Baywood at Columbia

Baywood had a great Gold Rush experience here at Sierra Outdoor School! On Monday, they enjoyed a full rotation of classes at SOS, including: Rocker/Long Tom Mining Techniques, Miwok Life, Gold Panning, and Life of a Miner. During Life of a Miner, the students all wrote letters home as if they were out in California for the gold rush. Each teacher brought those home, and they should be a great read! Then, on Tuesday, Baywood left the hill and headed to Columbia State Park on their way home. They enjoyed a Historical Tour, a Bucket Brigade (learning how to put out fires with nothing but a line of helpers and cotton canvas buckets), a tour of the Columbia Cemetery, and an unforgettable experience at the Schoolhouse (ask your student about it!). Here are a few pictures of the students at Columbia:

One of the SOS staff is dressed as Miss Nelson, Columbia schoolhouse's first teacher. The students are experiencing a typical day of school as if it were March 26, 1861, the first day the schoolhouse opened.

The students are enjoying exploring the Dry Diggins! They are in front of where the Star Spangled Banner Saloon would have been in Old Town Columbia.

Welcome to the first brick schoolhouse built in California! The students traveled back in time as they stepped through those doors. Ask them about being a "mathematician or artist."

The students are participating in a spelling bee. The words were: twenty, lantern, laundry, prospector, stagecoach, and cemetery.

After the class, the students were able to ask "Miss Nelson" some questions about life and school back then.

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