Dear Friends,

I flubbed our first off-campus field ecology trip with Room 309, 6th grade. I waited too long to get the trip approved by the Board of Ed. These walking trips, can be approved on the day of trip, but I waited until the last minute to get the on-line form filled out. Friday morning the Board server froze and we couldn't file the request. We had to drop the trip, put the teachers through all sorts of changes in schedule, send parents and volunteers back home after they had made time for us, and finally, and worse, tell the kids we had to cancel. So very sorry everyone.
I will do better next time. Trip is re-scheduled for next Friday.

Tuesday morning the other 6th grade, room 305,  does the same trip. Hope some of you can accompany us. I especially need someone to run the benthics station, fishing small bugs from the river for identification. Meet at 9:00 for prep. Back by 1:00.

Wednesday is our first Mighty Acorns trip, 5th grade, room 310. On this trip we run the eco-simulation game about species survival on islands of various sizes (like Sauganash), explore, and gather rare native seeds. Meet at 9:00 by the fish tank for a briefing), picnic lunch, back by 1:00.

Thursday, same trip, same arrangements for 5th grade, Room 304.

When I return, 8th grade will come out (1:15) to work on projects and garden maintenance. Last Friday we completed removal of a long, rotten 2x12x12-foot bench board, and it replacement with a new, routed, sanded, stained and mounted board, the first of many. The kids are working hard at these woodworking tasks, as well as wood chipping and compost moving. Your supervisory help is appreciated.

Friday morning at drop off I will be doing a Mighty Acorns parent workshop for anyone interested, but especially for new Mighty Acorns parents. Your role is an important and elevated one, as you will be guided groups of children on explorations in wild places, modeling good wild-place behavior, journaling, collaboration, and safety. This workshop will go on until I leave for our....

...Re-scheduled trip to the River with Room 309, 6th grade.

When we get back the other 8th grade comes out to do the same activities as mentioned above. Join us.

The best to you all,
Thanks,
Mr. Leki

We've crossed that threshold!
I like to pause and take note.
The Equinox: night and day in balance,
each 12 hours long.
The sun rises due east and sets due west.
The motion of the seasons is very much like the movement of a roller coaster with two hills and two dips.
The Equinoxes are at the two dips.
The solstices are at the crests of the two hills.
As the car approaches the top of the hill it slows,
and slows,
and slows until it theoretically stops! (Solstice meas "sun stops").
But at exactly that moment the car starts forward again, very slowly, and very slowly starts to pick up speed.
The speed of the car is analogous to the change in the length of the day / night.
Near the summer solstice, the difference in the length of that day from the preceding day is minute. It is the longest daylight in the entire year. But once past the solstice the increase in the length of the night starts to increase, until it reaches a maximum increase at the bottom of the hill, where day and night are of equal length.
And then, immediately the reverse happens, with the increase of night-time (the shortening of daylight) gradually slowing down as the car approached the top of the Winter Solstice hill, the shortest day (longest night) of the year.
I think this is one reason that this season, with school back in session,
the first cool breezes of fall breaking the domination of summer's heat,
is so tingling and refreshing.
This is the part of the roller coaster when people are screaming with excitement (or throwing up).

Sorry for the digression but can you believe this world we live in, floating around in space?

Monday morning, 8:15, I will be continuing work of preparing the Mighty Acorns journals. We are more than half way finished. We just need to tape leaves to 50 more cover!
I will also be preparing trip journals for 2nd and 6th grade river studies, and 7th grade Lake Michigan studies. These involve counting, folding and stapling booklets together. I am prepping the two 6th grades for their first field trips Monday at 1:30.
If you have a spare hour please come by the Conference room and we will get this done!

On Tuesday, the 1st grade will be coming out to render one of our huge trees for the cover of their Field guide to the trees of Waters School.
12:30 -111
1:20 - 205, and
2:15 (or so) 211.

Wednesday night is garden night 5 until dark.

Thursday, Sept 24, after drop off, I will be doing a Mighty Acorns parent workshop in the Conference Room. This work shop will explain the important role that parent (as teachers) play in the Mighty Acorns excursions in the wild. This workshop last bout an hour, and I will have some coffee an rolls. Please RSVP so I can plan.
Also on Thursday, at 1:15 8th grade, room 311, will come out to continue our gardening work and bench repair.  Room 301 will repeat this activity on Friday, same time. It is great to be in the company of these young souls. Please join us to help supervise.

On Friday, Sept 25, 6th Grade, Room 305, will be our first class to take to the field in ecology, a trip to River Park to do chemical and biological tests of the water quality. It is a walking trip, leaving at 9:30, with a picnic lunch. We should be back by 1:00. Please join us.

On Saturday, September 26, Waters and Riverbank Neighbors will be participating in the National Green Apple Day of Service, at a workday on the Riverbank between Berteau and Montrose.  There will be wood chipping of paths, fence building, weed pulling, seed collecting and seed spreading.  We will work from 9 until 12 noon.
Then, at least some of us will get cleaned up and prepare for a fun, fundraiser for Riverbank Neighbors at Pensacola and the River. There will be delicious food and drink,  lots of live music, and games for kids.  The cost is $20 for adults and $10 for kids.  It runs from 2:00 until 6:00.
Come join the fun, and see how the riverbank is shaping up. We have installed 450 feet of new split rail fencing, a beautiful new, wide set of steps to the canoe launch at Berteau, and many, many thousands of new plants along  the bank.

And then! On Sunday, Sept 27, the final culminating day of a week-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Forest Preserve District will feature performances by the Bullfrog Community Choir, and the Cajun Vagabonds dance band, in the forest at Caldwell Woods. There will also be poetry readings, in the woods, and a huge tree hugging event. This link will show you all the events.

The Cajuns and Bullfrogs start at 3:00. Join us!

Mr. Leki

What a beautiful sight to see the kids streaming back into school!
So ready!
I wish I was so ready.
We have lots to do!
Grade by grade:

Kinder: I am setting up dates, probably first week in October for our kinder kids to harvest potatoes, and do other garden activities (singing). I will let you know the date in case you can assist.

1st: I am setting the dates for making our leaf collection and our first leaf drawings. This is the beginning of a yearlong study of the trees of Waters School. Once the collections are made (90+) they need to be pressed and dried, and then mounted on sheets for the kids to label. These will be part of the Field Guide to the Trees of Waters School that the children will bring home next June! The pasting session is always fun with the smell of rubber cement and coffee creating a dreamlike atmosphere. Watch for the date!

2nd: I am setting the date for the first off campus ecology field trip for our 2nd graders: a walking trip to the River at Berteau Street. The kids will follow the route on a map, they will take water, air a dn soil temperatures, do leaf rubbings of riverbank trees and sketch some of the flowers in bloom on the bank. This section of Riverbank has been  managed by Riverbank Neighbors and Waters School for the past 21 years! It has been transformed from a dump to a marvel. Waters and RN will be hosting the Green Schools Day of Service there on Saturday, September 26 from 9-12. We will be chipping paths, building fencing and gathering seeds.  Later that day, from 2-6 there will be a fun fundraiser for the riverbank, at Pensacola and the River. Join us!

3rd Grade: This first year of Mighty Acorns for our 3rd Graders requires special preparations. I have 100 new, beautiful field journals that they will keep for 3 years! To get them set we need to tape on an oak leaf for the cover, and the childrens' neames on the spines, paste in songs, the map and the first non-fiction lesson. Later I will do 3 workshops with the kids to teach them techniques for field journaling, map reading, and finaly the basics of how to act in "wild" places like Sauganash Prairie Grove. Their trips are already scheduled (see the whole ecology schedule at the end of this message). I will also be doing a workshop for first time Mighty Acorn parents. Parents play a hugely important role on these excusions, leading smaller groups of students in self-guided exploration, keeping them safe, and guiding their behavior and journal work in the wild. Look for the date!

4th and 5th grades: These veteran Mighty Acorns will pick up last year's journal. Fourth grade will be learning about how plants self-organize in wild places, unique plant communities congregating in places where conditions are best for them. They will learn to identify the plants and the ecosystem they inhabit.
5th grade will be playing an ecological simulation game in the big field before they start exploring. The game teaches why larger preserves are able to harbor more species, and thus higher bio-diversity.
All Mighty Acorns will participate in seed collecting. Parent help is essential!

6th Grade: These students will return to the river to study the actual state of the river and to learn how the whole Chicago River system and sewage works. During their Fall trip they will walk to River Park and take water samples, and collect creatures that inhabit the bottom muds, in order to grade the water quality in the river. It is an amazing thing to watch as these kids develope a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the challenges facing our river as they study and learn through the year. I will need help preparing the River journals that they wil use through the year.

7th Grade: The kids will be catching the CTA bus to Montrose Point where they have use of the Corinthian Yacht Club to begin their study of Lake Michigan, the geology that formed it, the creatures that inhabit it, and the spectacular sand dune that is building at the Point. I will neep help preparing the Lake journals that the kids wil be usin throughout the year.

8th Grade: I will be setting up a schedule for the 8th grade classes to come out to the garden to do projects, garden maintenance and harvesting and food preparation. A few extra hands to guide the work improves the entire experience. Watch for the dates and times.

Wednesday evenings we are still meeting from 5:00 until dark to care for the garden and enjoy the good people who come out to help. Come join us. We often finish with fire and food.

Cleaning up my desk yesterday I recycled the sign-in sheets for last years ecology volunteers: hundreds of names and many hundreds of hours of help makes our ecology program possible. Many thanks to you all,

Mr. Leki

View the Autumn Ecology Field Trip Schedule