Missouri Heritage Day

     Rockwood School District invited us to Babler State Park for their annual Missouri Heritage Day.  It was a day filled with learning. We heard stories and experienced the ways of life from Missouri's past.      

Pioneer Toys

First we got to play with pioneer toys.  There were no toy stores in the past, and kids learned to make toys from the things they had around them.
                                       

 

click to view

 

Mountain Man

     Next we heard the story of Lewis and Clark from a French mountain man, and saw many artifacts

from the journey.

                                                                             

                                    

Building a Cabin

 

Making a log cabin was made using only hand tools. There were no electric nail guns, saws or drills back then! 

 

Pioneer Music

We listened to some great music! We learned about the fiddle, the hammer dulcimer, and the banjo.

 

and we got to dance!

 

Sacajawea

Sacajawea told us her story and how she helped Lewis and Clark on their journey west.

 

 

The Mercantile

We got to see the things people bought or traded for at a general mercantile store. We got to smell George Washington's favorite cologne.  Did you know every president receives a bottle it when he enters the office? I wonder if the first female president will get a bottle? 

 

The Washer Woman

The washer woman from Jefferson Barracks showed us how she washed the soldier's clothes. 

 

The Blacksmith

The blacksmith showed us how he made nails and hooks.

 

 

It was a great day to learn about Missouri's heritage. Thank you Rockwood for inviting us, and thank you Long PTO for helping pay for part of this amazing day! 

 

 

 

 

  

 



Abilities Awareness Day

Abilities Awareness Day was Friday. We listened to three speakers talk to us about the challenges many people face everyday. The day helped us become aware of the abilities we all have..

Michael Nester and his mom came to tell us about Down Syndrome. Michael went to Long and was in Mrs. Garrison's 4th grade class many years ago!  He is now a college student at UMSL

We learned what it is like for classmates with autism and how communication can be a challenge.  Some of us tried to ask for a glass of water, but were not allowed to say certain words.

We met an amazing girl who was born without one of her arms. She showed us her artificial arm she used as a baby and other types of prosthetic devices.

                     Buttoning her coat use to be a challenge, but is easy now.

                                         We tried to tie our shoes with one hand. 

                             She also showed us how she puts her hair in a pony tail.

Exploring Ecosystems

In science we have been learning about ecosystems.  We learned how energy is passed on from producers that make their own food to the consumers.

 

We made models of the energy pyramid.

 

We researched world biomes and created quilt pieces for our biome quilt.

 

 

We actually explored a forest ecosystem and pond ecosystem at Gempp Park!  We took our Ipads and got some great photos!

 

         There was a large population of turtles in the pond!

                    Can you see the frog?

         Will energy from this producer go into the honey this bee will make?

          We saw lots of producers and evidence of decomposers.

By creating food webs we realize how all living things in an ecosystem are connected.