Sierra Outdoor School

Here's a couple pictures of Dry Creek's Group B during their Team Challenge class. In this first one, the students are fording a "chocolate river." The only objects they have to help them cross the river are 5 "marshmallows," but they have to be very careful...if they lay down a marshmallow without anyone standing on it, it'll float away! The group will tell you that this team challenge activity required a lot of focus, patience, and communication. Those were just three of the many tools that we put in our Team Challenge Toolbox for the day. At the end of class, Group B took a team picture! Check out those snazzy blue Sierra Outdoor School sunglasses that several of the students are sporting.

Oraze's Group A had some great finds during their Silent Mile bug hunt. Check out what they found: Mr. Lock found a Sierra Nevada Ensatina salamander!  The students found a big millipede on their bug hunt. Check back for more pictures of Dry Creek's Team Challenge later!

Hey everyone! We had a wonderfully busy day yesterday at Sierra Outdoor School and have tons of pictures to show the folks at home. Here is one picture of Dry Creek's Group C during their Raptors & Conservation class. This group of boys was working on their "Create a Raptor." Can you see its binocular vision, talons, and hooked beak? Great job, boys!  Here's a picture of Dry Creek's Group A doing Team Challenge. Their goal was to get the hula hoops all the way around the circle without breaking the chain. Great work! Franklin had a great day with Gold Rush activities. They did Miwok Life, Ditch Hike, Life of a Miner, and Gold Mining. Here's a picture of Group B at our Miwok Village exploring artifacts. How many students can fit in the umacha? All 26 of Group B, including some chaperones, fit in there! Here's a group on the Ditch Hike! They were very excited about the waterfall.  One of our Naturalists, Shelly O., teachi...

Franklin Elementary got the chance to explore Columbia State Park on their way up to Sierra Outdoor School for Gold Rush Program. They toured the town, including the Dry Diggins and Main Street. Then they took a tour of the Columbia Cemetery! Here is a picture of Group A learning about Hugh Gillis from one of SOS's Naturalists, Andrew. Gillis' grave is the oldest in the cemetery. His grave was initially established in Columbia's first cemetery in 1852, but when the miners realized that the site was a perfect mining area, they decided to move the town cemetery to its current location in 1855. Gillis' grave was one of those actually moved, such that his coffin and headstone were transported to their new location, where they have been for one-hundred and fifty-eight years. Franklin has a great line-up of classes for tomorrow, including: Gold Mining, Life of a Miner, Hike to the Tuolumne Ditch, and Miwok Life. Then, after dinner they will craft their own arrowheads and...

We've been having quite the week up here at Sierra Outdoor School! The weather has been sunny, cloudy, snowy, slushy, and the adventure continues. Regardless, the students have been having an incredible time learning and playing. Here are some pictures of what they've been up to: Parkside 4th graders doing a little tree identification. Can any of our readers tell us what type of tree this is? Post your guess in the comments!  The students are obviously having a great time while sampling a plot in Forest Life. This activity includes measuring trees and making management assessments.  Kit Carson students are taking a Raptors & Conservation pre-test to help assess what they learn this week! The post-test will take place this Friday.  Kit Carson Group A working hard and playing hard in their Team Challenge class. The jump rope challenge tested their ability to observe and follow non-verbal communication cues as well as strategize as a team to complete vari...

The Sierra Outdoor School staff is very excited for all of the schools that are coming this week! We're welcoming Howard Elementary this afternoon, Kit Carson tomorrow, Parkside's 4th and 5th graders on Wednesday, and Beresford's 4th and 5th graders on Thursday. We have a wide variety of classes going on this week, including: Team Challenge, Climbing Wall, and High Ropes as our Challenge programs; Columbia Tour, Columbia Schoolhouse, Calaveras Big Trees State Park Tour and Mercer Caverns Tour as our History programs; and Wilderness Skills, Raptors & Conservation, Forest Life, Earth & Beyond, Silent Mile, and Pond Life as our Science programs. Check back later in the week for some pictures of the students! Have a great Monday, everyone. Here's an appropriately titled video to get your  Monday Morning started off well. Enjoy!