Upper Elementary News Mid-May: Sheep Shearing, Book Club Reports, Egg Update, and More

Sheep, Beehives, and Apple Trees 

by Josephine, Louis, and Alice

Sheep shearing was amazing! Gary Lawson and his apprentice, Liz, came to Emerson Farm to shear all six of our sheep last Wednesday. Because it was a special event, both the Tuesday and Wednesday farm groups were there, as well as a few parents. Surprisingly, Marigold (the nicest and tamest) was the roughest and Storm (the shyest) was the calmest. Marigold kicked a lot, but Storm stayed pretty still while she was getting sheared. Before they began, Liz explained that because sheep are prey animals, they will give up fighting once they are on their rumps, so it makes it easier to work with them. Each of the sheep also got their hooves trimmed. Gary and Liz were kind and answered all of our questions. Gary showed us his hands and let us feel how soft they are from the lanolin in the sheep's wool. He also told us about the artificial valve in his heart and allowed a few curious students and adults to listen to the clicking sound it made. We harvested six large bags of wool. Gary said that Beans' was of such high quality that we should consider entering it in the state fair! Next year, we hope to spin the wool into yarn and use it for knitting and weaving. 

The sheep shearing photos below are by Upper Elementary photographers:

While the sheep were getting sheared, Valerie Moore showed some students other natural fibers that she uses for weaving. She brought silk and alpaca fleece and talked about the differences in their qualities. She also brought a drum carder and taught several students how to use it. 

Louis and Ben worked with Matt Slocum to set up wooden stands for the beehives at the back of the garden. They spread hay so the weeds wouldn't grow under the hives, then they placed the stands on top of the hay and used wooden shims to make them level. They put the hive boxes on the stands so they would be ready for the bees to be installed. Matt and David waited until nightfall to bring the bees out to the farm. 

After lunch, we planted three apple trees at the farm: a Fuji, a Gala, and an Arkansas Black. The apple trees were purchased using a donation from Jonell's running group to honor the memory of her father who died earlier this school year. Every student helped to plant at least one of the trees. They were planted in the garden at the top of the hill between the herb spiral and the beehives.  

Students have participated in book clubs over the past several weeks. Here are reports from each group:

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Elek

We (Elek, Arlo, Alice, Ella, Lillie, Alexandra, and Hayden) read the book The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. The story is about the friendship between a boy and a mouse. We got together as a group a couple of times to talk about the book and decided what kind of project we wanted to do. Five of us are making a game, and two are creating an obstacle course. 

 

A Wrinkle in Time by Marissa

In the A Wrinkle of Time (by Madeline L'Engle) book group we were told to read up to a particular place in the book by a particular time when we would talk about the chapters we were assigned. On Friday, we had some of the foods that were mentioned in the book. We also have a sheet with activities related to the book. We will choose one (or as many as we like) to complete. Olivia commented, "I liked being able to eat the foods they eat in the book." Sidney said that A Wrinkle in Time is "a strong book for those who seek to read it." 

Dragon's Gate by Beckett

Dragon's Gate takes place in the Golden Mountains (America). A young boy named Otter from Three Willows Village in China, accompanied by his uncle and father, must endure the hardships of working in the mines. The reason Otter goes to California is that he accidentally killed a Manchu and he needed to leave before he was hunted down. With this exciting book by Laurence Yep, we started a book club with Jodi. We meet regularly to talk about it. 

Hobbit Group by Laila and Olive

The Hobbit (by J. R. R. Tolkien) book club had a working lunch where we talked about peculiar words from the book. We ate honey cake while we met because at the beginning of the book, there is an unexpected party where the main character, Bilbo, is sitting down to eat his food and the dwarves come. Bilbo shares his honey cake with the dwarves. For the next meeting, we have to make up a riddle from the book to share with the group. We'll also eat octopus. 

The Chicks by Reina and Jonell

Our chicks were scheduled to hatch on May 8. Soon after, we knew that they were not going to hatch. We decided as a group to dissect them; then we will bury them. We had already culled all but seven of the eggs. Of the ones we already dissected, none had survived past day nine. In our research, we learned that we need to wash the eggs before we place them in the incubator so that we don't introduce too much bacteria. We are hopeful that we will learn from this experience so that our next one will be successful.