This week is Quarry Hill week at the big kids' school. Quarry Hill is the local nature center, built on the grounds of a former state hospital. There is an old limestone quarry, hiking paths, a pond, an old fireplace and a man-made sandstone cave.
The cave used to be open and as a kid I remember playing in and around the caves. Since then, two of the cave entrances have been closed off and the third entrance now has an iron gate blocking the door. The only way you can get into the cave these days is with an employee of Quarry Hill.
The cave is often the highlight of Quarry Hill week for the kids. I volunteered to chaperone M's kindergarten class one day and was disappointed that they were not going to the cave that day. I haven't been in the cave since I was a kid. Last year I didn't volunteer for Quarry Hill week at all.
This year I volunteered two days. The first day I went with M's 2nd grade class and the second day I volunteered with K's kindergarten class. By some sort of luck, I was able to go to the cave with BOTH classes.
The second graders were excited as we neared the cave and had to be reminded several times to quiet down. The kids had to pair up and share a flashlight that will be transferred to the other partner half-way through the cave tour. We looked at crickets and learned how to tell that a cricket is a female cricket. We noticed the cave was 60 degrees. I was relieved to learn that there are no bats in the cave in the summer time...they only use the cave in the winter.
Somewhere along the way I inherited another friend, another little girl claimed my other hand for the last half of our time at Quarry Hill. M on one side, A on the other.
When I went with K's class, the kindergartners were just as excited until one kid planted the seed that he was nervous about being in the cave. Then suddenly the whole class was filled with worry. The only thing that brought them out of their funk? The mention of a secret passage. Ooooo. It really is just a hole in the wall of one of the cave's rooms, but the kids thought it sounded exciting. Then we all walked through it and a few of them felt cheated and wondered where the secret passageway was.
I gained another little friend in K's class as well. I must look friendly or something. Boy, do those kids have me all wrong. I guess M and K haven't told them about my mommy fits.
I ate lunch at school with each of them on the days that I volunteered. Surprisingly, I had to open more things for the second graders than I did for the kindergartners, but the second graders all have known me for going on three years now so maybe they just felt more comfortable. Both lunch sessions included a few questions about the notes that I write and put in the kids' lunch boxes almost every day. One girl in M's grade looked at me and said "my mom only puts a note in my lunchbox on Valentine's Day." I felt a little sad for her and happy for Miss M. They do care and they are proud of those notes. Apparently the other kids are a little jealous.
Hey, it's a little thing, but at least I'm doing something right!
The cave used to be open and as a kid I remember playing in and around the caves. Since then, two of the cave entrances have been closed off and the third entrance now has an iron gate blocking the door. The only way you can get into the cave these days is with an employee of Quarry Hill.
The cave is often the highlight of Quarry Hill week for the kids. I volunteered to chaperone M's kindergarten class one day and was disappointed that they were not going to the cave that day. I haven't been in the cave since I was a kid. Last year I didn't volunteer for Quarry Hill week at all.
This year I volunteered two days. The first day I went with M's 2nd grade class and the second day I volunteered with K's kindergarten class. By some sort of luck, I was able to go to the cave with BOTH classes.
The second graders were excited as we neared the cave and had to be reminded several times to quiet down. The kids had to pair up and share a flashlight that will be transferred to the other partner half-way through the cave tour. We looked at crickets and learned how to tell that a cricket is a female cricket. We noticed the cave was 60 degrees. I was relieved to learn that there are no bats in the cave in the summer time...they only use the cave in the winter.
Somewhere along the way I inherited another friend, another little girl claimed my other hand for the last half of our time at Quarry Hill. M on one side, A on the other.
When I went with K's class, the kindergartners were just as excited until one kid planted the seed that he was nervous about being in the cave. Then suddenly the whole class was filled with worry. The only thing that brought them out of their funk? The mention of a secret passage. Ooooo. It really is just a hole in the wall of one of the cave's rooms, but the kids thought it sounded exciting. Then we all walked through it and a few of them felt cheated and wondered where the secret passageway was.
I gained another little friend in K's class as well. I must look friendly or something. Boy, do those kids have me all wrong. I guess M and K haven't told them about my mommy fits.
I ate lunch at school with each of them on the days that I volunteered. Surprisingly, I had to open more things for the second graders than I did for the kindergartners, but the second graders all have known me for going on three years now so maybe they just felt more comfortable. Both lunch sessions included a few questions about the notes that I write and put in the kids' lunch boxes almost every day. One girl in M's grade looked at me and said "my mom only puts a note in my lunchbox on Valentine's Day." I felt a little sad for her and happy for Miss M. They do care and they are proud of those notes. Apparently the other kids are a little jealous.
Hey, it's a little thing, but at least I'm doing something right!
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great fun for them- Amma
So how do you tell female crickets apart?
Caves are cool. Literally. And so are you. And 5 out of 5 second-graders also think so. ;)
If you really want to know, female crickets have what looks like a stick sticking out between their legs in the back. It's what they use to deposit their eggs.
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