Field Trips

Field trips offer experiences not readily available in the classroom, a chance for students to touch, smell and see as they learn. For instance . .

Crystal Cave

Because the third graders had studied caves, they wanted to visit one. They chose Crystal Cave in Wisconsin and did enough research to convince their teachers that seeing that cave in person would be a good learning experience. Nettie & Friends paid for the bus and the admission costs. That means that many of those students saw not only a cave, but what Wisconsin looks like. (They decided it looked a lot like Minnesota.) Nettie & Friends made it possible for them to see that for themselves.

It Tickled . . . “

“It tickled when the goat ate food out of my hand.” With wonder in his voice, a young kindergarten student told his dad about the experience which was part of the first field trip he’d ever taken. Luckily for Dad, he helped chaperone that trip so he could be part of that magical moment for his son.

Apples Grow on Trees. Who knew?

Apples grow on trees. Who knew? Well, Maxfield students who visit an apple orchard now know that there’s life for an apple before it lands on the shelf at the grocery story. Many of us take that knowledge for granted, but it was a real eye opener for a lot of Maxfield students who saw an apple growing on a tree for the first time. In addition it was fun to take a bus ride and get to see the “country.”

Time spent with friends at a bowling alley is the best!

There’s much to celebrate after 2 years of COVID interrupted student life at Maxfield.   These 5th grade students took to the lanes at Drkula’s 32 Bowl in Inver Grove to celebrate completing their “careers” at Maxfield (on to middle school in the fall,) their friends, and show off some skills on the lanes.

Where are all the cars and the buildings?

That’s a legitimate question when you live in the city. When kindergarten students at Maxfield Elementary look outside they usually see lots of cars and buildings. On their recent trip to Dodge Nature Center, they didn’t see many of either. Instead, there were trees, bushes, trails and some very strange looking marks in the snow. Animal tracks, they were told: rabbits, squirrels, a deer. Very different from last fall when they visited. Then everything was colorful; this time their warm winter jackets were the most colorful things around.

They were introduced to a strange looking contraptions called kick sleds. After a short lesson in safety, they took off to explore even more…

This may be one of the colder Minnesota seasons in recent memory, but as one student put it, “This was so fun. At first I was cold, but there was so much to do and it all was fun.”

To the teachers who planned this trip and to the wonderful people who made it possible through gifts to Nettie and Friends, THANK YOU for giving these students yet another learning experience.