RiverDay

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Unexpected Encounter

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Stopping by Profile Falls is a special treat to me, and I brought my yogurt along for a picnic lunch by the river when I went to do some scouting for NH RiverDay. As I enjoyed the view, I could hear voices, and I thought I recognized the voice of one of our NH RiverDay workshop leaders.

I peeked through the bushes, and it was her! Our macroinvertebrates leader, Judy Tumosa, enjoyed Profile Falls Park so much last October that she now brings her summer campers to the river whenever she can.

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Every day contains wonderful surprises, and this unexpected visit with her teen campers was one of today’s for me. Ms. Tumosa even said she’d send her river data along for the fourth graders to peruse before NH RiverDay. Have you ever seen a water penny? You’re in for a treat on September 24!

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Full and Hungry


Time to put on my crazy river hat. My stomach jumps a little. “Welcome to NH RiverDay!!!!”

I call out to 130 children as they cross the bridge to our fabulous day of learning adventure. NH RiverDay 2008 has begun!

What is it about NH RiverDay that makes it the perfect day to me, even after five years? I spend months calling workshop leaders, buying giant cocoas and hundreds of cups, organizing groups by people’s choices and sending e-mails. Then I watch the weather a zillion times a day for the weeks leading up to the big day. Driving around with my car full of workshop leader bins, water jugs, duct tape, Coleman stoves, and signs lasts for about a week ahead. By the time the day comes, my head is swarming with details that I hope will help to create a fourth grader’s dream day. And every year, no matter what the weather is, no matter what the workshops are, no matter how far along the foliage is, it is a stunningly perfect learning day of adventure.

So what is it that I love so much? Part of it is the mixture of amazing NH experts who provide such a depth of information to us. I savor the smells and sounds of Profile Falls Park, which surely must be one of the most beautiful spots in the state. Every workshop is in a location within hearing of the burbling Smith River or the smooth and mighty Pemigewasset. Colorful leaves drift down from time to time as we walk and listen. Each of the “classrooms” is picturesque, like a shot from “The Calendar of Great New England Views”. There is the sound of over two hundred people mingling in joyful conversation about all things New Hampshire, from skunks to granite.

When I was a fourth grader, I loved when a teacher would make the learning active and full of variety, and NH RiverDay is all that. The students start by choosing which workshops they are most interested in. They participate in their smorgasbord of learning that morning, and then they have the afternoon to soak it all in so they can be the classroom expert throughout the year on their topics. It’s a team effort day of valuable people willing to share their hearts with children. It takes a person eager to serve over 300 cups of cocoa to warm us up combined with someone who will challenge us to try a new sport. Then you stir in someone glad to type nametags with animal pictures and top it off with animal group leaders leading the way with enthusiasm. All types of ages and all types of interests are included, which spices up the day even more. It’s the sort of day that makes you feel full and hungry at the same time.

After NH RiverDay is over, it is my tradition to sit in the park alone for lunch and just mull over the day. Where hundreds of people were just moments before, there is now the stillness of the trees, a playful chickadee, and the ever-present river.

The next day, my feet don’t want to take one more step as I hang out thirty tarps to dry. All I can think about is sleep.

I come back to school Monday a bit bleary-eyed to hear about the whole story from my students’ own mouths. One tells about what he felt as he listened to the flute. Another can’t wait to play lacrosse again. There are questions everywhere about things we hope to find out more about. We hear a quaint description of a highlight for one student—eating lunch under an umbrella, feeling like a fairy under a mushroom as the wind swirled about. You can feel the energy in our room!

So after catching up on my sleep, storing the bins away until next year, and playing NH RiverDay charades in morning meeting, I don’t feel so exhausted anymore. There’s always already a little stir in my heart that is looking forward to next year–full of this year’s learning, but hungry for more.

 

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About RiverDay: by Cheetah

This is all about NH RiverDay, a day full of rivers, action, dancing, and going near the rumbling waterfall.

As soon as we got there, it was amazing! We all went to our stations. I couldn’t believe my eyes. We were at RiverDay! All week I was waiting for this. My friend Camper Woman and I were at the Bear station, and it was so cool. Can you guess what I did next?

My favorite part about NH RiverDay was Macroinvertebrates because it was so cool to get to go into the water and pick stuff up to find out what it was.

My second favorite was Lacrosse. It was a game I had never played before. Mr. Hanley was there!

My third favorite was Winter Ecology. We got to play a card game, and we also got to pet a bear.

My fourth favorite was Butterflies. We learned about all of the butterflies. My favorite is the monarch butterfly because of its magnificent color.

At the end, we had the most excellent powwow. We went around the perimeter and danced. What a day!

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NH RiverDay: by Camper Woman

Guess what I did on Friday, October 19th? I went on the greatest field trip ever! I went to New Hampshire RiverDay in Bristol, New Hampshire. My dad came, and my friend Cheetah was in my group. Our group was called the Bears.

Our first stop was Macroinvertebrates. Here we waded in the Smith River and found crazy things in rocks and on top of the rocks. I discovered a water penny, as round as a seashell.

Then, our next session was Lacrosse, taught by Mr. Hanley. It’s when you have a piece of equipment that has a net at the top of the stick, and you fling a ball back and forth with a friend. Zip, went the ball when my dad threw the ball to me! Swish went the ball when I caught it in the net. I tried to zing it back, but it bounced off the ground, and then my dad caught it.

Then after lacrosse, we had snack. After snack, we went to Winter Ecology. We learned abut how some animals adapt and how they hibernate. Then we played a game. You had a snapshot and a sentence. You had to match with someone who had a snapshot or sentence that matched your snapshot or sentence.

Last but not least, we went to the butterfly class. We made posters about butterflies. Then we added all of the posters together to make one big poster.

After that, we had lunch with our class. After lunch, we had the pow wow. All the classes joined in, made a big circle, and danced. My favorite was the friendship dance because everyone was trying their hardest.

New Hampshire RiverDay rocked out of this world!

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NH RiverDay: by Kool Kat

I thought NH RiverDay was very exciting. Everywhere I went, it was peaceful. The river was flowing softly and reminded me of the wind whistling. The fluttering leaves were comforting to me. One side of the leaves was brown and the other side was orange, and reminded me of the sunset. I was relaxed there. Profile Falls is now one of my favorite places. I think we should go to the river at least once a week.

My favorite part was when we got to go in the water. Splash! Under the rocks there were little tiny water bugs no bigger than a crumb. I saw a catfish that was about five inches long. It was greenish brown and had stripes.

My super-super-duper favorite part was when the Native Americans joined in. I could feel the drumbeats on the big drum, and the man said our hearts should be beating the same time as the drumbeat. Everything came together when we started stepping to the drumbeat. Instead of a couple hundred kids, we sounded like a thousand. I loved it when that happened. I loved it when we all gathered together and danced at the pow-wow.

One of my other favorite parts was the nice, sweet smell of nature in the air. You could also hear the crunch, crunch of crispy leaves under our feet when we walked. It sounded a little like crumpling the wrapper of a candy bar. I got to pet a bear, even though it was stuffed.

All this is what I loved about NH RiverDay at Profile Falls.