Greetings, All!
First, a welcome to all who read these words, and a thanks for those who already have and have returned.
I'm afraid I have to start today's post with my views on a rather sad event that happened in the greater Cleveland area a few days ago, and it's still a little tender for me, to the point that I only have the barest of details. Yet another teen has committed suicide, this one only 15. 15! One has to ask: "when will this end?" and the truth of the matter is complex at best. It got me to thinking about the roles I've observed in guidance councilling over my career. It seems to me that in the last decade gc's have gone from being there to being the testing clerk. This may be a wholly inaccurate view, but it's what I've seen. I can't help but wonder if this couldn't have been prevented, some how, with an active intervention from someone in the school, be it a teacher, a gc, or someone on staff who noticed some form of change in long term behavior. I'll get my thoughts more organized and post more on this later.
For the good news, I'm not sure how it is in your part of the country, but Autumn has hit big here in the wilds of NE Ohio. The oaks are starting to turn russet, fruit trees are showing bare, and you can read by the golden glow from sugar maples! Shortly, natural food stocks will start to dwindle for many of our wild neighbors, especially birds. One thing I've always done is feed birds during the winter, and now is a great time to start. For elementary kids, I have a project that teaches recycling, a touch of engineering, and encourages observing-the coffee can birdfeeder.
The feeder is in three parts: a coffee can, 9 inch pie plate, and wire hanger. Punch a series of large holes around the base of the can to let the birdseed flow out, one small one in the middle of the bottom,and two at the top for the wire hanger. Punch a hole in the middle of the pie plate to match the one in the bottom of the can. Use a small nut and bolt to hold the pie plate to the can, and attach the hangar. Presto! one bird feeder! Variations on this theme are limited only by imagination and available supplies. I've used milk jugs, too. Encourage your kids to be inventive as well as creative and see what happens. I would encourage older kids to keep record of the kinds and numbers of visitors to their feeders throughout the winter, including times, days, and weather conditions, as this can be the foundation for a great science fair project.
That's about it for now, and I've another discussion topic to put out there:
how do you tie in fall holiday acitvities (usually fun) with your mandated curriculum?
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