Adventures IN LEARNING
By VIVIAN LaMOORE, INAAJIMOWIN EDITOR
Exploring Egypt in an afternoon at Abinoojiiyag
On Friday, March 10, Miss Suzanne’s second-grade class toured a museum, went on an archeological dig, painted Egyptian pendants, boarded a plane for a flight to Egypt, visited the tomb of Queen Hutepi, and indulged in an elaborate feast of Egyptian food before a return flight home for the day. They finished the tour in time to catch the school bus and/or be picked up after school to go home. That may sound like an adventurous day of learning, and that is exactly the plan during March’s “Loving Letters and Literature Month” at Nay Ah Shing Abinoojiiyag.
During the month of March, each grade celebrated by exploring different grade-appropriate books with activities surrounding the book. In Suzanne Terry’s second-grade class they chose a book from the Magic Treehouse series called “Mummies in the Morning,” by Mary Pop Osborne, a book of Egyptian exploration. The students read and studied the book learning homophone and vocabulary word skills. They learned a little bit about Egypt in a very adventurous way.
The museum tour involved using shovels and brushes to find treasures in archeological fashioned small sand fields (boxes) guided by Miss Livy, who gave a brief explanation of what an archeologist does. The students found Egyptian artifacts (small toys) and golden coins (chocolate candy) in the sand. They also painted Egyptian fashioned pendants.
The students then dressed in their Egyptian costumes ready to catch a flight to Egypt leaving from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport with their (make believe) passports in hand with strict instructions not to lose the passports, or they would not be allowed back into the United States.
The students entered a classroom that had been set up to simulate the inside of an airplane with rows of chairs and little windows. The front had large screen TV where Miss Suzanne had mapped out the flight pattern and route needed to fly from MSP to Egypt with stops along the way in New York, London, Paris, Greece, and finally Egypt getting their passports stamped in each country along the way. The trip included a video simulation of an actual flight to Egypt with commentary from the pilot and a view of the cockpit.
Arriving in Giza, they visited the inside of the tomb of Queen Hutpei who told the students her tale and invited them to stay in the tomb for a feast. Students sampled various Egyptian style foods before boarding the plane for their return trip for home.
Adventures in spearing
The Nay Ah Shing upper school students had opportunities to learn the craft of spearing with cultural guides Amanda Nickaboine-Meyer and George Morrow, with assistance from Rodney Berg. The students did not need passports for this adventure, but it appeared, they were equally engaged and had fun.
Spearing is a form of harvesting that takes a little bit of practice and a whole lot of patience. Along with the proper tools including a shelter, decoys, and spears. Students at NAS had a chance to experience an afternoon on the ice learning about spearing.
While they didn't actually see any fish on one sunny afternoon, the students certainly were engaged, learned, and had fun.
Please visit Inaajimowin.com/galleries to view more photos from these adventurous learning activities. Watch for more exciting adventures from NAS schools in upcoming months.