To the Mountains and Back Again
On April 3rd, Ocracoke School's 4th and 5th grade classes, their teachers (Ms. Paige and Ms. Jeanie), bus driver and dad Ed Fuller, and eleven moms all boarded the bus for a 5-day trek across the sate of North Carolina and back again. It was educational and fun! The kids will tell you all about it:
Camp Flintlock by Mariah, Melanie, and Finn
Camp Flintlock was a very cool place, and our first stop! We enjoyed doing activities related to Colonial America. One of our favorite stations was the place where you made candles out of beeswax. We dipped them over and over in hot beeswax and then cooled them with water. They smelled good! Another one of our favorites was tomahawk and mousehawk throwing. Silas, Gabriel, and Dibanhi all hit the target. We also had fun doing: Native American beading, Colonial dress-up, leather journal making, Colonial games, and Rounders (Colonial baseball.) We had so much fun at Camp Flintlock! “Colonial baseball is different from real baseball, but still fun,” said Finn. “I liked throwing the tomahawk,” said Mariah. “When I played Colonial baseball, I felt like a real baseball player,” said Melanie.
Bentonville Battleground by Maren and Noah
The 4th and 5th grade all went to Bentonville to see the battlefield, the museum, the Harper House, the well, the kitchen, and the slave quarters. We went to learn about the Civil War and the bloodiest battle in North Carolina. “We got to battle on the field and go in the Harper House,” said Melanie. “It was cool going in the Harper House,” said Uriel. “I felt like I was in a battle when I shot the cannon,” said Maren. “It was fun to pretend like we were in a war in Bentonville.”
Town Creek Indian Mound by Carter and Yuletzy
When we went to Town Creek Indian Mound, our guide said, “The houses were made of dob.” It is the oldest historic site in North Carolina. They showed us how the arrow and spear got better over time. The Mississipians built the mound. They showed us how the mound got made by more and more houses that burned down. We learned how they saved their foods. We learned that they burned the insides of trees to make canoes. The fences were called “palisades.” “It felt really important when we walked in the mound where only important people could enter,” Mariah said. “I liked the Town Creek Indian Mound because it felt like a different time period,” said Christian. “We got to learn about fur and bones on different animals,” Melanie said. “The games there sounded dangerous and scary,” said Ronald. “The houses were cool at Town Creek Indian Mound,” said Yuletzy.
Linville Caverns by Elsie and Nathen
It was very interesting at Linville Caverns. We got an awesome tour. It was inside a mountain. We learned a lot about the rocks and minerals inside. We learned about the ecosystem inside and what animals live there. There was water under us. People tried to measure how deep the water was, but they never found the bottom. The caverns are really old! We got to experience total darkness. “I had a good experience. I had never been inside a real cavern before,” said Nathen, age 10. “It was a good experience to see how it was like pitch black,” said Melanie, age 10. “It was cool, educational, and fun,” said Finn, age 10. “It was a fun experience and we learned about rocks,” said Dibanhi, age 11. “It was fun exploring the caverns,” said Uriel, age 9. “I liked it where there was the rock that looked like a pickle!” said Catherine, age 10.
Grandfather Mountain by Sally and Dibanhi
On our field trip, we went to Grandfather Mountain. We had lunch there and after that we went on a shuttle up the mountain. We crossed the bridge. While we were crossing the bridge, we were in the clouds. We went down the mountain and back into the visitor center. The 5th graders learned about weather while the 4th graders learned about geology. “It was a fun experience to use different weather instruments,” said Dibanhi. We got together and went into the auditorium. We saw Herbie the owl. [An injured owl that now lives at the Nature Museum] “I wish that people would take care of the environment so that animals don’t end up like Herbie!” said Maren. After that, we did different hands-on activities. The ecosystems were very cool. We saw otters, bears, eagles, and owls. We had a lot of fun at Grandfather Mountain. “It was a fun experience to go on the swinging bridge,” said Sally.
Emerald Village Gem Mine by Uriel and Ronald
First we watched a video about the gem mine. Next, the man there talked about the gem mine. Then, he showed us light that makes the rocks glow called black light. Next, we went to the museum that had important tools that the miners used back then. Them we learned about the animals and the carts. Next, we leaned about different mineral types. It was so amazing that the miners got paid 1 dollar per day. Last, we got to find minerals in buckets. We found a lot of really cool stuff. “We got to see lots of cool tools that get used for mining,” said Melanie. “The rocks were beautiful and it was fun gem mining for them,” said Mariah. “It was fun to find different gems and know their names,” said Dibanhi. “I got awesome rocks. It is a great memory!” said Elsie. “It was my favorite part and a great educational opportunity,” said Maren.
Old Salem by Landon and Gavin
We learned about the red church, which is a Moravian church. We also learned about the gunshop. “They made their guns out of blocks of wood,” said the gunsmith. They hunted wild pig, deer, turkey, squirrel, buffalo, and elk. We learned about the Brothers House and the Sisters House that you stayed in until you died or until you married. We learned about Isaac Bonner, Augustus Fogle, Catherine Hedge, and Elizabeth Hedge. We learned about what they planted in the garden. We learned about the pottery makers, candle makers, and the materials they used to build their house. “It was really cool to see all the old houses,” said Noah. “It was cool learning about the church and the bakery,” said Melanie. “I liked the bakery and their famous cookies,” said Catherine.
Raleigh by Catherine and Christian
The 4th grade went to all kinds of museums, the state Capitol, and the legislative building around the capital of Raleigh. “We learned about lots of people and saw the sports Hall of Fame,” said Melanie. “It was cool that we got to sit in the Legislature,” said Landon.
5th grade went to N.C. State, a college, and got toured by Katie O’Neal, Noah’s sister. At the art museum we saw art that was more than 100 years old. We saw a miniature version of “The Thinker.” We learned about an artist that had a clay sculpture of a man and had a hole in the back of it because the artist punched it. “I liked N.C. State college because I want to go to it when I grow up, and I liked the library because there were a lot of books,” said Christian. “It was the first time I’ve been to a college and it was amazing!” said Elsie. “I liked N.C. State so much, I want to go there when I grow up!” said Ronald. “The art museum was so pretty and it was cool when she said the art belongs to us,” said Mariah.
