Upper Elementary
A Week on the Island
For the elementary child, the classroom cannot contain or satisfy the curious mind and an indelible need to explore diverse environments. Therefore, the “classroom” must extend beyond the physical walls of the school building out into the greater world to see, smell, taste, and touch the “living textbook”. To that end, Mr. Snow’s class recently set out on a journey of discovery to a small island off the southern coast of Alabama to visit the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
The journey began before the sun had risen on Monday, May 2 as 25 students and five adults loaded a large charter bus with suitcases, sleeping bags, snacks, and a whole pharmacy of medications, sunscreen and bug spray. After a quick prayer service asking God’s blessing for a safe trip, parents and children said their final goodbyes with reluctant hugs and kisses (Upper Elementary students generally hate PDA), and the adventure was set in motion. The excitement and anticipation from students and parents was palpable. After having travel limitations due to COVID for the past two years, this trip had special significance since it was the first time some of the students had been away from family for such an extended time – a whole week! The students had been preparing for the excursion in the weeks prior by conducting lessons and projects about oceanography, healthy marine ecosystems, and estuaries.
The total travel time to the island would take about 7 hours. It was a good thing that students brought along plenty of diverting activities to help pass the time. The class also stopped in Slidell, Louisiana to eat lunch and take a boat tour of the Honey Island swamp. The students were in awe of seeing a swamp ecosystem that included a diverse range of native and non-native plant life and wildlife that included 100-year-old turtles, snakes, raccoons, frogs, apple snails, wild boars, and, of course, alligators. The guides were incredibly knowledgeable about life in the swamp. They could spot things that we novices would not have noticed without their experience and knowledge. The students took copious notes, and drew pictures in their field journals. The guides complemented our students on their questions and interest in what they experienced.
Back on the bus for the final leg of our journey to Dauphin Island, the students watched the documentary, A Plastic Ocean, which opened our eyes to the importance of a healthy marine ecosystem and the concern of the “plastic smog” that is affecting our oceans. The rest of the journey was a beautiful sight as we left the mainland to cross the long bridge to experience three days of study in and around the water.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were packed with lessons and activities guided by marine biologists who seemed to know everything about every aspect of the beach and ocean. They gave classes on wave energy, life in the brackish marsh, fish species, plankton, beach anatomy, and shell identification. We enjoyed getting in the water to measure waves, trudge through the marsh, drag a seine net, ride on a research vessel, collect plankton, look for otoliths (fish ears), and a whole host of other discovery activities. As a final treat, on Thursday afternoon, we visited Fort Gaines, a brick fort established in 1821. Robert, our fort guide was an incredibly knowledgeable historian who guided us through the parts of the fort, and explained its pivotal role in the Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War. At the end of the tour, he treated our group to a presentation of firing a musket, and a real canon. It was very loud!
By Friday morning, we were ready to load the bus once more, and return home. Our minds were bursting from the experience on Dauphin Island. With our field notebooks full, a few treasures from the aquarium and fort gift shops, maybe a blister or two from a lot of walking, and sun kissed skin from where we missed a spot with sunscreen, we headed out for a peaceful journey home. Mr. Mike Reid, our bus driver, kept us safe for the journey. Our hearts were filled with gratitude for so many things – the ability to travel as a class again, to be coming home to our families who love us so deeply, for the amazing ocean & all of God’s creation, and for the responsibility to be good stewards. Our travel was a great success, and we will look forward to bring what we have learned back to our school campus. We will also look forward to continuing the practice of going out into the world to learn all that we can.
