Our Room 15 students were just hitting their stride when the school closure hit.
- Our reading groups were going well. Kids who had struggled early in the year were showing awesome growth and were really into their chapter books (Doolittle, Riding Freedom, and Keepers of the School).
- The kids had been working very hard on their Exhibition projects. They’d done a ton of research on their bird species and were developing their green screen presentations, which were looking AMAZING.
- We’d made a lot of progress on our bird nesting boxes (above). We were using every spare moment—lunch, planning periods, library sessions—to get small groups out in the courtyard working with hammers, drills, and measuring tape. (Thanks, by the way, to all the families who were able to donate supplies!)
- Atop all that, the kids have been tremendously engaged by bird life. Twice this past week I lost the whole class because they leapt to their feet when a scrub jay appeared in the tree outside our windows. An ordinary scrub jay!
Let’s not let circumstance dampen their enthusiasm. Because the point of the closure is to maintain social distancing, it would be counter-productive to spend the extended break around groups of people. Trips to the mall, the movies, and the fun center are probably out, but here is a couple of alternatives that’ll help keep all of you from going stir crazy and instead turn you into bird brains:
- Bird-watching hikes. Roxy Ann Peak, Table Rock, the Sterling Ditch Mine Trail, and other local spots make for great hikes with sparse people. You might also enjoy a trip to the Lower Klamath Refuge. This time of year the bald eagles, coots, and giant flocks of snow geese are all fantastic. By the way, I’ve offered my students checkbook bonuses if they can snap decent pictures of identifiable birds.
- Bird house construction at home. A handful of kids took home nesting box plans and bundles of wood pieces. They just need some parent help and the hardware to build them. Several other kids were interested in doing the same but we ran out of time. I’m willing to put together similar bundles for any of my students. They need only to select one of the plans (se below), make sure they have parent support, and let me know via email at mack.lewis@district6.org. I can pre-cut the pieces to the plan specs or, if the parent wishes, simply select pieces to be cut at home. We’ll set a pick-up day on which I’ll leave the bundle by the back door of my classroom. It’ll be wonderful to see the bird boxes kids bring back to school, and because it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to have the “family construction day” I’d been planning, it’ll provide a safe way for families to still be involved. (Note: if you don’t have a hole saw, we can do that back in class.)
P.S. Kids, leave a comment on this post and it’ll be worth $10 in your checkbook!
Wren Cube . . . Lucy’s Warbler . . . Simple Small Bird Box . . . Backslant Box
We would love to do this 🙂 please keep us in the loop on the day. We would prefer the pieces uncut so she can do it at home supervised :).
I went to roxyanne a month ago with my step mom
I was in Mr. Lewis’ class last year and i wanted to revisit his website.
Have a good time when u get to the coast trip!
Last night I started working on my Wren Cube.
There is a bird nest in my backyard. I think it’s a Blue Jays.
Hey Mr.Lewis uhh when are we coming back to school I’m bored even tho we still do school work ????
Why did they cancel school till the 28th of April??
Garrett nooooo they cancelled school till April 28th I’m so mad ???????????????????????????????????????? nooooo ????
Hi Mr.Lewis can I get a precut birdhouse
I went to the wildlife safari today, saw lots of animals and birds.
That’s a good safe thing to do during the closure! I like it. Any pics? If so, can you share them? All you have to do is send them to my email address, mack.lewis@district6.org.
Yes, which one do you want? You can find your choices at the bottom of that post.
The Governor of Oregon is hoping that by having people stay home for all of April, they’ll quit spreading the virus. If we can slow it down, we will all be better off. Also, don’t forget, school is not cancelled. It’ll just be different. Start digging out whatever rulers, calculators, and pencils you have around the house. Y’all got a lot of work to make up! (Don’t worry, I’m going to try to make it interesting).
Keep an eye on it. I like scrub jays, but they’re certainly trouble. Today in my yard one killed a hummingbird and was carrying it away for supper.
Awesome! When you finish, take a picture of it and send it to me. I will post it on the Platy. Send it to my email at mack.lewis@district6.org
Thank you, Cayden. Good to hear from you. You must be feeling a bit bored already too!
Which birdhouse would you like? The choices were at the bottom of the post. I can give you a sets for Jorden and the other siblings, too, if you want.
I saw a morning Dove on a walk with my mom.
Hi Mr.Lewis can I get a precut small birdhouse the one all the way on the right
Awesome. Remember, if you can get a decent picture of a bird and identify it, I’ll pay checkbook $!
Okay. I will work on it. It’ll take a couple days because I need to wait for a few more kids to place their orders. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.