SNOHOMISH — She learned about her own backyard through first-graders.
Janet McElvaine has led students in exploring the natural pond and woods behind her Snohomish home every spring for the past 15 years. The field trip is part of science lessons in Debbie Laskey’s first-grade class at Zion Lutheran School in Lake Stevens.
McElvaine expertly explained the details of her backyard ecosystem to the most recent group 16 of students on Thursday. One might have mistaken the human resources professional for a scientist. She was full of interesting facts about all sorts of things, such as cattails, tadpoles, snail eggs, dragonfly nymphs and beavers.
“It’s just been a joy to share it with the kids,” McElvaine said.
Over the years, McElvaine said, she learned about the habitat in her backyard because little kids ask a lot of questions and she’s had to look up a lot of answers.
“She knows everything,” Nicole Gonzales whispered as she chaperoned the trip with her daughter, Gabriella, 7. “I didn’t learn any of this in the first grade.”
McElvaine volunteers her time to show students around the five-acre property. Parents help supervise and drive so the trip doesn’t cost the private school any money.
Laskey said she appreciates having the opportiunity because she can’t expose students to the outdoors with books.
McElvaine held a caddisfly in her palm while students had a closer look. She showed them a snail and explained how raccoons are particularly fond of eating pond creatures.
“It’s escargot,” she quipped.
McElvaine let students pick horsetails as she explained how they are an indicator of wet ground. The first graders dubbed them “Lego plants” since horsetail can be pulled apart in sections and put back together.
Students dipped tubs into the pond and examined what they scooped up. They poured the more curious stuff into a larger bucket to look at more closely.
“It’s fun to see what you can find in the pond,” said Madalyn Knapp, 7.
“I got a whole bunch of snails,” said Kenedee McGuire, 6.
Around the water, there were animals, such as wood ducks, mallard ducks and Canada geese.
There were also frogs to catch. Students were reminded to do so carefully because Mrs. Benjamin once fell in as she was chasing a frog.
“We’ve only had one kid fall in in 15 years so we’re doing pretty good,” McElvaine said.
Students also did a scavenger hunt in the woods. They looked at stumps, nurse logs and the bat house. They counted rings on stumps and checked out what was living inside.
“I got to see a spider,” said Noelle Mulvanny, 6. “It was big.”
The first-graders studied science lessons on habitats, seasons and lifecycles to prepare for the field trip. They practiced spelling words, such as ‘pond.’
But, Laskey said, she likes to get her students outside, get their hands dirty and let them experience nature.
“You just can’t do this in the classroom,” she said. “At this age, they’re like little sponges. They just absorb everything.”
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports
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