Our Class Trip to Britannia Farm Sugar Bush

On Monday, March 31, the Kindergarten students visited Ranger Ridley and Ranger Dan at the Britannia Farm Sugar Bush.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.  The sun was shinning and the air was crisp.  The snow on the ground quickly melted as mud began to cover our boots.  

Ranger Dan taught us how the pioneers used to make maple syrup a long time ago.  We learned how to use special tools that made holes in wood, and we used a giant paddle spoon to stir the hot sap.  

Ranger Ridley showed us how maple syrup is made today.  He showed us a special measuring tool that calculates the number of buckets a tree can hold for collecting sap.  We also saw fresh sap ooze out of a maple tree.  The sap looked just like water, but tasted a little sweet!  Ranger Ridley then showed us a powerful machine that he called "Sappy."   He explained that Sappy heats and boils the sap that turns into maple syrup.  The best part of our visit was tasting the maple syrup... yum, yum!  

Ms. Marrella and I were snapping lots of pictures while at the Sugar Bush.  We decided to hand over the iPad to our students and give them an opportunity to document what they felt was important to them.  We were amazed at how beautiful their pictures turned out.  Below are some of the images our students took at the Sugar Bush. 

Once their images were developed, Ms. Marrella and I had invited our students to reflect back on their trip by writing about each image they took with the iPad.  

Though all the images from the Sugar Bush were beautiful, the students, Ms. Marrella and I felt that one image in particular stood out from the rest.  Below is an image of that picture. 

We decided to re-create this image using as many natural materials as we could.  

Finally, Ms. Marrella and I recorded a conversation we had with our students about their trip to the Sugar Bush.  When we reflected on the conversation felt that all the activities we had done during and after the trip helped our students to not only remember their visit to the Sugar Bush, but have a deeper connection to their experience there.  

Below is an excerpt from one of the recorded conversations we had with our students about their visit to the Sugar Bush. 

Ms. I  – Take a look at these two pictures.  How do they help you to remember your trip to the Sugar Bush?

G.V.  – I remembered about how we went to look at Sappy.  And I remember I taste maple syrup.  I remembered I pick up a leaf.  And I saw some mud of the ground.  The mud was squishy. 

Ms. I  – Why was it squishy?

G.V. – Um, because of the ground.  Because of the water from the clouds. 

Ms. I – Why would it be raining and not snowing?

G.V. – Because it’s going to be summer.

M. C. – Um, I remember that I was playing with the hammer. Um, I was banging the little logs. 

Ms. I – Why did Ranger Dan show us that?

M.C. – Maybe so we could try to play with that.

Ms. I – What did those materials help people do?

M.C. – To do the sugar bush.

Ms. I – What else do you remember?

M.C. – I remember there was snow.  There was so many trees. I can’t count them.  Um, they look like a forest.  No leaves on the trees, on the ground.

Ms. I – Why weren’t the leaves on the trees?

M.C. – Cause I think it’s almost summer.

Ms. I – Is there anyone else who would like to share their experience of the Sugar Bush?

A. M. – Because the wind was blowing the leaves, it was windy and the leaves were going on the ground.

Ms. I – Do you think that all those leaves on the ground were from the fall?  Why?

A.M. – Yes, because it was windy and then the ground turned muddy.   I rememeber when I was cutting wood.  It was fun because I liked it.  Because it was, when I was cutting the log, my hands were sticky.

Ms. I – Why?

A.M. – Maple Syrup. 

A.V. – There were a lot of trees.  There were small trees too.  It was a little bit cold cause it’s almost spring.  The snow was melting, so the ground was muddy.  

Students Using the iPad to Document Learning

A team of teachers from my school, including myself and Ms. Marrella, are currently participating in this year's Early Primary Collaborative Inquiry.  As a result, we recently received an iPad mini to share and use in our classrooms for the remainder of this school year. Ms. Marrella and I were very excited, as this would be our first experience with an iPad in the classroom. 

EPCI iPad

Prior to introducing the iPad to our students, Ms. Marrella and I discussed how the iPad could best be used in the classroom.  We thought it would be a great idea to have our students use the iPad to document and reflect on their own learning. 

Class meeting introducing the iPad.

We introduced the iPad during a class meeting.  This was a great opportunity for us to review and discuss with our students why we take pictures of them, where those pictures are stored, who has access to those pictures, and most importantly, how they felt about their pictures being taken.  We also talked to our students about inviting them to use the iPad themselves to document their own learning.  

The following images show our students using the iPad to document their learning.

Example #1 G documenting his caterpillar creation.   

G took a few photos of his caterpillar. 

After looking through the photos he took, G decided
on one image that best represented his work.

The image G took using the iPad to document his creation.

Example #2 M documenting her collage creation.

M, using the iPad to document her collage.

Photo #1 taken by M using the iPad.

Photo #2 taken by M using the iPad.

After explaining her collage to me, I asked M to look back at the two images she took and decide on the one that she felt best represented her work. She wanted to keep photo #1 because... "I like this one better.  It doesn't show my hand.  You can see my picture better."

Example #3 E documenting sand castle construction with friends.

E using the iPad to document his part of the sand castle.

E wasn't happy about this photo because
it didn't show his part of the sand castle.

E trying a second time to document his part of the sand castle.
He changed his position to capture a different picture. 

E was happy with this photo that he took because
"It shows my part of the castle.  I made it with rocks."

Reflecting Thoughts

Inviting our students to use the iPad and document their learning has been an exciting new experience for us all, teachers and students.  Allowing our students the opportunity to document and reflect on their creations has provided us with a new layer and perspective on documentation in our classroom.  At first, Ms. Marrella and I wanted to help our students position the iPad camera to capture what we thought were the best images possible.  We quickly learned to "let go" and allow our students the opportunity to experiment with the camera (distances, positions and angles), and choose the images they felt best represented their work.  

We asked our students how they felt about using the iPad to document their work.  They said... "I like taking pictures." "The pictures help me remember what I made." "Sometimes I have to take lots of pictures because it is fuzzy." "I like looking at the pictures I take."  Having the students participate in documenting their learning empowers them because they feel a sense of independence. They are free to take a variety of images and choose the ones that they feel capture their learning best.