Session 1 June 8

We started the morning with Gratitude Circle where we shared something we are thankful for. Then they put the clues from yesterday together to make the next riddle symbol which was for the bird station. We found the missing information for our Animal Classification book and learned about the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, which is an endangered bird in Georgia. They needed this information in order to understand the game. There were toilet paper rolls painted and labeled as Old Pine, Young Pine, Water, Ants, Wood beetle, etc. These were different resources the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker needs in order to survive. The exploreres needed to knock down and collect a certain amount of these resources to win. The hardest tube to hit was the "Mate". There were only 3 since they are endangered and it would be difficult to find a mate. It was a close game but after one team was victorious, they read the clues to open a puzzle box which had the symbol to the next station.

Then we had to put our adventure on hold while we went to gardening class with Ms. Melissa. I reminded them that one major cause of endangered species is invasive species. She talked about invasive versus native plants and we went on a scavenger hunt looking for certain plants. They successfully found all the invasive (ex: creeping charlie, wisteria, japanese honeysuckle, chinese privet) and native (ex: ebony spleenwort, muscadine, virginia creeper, dandelion) needed for the codebook.

Then after snack, we returned to our mission to collect more missing information needed for our books. We hiked to the fish station, learned about Georgia endangered fish and placed a picture of them on a river map of Georgia according to information about them. The reward was a U.V. flashlight that they used to find secret arrows through the forest. The arrows (which could only be seen with the U.V. light) led to the next symbol for the day (Mammal station). After a hike back, each explorer recieved an endangered mammal to act out and everyone else guessed what their mammal was. Once their animal was guessed correctly, they each got a puzzle piece.

Once put together, the puzzle showed the Reptile symbol. Acting as prey, explorers had to cross the field and collect three food tokens without getting "eaten" by the Predator (the endangered Eastern Indigo Snake).

After lunch, we went to the creek. This time we went to new area with soft gray clay that they played with. Other explorers searched for water beetles, minnows or quartz rocks.

Lastly, we added more plot to their original play and practiced a couple scenes.