Category Archives: Fish

Here fishy, fishy… (or “they don’t call it catching!”)

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Hey Everyone,

We did not anticipate the extreme amount of excitement around fishing!  Students arrived with their tackle boxes and rods in hand and were ready to go.  As teachers, we couldn’t have been happier with that energy (and will now likely plan another fishing day in the Spring semester!)

With a few weeks of sub-zero temps, we were able to get out onto “Willow Pond” and have a go at ice fishing! But before heading out, we needed to cover the basics…

Our students had a lot of previous knowledge, skills, experience and fish stories this week.  We quickly refreshed on the parts of a fishing pole and found sticks and pieces of wood to replace the rod and reel for our ice fishing needs.  Students also learned a clinch knot today in order to attach their hook to their line.   We then brainstormed ideas about what kind of fish live in the area, where the best spots would be to fish and different things to use as bait.  Our bait today?  Roe from a wild local Salmon.

Learning a clinch knot

And then we were off! We grabbed our auger, went over important ice safety rules and partnered up.   On the ice, students had a chance to drill out their own holes, set up their lines and practice a LOT of patience.  With games going on on the side and fire built to keep us warm (and warm cider!), the students kept a constant eye on their lines.  There was so much excitement, students on Wednesday even decided to forego free play in order to continue fishing.  Although we did get a few nibbles, and fish could be seen below the ice, unfortunately no catches.  Next time though!

Everyone was drilling holes!

After fishing, we decided to become fish.  Students became local Salmon, traveling down the Beaver or Pretty River trying to make their way to the Bay, then back again to the spawning grounds without being caught by predators or fisher-people.  All this while jumping “waterfalls”, avoiding turbines and climbing the fish ladders, in a macro-model we like to call Hooks and Ladders.  This was followed by a great debriefing session with some thoughtful insights from our students.

“Hooks and Ladders”

Our last task of the day: creating emergency fishing kits to add to our survival kits.  These kits include a small amount of line, a hook and a small balloon to use as bobber.

Emergency Fishing Kit

Congratulations to our bead recipients: 1 Bingo Bead, 3 Show and Tell Beads and 2 Knot Beads!

Next Week:
Field Trip: Cross Country Skiing!

We had a lot of fun this week, and we’ll leave you with this photo when students were asked to create their own fish.  This is “The Donald Trump” Fish:

“Donald Trump” fish

Cheers,

Matt and Kim

More Photos:

 

Getting dirty with bugs!

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Hello Folks!

Today we welcomed a new student named Izzy to our Forest School by introducing the smudging ceremony experience with her while explaining the meaning of it.

A Creepy Crawly bug day was the name of the game this week! Throughout the day the kids observed and held:  spiders, centipedes, worms, banana slugs, frogs, fish, hornets, pink mushrooms, and much more!

Our students were excited this morning and hiked to the back of our property to find the floor of our shelter was missing!  WHAT?  Yes our floor went missing!  After searching the property and coming up with possible solutions we were unable to find our floor which was also a great thing because our kids had the opportunity to create a new structure.  This one is stronger, accessible for all students and even has it’s own fireplace!  We even tested out the new fire pit by roasting marshmallows in it. They sure were tasty and we only lost 3 to the fire.

Next on the agenda was to create a worm compost. Our students brought in newspaper, egg cartons, saw dust, and food scraps. Then we went on a worm hunt, which started out with a discussion as to where these worms like to hang out.   That would be dark damp areas, loose dirt, compost bins, and near to the surface!

Tip: If your soil is dry grab a hose and run some water over the ground, wait about a half hour, and the worms should rise up.

Our goal with our worm compost is to check in each week and see how they are doing.  Are they mixing up the layers or compost and newspapers?  Have they eaten anything?  Do they need more compost?  Is the soil wet or dry?  After we are done with our findings we plan on putting these hard workers back into the ground by adding them into our existing compost.

We discussed our favorite bugs today and because our school is home to hundreds of bugs, we thought it would be awesome to create a bug hotel! The students collected: pinecones, dry grass, deadwood, fallen tree bark, empty tissue paper rolls, dirt, and newspaper to build the hotel. There was thought and discussion that went into the planning of which insects would like certain habitats. The kids will visit this area on a weekly basis and conduct their observations within their journals.

All of our kids worked really hard this week on their Respect, Bravery, and Honesty stickers.   Next week we look forward to giving away a couple more beads!

Next Week: Is all about Tree Identification and First Nation totem pole exploration!

Thank-you for stopping by, we will se you next week!

Krista

  

Having a Blast on the Beaver River!

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Hello again!

Today was a day was full of discovery, learning new skills, team building exercises and an abundance of wildlife to see.  This included; birds, turtles, fish, crayfish, beavers, frogs, cows and Canadian Geese.

We were pleased to welcome our Collingwood Forest School for the paddling day as they were going to join us. Our adventure started just outside Epping where we headed out to a location called Flower Bridge.  This is where we launched 4 canoes with an exciting 3.5km (or 1 hour paddle) that winded around a beautiful part of the Beaver River.

Before we got our “canoe on” the students took time to learn paddling strokes and river safety. It is great to see the ambition of one of our students Aaron who took the role of teacher, and showed their fellow students how to paddle while demonstrating how to hold their paddle. We know it is going to be a great day when a conversation like this happens:

Student #1 – “I can’t do this, it’s too hard!” (Frustrated about how to paddle)

Student #2 – “ Yes you can! All you have to do it believe you can and you can do it. Believe in yourself!”

Our Heathcote location is home to hundreds of Frogs and Toads, so it was fitting that our students took time to learn about their Number 1 resident. Our first activity was to discuss the life cycle of our favorite little guys! Our students were great at becoming frogs and some even became “super frogs” – You should ask your child what a super frog is! We even had a debate about Frogs verses Toads; the main question was could toads really give you warts? Answer is No, but they do give off a poison residue within their glands located right behind their eyes. Afterwards the students could not resist a good old frog catch and release.

Before our guests left to go back to Collingwood, we ventured back into the vegetable gardens to harvest; Celery, Lettuce and Zucchini. Did you know that they are 95% water? We also had a discussion about what other foods is 93% water; some examples are Eggplants, Cabbage, and Peppers. We let these vegetables sit in the color dyed water for a period of time and discuss their finding. The students came to the conclusion that the Zucchini soaked up the water the fastest, while the lettuce came in a close second. If you would like to do this at home all you need is:

  • 1 clear cup
  • Food colouring
  • Any vegetable that requires mostly water

Today was an awesome day for beads! We gave away some very deserving NEW beads 1-Leadership bead, 1-Peer support bead, and 1-Teaching bead! Along with some well-deserved stickers to add to our students collection – Love, and Respect.

Next Week: We are going to be looking at Bugs! Some might say EW, but I think our students are going to love getting their hands dirty again!

We will see you next week, thank-you for stopping by : )

Krista

 

Here Fishy, Fishy

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Hey Folks!

March Break didn’t stop us from going to school.  This week, we welcomed brand new students to our school and now offer a Wednesday program in addition to Thursday! As an emergent-learning and student-centered program, both days unfolded in similar yet unique ways.

The Red Tailed Hawks and Snowy Owls were quite adventurous this week.  After our regular check-ins and smudging ceremony, we spent some time learning about fish through interactive games, like a new favourite Fishy, Fishy. Some explorers were also able to spend some quality time in our sit spots and journal about things they saw and changes they noticed since the last time they were there.

Soon after, we were off to the Georgian Triangle Angler’s Association fish hatchery.  Here we learned about the life cycles of fish by observing first-hand the GTAA’s efforts at enhancing populations of trout in the Georgian Triangle.   The students were able to see, feed and hold (in nets) both brown and rainbow trout.  The fish ranged in age from a couple months to almost two years and ready for release.  Afterwards, we explored the creek and pond nearby to locate “escapees”.

Equally important as the hatchery itself was the connection the students could make to our own property.  The GTAA will be releasing some fish in the student-named “Sugar Shack River” leading into “Willow Lake” at bygone days later on this year.  This was exciting news for our students, with dreams of “catching huge fish!” in the lake.

WEDNESDAY

Our afternoons varied between the two days.  Wednesday saw the students head over to “Fossil Mountain” and explore new frontiers of the property (which led to the discovery of the “Endless Desert” and “Sugar Shack River”).  We had a lesson in erosion and river formation in the sand dunes, as well as damming.  It got quite muddy!

Then it was off to build huts and a fire.  Despite the rain (or maybe because of it), the students quickly set up natural shelters and a tarp to remain dry.  We got a fire going, with everyone taking shot at making sparks with flint and steel.

THURSDAY

Thursday afternoon saw trust- and communication-building through a blindfolded  hike.  Then it was off to build a huge natural shelter to fit the whole team-so big in fact we weren’t able to finish it.  The students quickly self-divided into roles (stick collectors, shelter builders, cleaners, grass-getters, etc) and in no time we had worked together to make a masterpiece.

Afterwards we celebrated with a fire and marshmallows.  The students all had a chance to try using flint and steel and catch a spark on charcloth. They did very well, and this is a skill we will continue to work on.

All in all, a great week.  We hope you are enjoying your March Break as much as we are!

Until next time,

Kim and Matt

If you’d like more information about the GTAA please click here to visit their website