They've learned about hibernation from Jell-O and studied rock layers with
bowls of pudding.
But between food and field trips, students at Poughkeepsie Day School also
have learned valuable lessons about preserving the environment.
First- and second-graders have been studying life on the Shawangunk Ridge as
part of a yearlong project. Teachers Rebecca Santner, Bill Fiore and Lynn
Fordin are using the mountains in all aspects of their classroom
teaching --from art to math.
''It's nice to study something that's in your own backyard,'' Fordin said.
As part of the curriculum, they've studied the evolution of the ridge,
native peoples and plant and animal life. They've transformed a corner of
their classroom into a paleo-hunter's cave and made a large-scale model of
the ridge complete with a real glacier and guinea pigs standing in for
woolly mammoths.
Staff at Mohonk Preserve have been working with the Poughkeepsie students
each month to teach how plants and animals survive the winter.
Dessert a crucial aide
They used film canisters of Jell-O to show how animals select spots for
hibernation. Warm spots kept the Jell-O a liquid. Cold, shady spots turned
the Jell-O into a ''squishy-squashy'' substance, Callie Goldstone, 7, said.
''We were pretending they were animals hibernating,'' William Wilkinson, 7,
said.
The study of the ridge has also brought students a connection with current
events. The proposed Awosting Reserve development would bring 349 homes and
a golf course to the ridge area in Ulster County.
As part of their studies, the classes have received a grant that will turn
children's photographs of the ridge into a multimedia exhibit at the
Mid-Hudson Children's Mu-seum in Poughkeepsie.
But students have taken their studies to the next level, using
geological-themed bake sales to pay back toward what they've been learning.
The classes raised more than $100 to assist with cleanup of trails at Mohonk
Preserve after a devastating ice storm in mid-November closed them.
Mohonk Education Director Kathy Ambrosini said it was the "most extensive
forest damage" they'd seen since the 1940s. While the trails have reopened,
staffers are working to remove downed trees and brush.
"We wanted to help clean up," Madeleine Troy, 7, said.
Students also contributed $250 to develop and maintain children's
educational ex-hibits at the preserve.
"We haven't had a budget to enhance that area. The kids picked this up,"
Ambrosini said. "Our goal is environmental education. We want to foster the
ethic of conservation."
Where to call: For information on educational programs at Mohonk Preserve,
call Kim Tischler at (845) 255-0919, ext. 234 or visit the Web site
www.mohonkpreserve.org
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/saturday/education/stories/ed022203s1.shtml
