienced on our field trip.

The next week I was able to accompany Henry's class on another fun "field" trip - every year the third graders visit nearby Tanaka Farms to learn about local agriculture and organic farming, taste fresh vegetables and pick strawberries. This place is such a great resource for our school and area. Located in the hills of Irvine it is a working farm that grows and sells fruits and vegetables year round, as well as seasonal features such as a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, Christmas tree lot, and u-pick strawberry fields. It has been farmed for years by the Tanaka family from Japan, and is on a year-to-year lease with the Irvine Company. Every year we fear they won't be back, but for years now they have.

Our school participated in a CSA program with them last year, and we enjoyed the boxes of fresh fruit and veggies we got from them weekly. Now to enjoy their goods we can come to their market stand located in the front of the fields, or come on a field trip and taste things right out of the ground! The kids were all great sports and tried everything handed to them, from green onions, to cauliflower, to carrots, parsley and more. At the end of the tractor ride through the fields everyone gets out and gets to pick their own carton of strawberries to take home. Fun and yummy!