Well, I have pretty much summed up our trip to Alaska, except for the very first day. Susan, John, Kathleen, and Tom hadn't arrived yet, so Kathy, Walt, Don and I went to Betsy's second-grade class. While there, I had the privilege of reading PattySue Finds a Home to her students.
But first, the trip there. We were to arrive at 11:00, so we all set out at about 10:00 to find the school. It is hidden back in the woods in a beautiful area. The first thing we noticed on the 2 degree day was that the students were all outside playing. . . in two feet of snow. In Kansas there is no way our students would be outside because too many people would complain. But these kiddos were having a ball in the snow, and if they didn't go out on these days, they would never get outside. When they all came in, they very carefully hung their coats up, took off their boots, and took their places.
I enjoyed Betsy's class so much. Spacious and colorful, it had many different learning spots. We particularly liked the salmon hatching tank that allowed the students the opportunity to see how eggs hatch. At a designated time, they will release them all into a lake. The lake is land-locked just in case the salmon are infected, but for the children it is a marvelous learning experience.
The students were particularly attentive, and they seemed to enjoy all of the crazy things we did. We sang several songs (Willabee, Wallabee, Woo, and Down By the Bay), we discussed rhyming and poetry, and then we read PattySue's story.
Afterwards, we drew a rhyming verse for Down By the Bay. Betsy had a very inventive group of students, and it pleased me to bits when they asked if I would read PattySue again. That was the ultimate compliment!
Thanks Betsy for letting me visit your class. It was a fun day!!
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