Name games and group-building activities occur during this time to begin the team learning process. Feathered Friends Becoming bird-brained, students learn the external structures of birds. They practice good bird observation skills, learn the names and natural history of several local birds, learn how to attract and feed birds through maintaining bird feeders and observation blinds, and discover the human impact on a few different types of birds. Students learn that God cares for sparrows too. In this class students have the opportunity to learn about and practice scientific observation skills involving their sight, hearing, smell, and touch.
Students practice reporting their observations accurately via speech, writing, and drawing.
A major objective of this class is to have students see God's creation in new ways. Using the organic garden, students learn the names for basic plant parts, the necessary ingredients for plant growth, and benefits of environmentally friendly gardening practices. Students also work in the garden by weeding, watering, carrying compost, harvesting, etc. Spiritual lessons abound as students critically examine soil, weeds, and their own lives. Once at the top they are belayed down to the ground.