Field Trip

Summer Break has officially started and instead of attending to the endless list of projects I want to accomplish between now and when school resumes in the Fall, I am sitting on my butt uploading photos and blogging :)

Little miss had her field trip right at the end of the school year.  To go along with the insects that they were studying in their science classes, we booked a field trip at one of the local parks that was put on by our DNR.  The kids got to sample some pond life and see what lives in a pond habitat, we went on a nature hike and a bug hunt, and we enjoyed a really nice day outside.  Here are a few pictures of the scenery and our "finds".

I think it is really cool that the DNR puts on these field trips for little or no cost; it allows the students to explore but still have a bit of direction. I love taking the minions out to places like this to meander around just to see what we can see, but with upwards of 50 Second Graders definite direction was needed and they provided us with some fun activities to keep the kids occupied. Some of the students were trying to tell us that they had never even touched a worm before.  o.O  Then again, maybe they hadn't... 

 

I mentioned earlier that the kids were able to go bug hunting with large nets and they would then put their "finds" in these clear plastic containers for identification before releasing the bugs back into their habitats.  The DNR lady was trying to tell me that these were baby praying mantises.  Is it mantises?  What is the official plural of "mantis"?

 

I am having a hard time believing that given the fact that the front legs are definitely not mantis-like. No idea what this type of insect is, but they were fun to catch :)