Trailblazers

Exploring Eagle Park in fall

Carlos shows me his favorite leaf

One of the great successes of this school year has been my after-school program, Trailblazers.  With Nicole, Patricia, and Sandy, three of my colleagues, we have a twice-a-week after school program for EL students in elementary and middle school.  Mostly only my own students in grades 3-5 came, but we had some younger and older students, too.

Climbing a tree in winter

We had goals that included broadening their bi-lingual literacy skills, and offering homework help, but my own personal passion for the program was outdoor exploration. I wanted my students to have unstructured time out in nature.  Sometimes we'd do nature walks, or scavenger hunts, and sometimes I'd just take them into the woods to play.  It went really well.  The kids really got into our outdoor adventures.

Playing in the woods in winter

Agustin, Santiago and Freddy show off the geocache we found in the woods

At least once a week all school year we would take them either to the small woods next to the school, or a nearby nature park (yes, even in the winter).  For the end of the year, I set up a special field trip to St. John's University, where they have a huge nature preserve/arboretum/nature park area, and a program called OutdoorU where guides took our kids through a nature walk with some activities. It was great!

SuperVolunteer Mr. Zed helping Mirella catch bugs at St. John's OutdoorU

The kids try to catch some bugs

I will really miss doing this program with my kids, and I think lots of them will miss it, too.  It's been a really great experience all around.

Checking out the wetlands at St. John's

Hiking through the St. John's forest

Back: Daniel, Nicole, Adriana, Mirella, Rosa, Sandy, Santiago, Freddy, Jesus. Front: Marcos, Agustin, Me, Carlos, Moises