MK Nature Center

Friday I was able to chaperone my very first elementary school field trip! We went to the MK Nature center near downtown Boise - a place I had walked through from the park side entrance but never knew that there was a whole building full of fun activities, a gift shop, and animal facts on the opposite end of the preserve. The trip combined both am and pm kindergarten classes and it was an energetic, chatty group of about 50 little people with parent chaperones. There wasn't enough room on the bus for all the kiddos and parents, so I opted to drive with the mom of one of Morgan's little friends. We had a good chat and it was neat to get to know more about her and her family. 

At the Nature Center, we all piled into a big room and had a welcome session by one of the volunteers. She described the differences and similarities between the Nature Center and the zoo (cages vs. no cages, scheduled meal times vs. no human feed supplementation). Kindergarten students don't have a super long attention span and when a hungry squirrel climbed, head first, down the bird feeder near the window it caused quite a distraction. Rather than trying to compete with said squirrel, the volunteer told everyone to get a good look, counted to five, then asked everyone's eyes to go back on her. I was sitting near the back of the room and had a good view of the back of people's heads; it totally worked! It was a riot to see all 50+ heads turn toward the window and then snap back at attention. Brilliant. 

Morgan and her "buddy" for the morning

We were broken into four groups and went out to explore the center and surrounding area. We saw owls, fish, a turtle, numerous taxidermied animals, and a deer. The kids loved the time there and our volunteer did a fantastic job.She had the little people dig up worms which she then carried around in her hand for the next 15 minutes until we got to an exhibit with trout, then fed the fish between the hollers of joy from her audience. 

She also showed us the leftovers from an owl meal - the owl will swallow the entire mouse, digest what it can, and deposit the bones and some fur on the ground in a neat little pouch. The kids were enthralled.

No one was lost, no scrapes bumps or bruises, and lots of smiles at the end of the time. Mrs. Leach looked like she needed a nap at the end, but she powered through with enthusiasm and sent us all home for the weekend.