“There’s some blue!” I told my first grade buddy, Owen. Mrs. Thompson had us look for the color blue with our buddies. On the day I first met Owen, I was buzzing with anticipation. He was so sweet and cool. This project has many teachers and students behind it, all hoping it will continue.
This idea involves the first graders and sixth graders teaming up, but it is much more than that; it also has many valuable benefits. The focus of this activity is the buddies meeting in the school forest to observe nature. They also send letters via notebooks. The notebooks have their observations that they share with their buddies. The sixth graders with first-trimester STEM were the test subjects, and there are some sixth graders who are definitely excited for this activity if it continues.
This project has many benefits. For one example, it helps first graders develop respect for nature at a young age. Another is it helps develop a habit of getting outside and being in nature and getting off electronics. They also forge a new friendship with their buddies. They do activities which give their muscles and brain exercise. They also do a lot of other activities, like looking for scat, tracks, and fur or feathers left behind. They listen for bird calls and the twigs snapping from an animal walking past. It is entertaining to guess which animals left what behind. There are plenty of benefits to this experiment including health benefits and brain stimulation.
A sixth grader, Lillian Olund, had a lot to say about this topic. “I instantly was super excited to do the same thing later this year.” Mrs. Thompson, one of the two teachers who came up with this idea said there were no concerns, which some sixth graders are hoping means this project will continue. “I love to hang out with little kids and from what I heard even if you didn’t you would still love it,” Lillian said. This idea definitely helps sixth graders with their leadership skills and the first graders learn how to observe nature.
It also gets kids outside and pushes them to enjoy the small things outdoors. As Lillian mentioned it also forms a bond between the students.
This project has many benefits for sixth graders and first graders alike. This activity has many sixth graders looking forward to STEM. The second-trimester STEM students have already been out there once and have nothing bad to say about it. So they have already got a dose of the benefits. The sixth and first graders teaming up is a marvelous idea.
