Schoolhouse of Wonder’s At-School-Field-Trips offer a unique and exhilarating experience in the classroom or school grounds akin to our very popular Nature School Classes at West Point on the Eno Park in Durham. If you want to save the cost and time of travel, have Schoolhouse of Wonder bring one of our experiential programs to you. At-School-Field-Trip Programs are available as a single day program or can be delivered in multiple parts by grade level. We can schedule programs at your school in the Fall and in the Winter. during our Fall Nature School Season. During the Fall Season, October 11 through December 3, 2010, you have the option of combining your At School Program with a second Field Trip Program here in the West Point on the Eno Park for a discounted price. Our Winter Season for “At School Programs” is December 6, 2010 through March 15, 2011, and the price for a Winter Program is discounted, see prices and discounts at the bottom.
The Programs:
Early American Life and Community
Adaptable for Grades K - 8 - Full Day
In the AM: This kinesthetic class delves into the daily life as early settlers experienced it, down to the details of chores now lost to this modern age of machines and conveniences. Explore the day-to-day living of Piedmont pioneers, learn about plant medicines, experience simple cooking, churning butter, and eating the product of our labor, and washing, rinsing, ringing and hanging clothes in the sun. To make our hearth fire, we will need to find tinder and strike a flint and steel fire in this hands-on day of living history. Early American games complement this class born from the living traditions of experiential education.
In the PM: Before being engaged in a variety of afternoon hands-on activities, students will take, by way of powerpoint, a virtual tour of a grist mill. In a by-gone day this was the grocery store, shopping mall, post office and community center of many a mid-Carolina community. The class includes the small-farm replication of the very same tools and machines used by settler families looking to save the expense of paying a miller: the Black Eagle Cornsheller, the hominy block and the Corona Corn Grinder. The hands-on corn shucking, hand shelling, and sifting of meal are all part of the fun of learning. The class culminates with a shared meal of cornbread and our home-made butter.
*Kindergarten & Grades 1, 2, & 3 Social Studies Objective 3, Grade 4 Social Studies Objective 3 & 7, NCSCS
Ancient Days, Native Ways
Adaptable for Grades K - 8, Full Day
No people have lived so intimately with the Eastern Forest, known the ways of its animals, its rocks and earth, its plants, as have the indigenous peoples of America. Built on children’s inherent interest in Nature, “Ancient Days, Native Ways” students imaginatively and interactively discover lifestyles of the woodland Native Americans.
In the AM: The village springs to life as we imaginatively divide roles into those of men and women, through boys’ and girls’ games and interactive demonstrations learning about the dynamics of the divisions of labor. Earth skills such as friction fire-making and simple cooking - ting snack for the afternoon- are just a part of this exciting well-loved program.
In the PM: We explore the techniques of indigenous hunting skills, including tracking and stalking, bow-and-arrow, the primitive spear, and traps. Students gain direct experience with the ancient principles of foraging and observing the ways of animals so fundamental to all native peoples.
*Grade 4 Social Studies Objectives 2 & 3; Grade 5 Social Studies Objective 3, NCSCS.
Passages, Building a Learning Community
Grades 4 - 8, Full Day
Working well in a group is fast becoming a global responsibility. The world needs healthy and successful, compassionate people who can communicate and cooperate. We can be those people. Passages, calling more on inner than outer resources, combines aspects of personal journey with strategizing and consensus building, leadership skills with teamwork and cooperation. Our facilitators work closely with you to tailor challenges that address your specific group or classroom goals, which includes setting individual and group goals for the day. De-briefing is an integral and relevant part of learning in the classroom. Participants will share insights and learning experiences about themselves and their team, and will de-brief after each session.
What’s Needed for an At School Field Trip Program: Space on the school grounds where your students will not be distracted by other classes at recess. Our Traveling Troupe may set up several learning stations before the programs start and pack up on its completion. Just as with our Nature School class at the Eno, the Schoolhouse of Wonder on Wheels includes a “Celebration” of song and story, either as a midday entertainment or as a conclusion to the day’s learning.
Price: $10/student
Discounts
The At School Field Trips will be discounted for a Winter Season, December 6, 2010 through March 15, 2011, to $7/student.
Our At School Field Trips can be coupled with a Field Trip to our Nature School Program at West Point on the Eno Park in the Fall for a discounted price of $10/student for your At School Program, and $7/student for the Nature School at the Park Program. Buy two field trips at a discount and travel once.
* North Carolina Standard Course of Study
