(Please first read the post before this one. It's a two-part story.)
Now we had to head into the woods for a timed, plant- identification challenge. Again this class of sixth graders divided into teams and had to run around in the humid heat, reading graphic panels posted near plants for the kids to find the answers. The worst part of this challenge for me was the science teacher in charge of this game lost her cool. She yelled at the kids a couple of times as if she was a drill sergeant. I really didn't think teachers were allowed to do that, but the kids told me she does it all the time and then sort of laughs it off later like she was just joking. Oddly, it was obvious to me she had done it regularly because they didn't seem too fazed by it. I, however, will not soon forget her style.
After this game, it was time to head back to a picnic shelter for the lunch break. The principal of the school (next year he will be a district administrator) grilled hot dogs, and we were also served an apple, carrots, and chips. The kids also got a frozen juice pop. I sat down with a couple parents I knew and was subjected to the usual - gossip about people who weren't there, a parent bragging about her kid, etc. This time was soon over, and we had to head to a different place in the woods for the next game.
It was a cool exercise - the kids were given GPS radios and had to learn to use them to find hidden scraps of paper at different locations. A few had wised up and placed themselves strategically in and among the weaker teams - making the kids there wonder why somebody had taken it on themselves to permeate their team - not an easy thing to answer. Not helping solve any of the exercise, I found myself taking the upper arms of two girls who were really struggling in the thick, deep, glue-like mud on a part of the trail they had to navigate. These two girls were simply not going to be able to make it on their own power.
The last sub-team in the group came back behind the others - one cheerleader said she had fallen in the mud but I wondered why instead of a splotch or glob of mud on her, she sported finger trails and smear lines on her face and legs - sometime you think you're dumb and then you realize the wisdom that comes from the experience of living long enough to be a grown-up. Hey, it didn't bother me - I thought it was funny.
Almost every one's water bottle was empty by this time, and we were heading back into the full sun for a geography-question exercise. Time to take matters into my own hands. Heat stroke should not be an option for these poor children. I grabbed what empty water bottles I could, and headed on my own to the nature center to refill them. I couldn't carry enough for one each of the 29, however.
I had one clean one with squirt top, so for the kids who didn't have their own, I had a plan. While they waited in line to answer their geography questions, I went down the line and squirted an ounce or so in individuals' mouths. The boys especially loved this. They hollered for me and called me 'water boy'. They tried good- naturedly to trick me into hitting them several times, then a group of five or so stood in front of me in a line with their mouths open, happy as larks, and I, the 'momma bird,' fed them all together. Kids are entertained by some of the simplest things.
The last exercise was a math one. They had to divide into problem solvers and problem responders, with the solvers relaying their solutions to the others non-verbally (by making numbers with their bodies, etc.) I honestly didn't get to see what happened here though, because a child from another group was brought over suffering from an asthma attack. His parent had been called and was on her way to pick him up. He was thin and pale, and I was worried about him. He said he had already used the inhaler to his limit and couldn't use it again. I sat with him in the shade, talking to him and helping him sip some Gatorade, and wondered if I'd have to perform CPR on him if he passed out. After a few minutes, his mother appeared in a car and I nearly screamed at the park attendant to let the car through without paying admission. Sometimes it doesn't pay to mess with momma bear. The kid was ok.
Overall, it was a good experience, and I was glad I went. I hope for next year's sixth graders: it isn't 90 degrees in Fort Wayne, in May.
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