Inlet Classroom

This wing of the outdoor club was wonderful. It was so simple and attracted an amazing diversity of children.

I was worried at first that they would lose interest.  Bird watching takes patience and you don’t always have a lot of sightings.  I shouldn’t have worried, however.  The kids were thrilled by the possibility and loved to be out on an adventure.  I think they also simply loved belonging to this gentle group of bird-lovers.

Sometimes the adventure was circling the playground in a new, slightly beyond the fence way.  Sometimes we dipped into the forest and walked a peaceful trail.

We also created a bird wall were the whole school could record their sightings and test their knowledge.  I was surprised at the level of interest and often heard groups of kids chatting about birds, whether or not they were in the Outdoor Club: Birder’s Wing.

I loved my birders and was so glad to have created the opportunity.  If you like the idea, but are unsure, I encourage you to give it a shot.  My only regret, in typical fashion, is that I did not try this earlier.

Oh…and don’t you think this is wonderful data collection?  It worked really well.  Great opportunity to integrate with math.