Kendall's Week of Exploration!

Eco-Awareness

Our Eco-Awareness workshop was fun. A special teacher came over to help. She talked to us about the 4 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Refuse. She told us to reduce the amount of materials we use, reuse our used materials, and refuse using certain materials. Then, she assigned us partners, gave us a box with a list of things on it, and sent us on a scavenger hunt on the Barwick playground. Some of the things were: a scoop of dirt, a bug a leaf, and a flower. My partner and I, Caleb, almost found everything on the list! After the scavenger hunt, we shared what we found. My favorite part was the scavenger hunt. 

Gyotaku

Gyotaku is what Japanese people did when they wanted to show other people what type of fish they caught. They did not have cameras to take pictures. Gyotaku is another word for fish printing. Gyotaku is now used as an art form. This is how it works: First, you cover the fish you have in ink. Next, you make sure that half of the fish is completely covered in ink. Then, you place your paper on top of the fish and press it. Last, you take the paper off and let it dry. Gyotaku was fun, but the fish smelled terrible! Good thing we wore gloves! The fish I printed was a butterfly fish. It was pretty!

He'eia Fishpond 

I went to He'eia fishpond to do community service. The older kids had to cut down the over-populated mangrove and we had to pick it up. To get to the place that we did community service, we had to cross a muddy river. The river was shallow at first, but then it got deeper. The water turned blackish and it was gross! After we did community service, the tour guides gave us a tour. We walked along the rock pathway. They told us about the history of He'eia fishpond and how they caught their fish. We got very muddy when we crossed the river. Good thing I packed an extra change of clothes! 

Alan Davis Tidepools

My field trip to Alan Davis was a blast! First, we got off the bus and split up into groups. Next, we grabbed our nets and buckets and decided which part of the tidepools we would go to. Then, we tried to catch the little fish and crabs that were swimming and crawling in the tidepools. Last, my friends and I built a nursery for the hermit crabs. I learned about all the different types of sea creatures that live in the tidepools. I also learned not to touch the crabs with cone shells because the cone shells can hurt me. I saw a lot of hermit crabs and small fish. I liked exploring the tidepools because looking at the animals was fun!

Papermaking

Today, we made paper with the special Green House teacher. When she got here, she set up her supplies and then split us into groups. She said there were going to be five stations. At station number one, we ripped up leaves and cut up plants. At station number two, we pounded up the leaves and plants with mallets. At station number three, we soaked thin cardboard in water, then we ripped it up. Station number four was where we blended the cardboard into pulp and made the paper. At station number five, we cut out a magazine picture and put it on our paper. Now the paper has to dry over the weekend. My favorite part was putting the picture of a raindrop was on my paper. It looks very pretty!