Field Day for Alto Park & Cave Spring

I had packed the state truck late Thursday afternoon with

• six tables and a chair
• assorted mounts
• boxes of animal shells, furs, and skeletal bits
• posters about snakes, turtles, local endemic species, and frogs
• tablecloths
• and other stuff

I also put a green treefrog, a barking treefrog, and two gray treefrogs together in a terrarium and an eastern kingsnake in another terrarium.

And I took it all home with me for the night to save time Friday morning. Of course the live animals came in to a table in our mudroom for the night. 

Then it was up early (for an old retiree) to Alto Park Elementary before eight to set all the above up under a big metal awning and against the brick wall of the school. Alto Park and Cave Spring elementaries combined at Alto Park for Field Day this year. During the day every student in the two schools in grade level groups would rotate through for a 45 minute show and tell session. Since "adaptations" are a major theme that runs through lots of grade level -- and is an old standby theme for my lessons -- I featured my usual schtick of chants, featuring, usually, a different animal with each group:

"Have you noticed that animals often have superpowers? Scientists call animal superpowers "adaptations". It's a big long word but really its just anything about an animal that helps it live. So stand up right where you are and ...."

Me: "Repeat after me." Most Kids: "Repeat after me."

[Me as an aside: "Alright teachers, y'all are getting paid today -- you folks show me some rhythm; sway!)

Me: [Swaying] "I said, repeat after me!" Almost all kids & teachers: "Repeat after me!"

Me: "An adaptation...." Kids: "An adaptation...."

Me: [Shrugging] "Is anything...." Kids: "Is anything..."

Me: "I said it's anything...." Most Kids: "I said it's anything..."

Me: [Jumping] "It's anything!" Most Kids: "It's anything!"

Me: [Right arm out] "About a plant..." Most Kids: "About a plant.."

Me: [Left arm out] "Or an animal...." Most Kids: "Or an animal...."

Me: "That helps it live." Most Kids: "That helps it live."

Then we talk about the "superpower" adaptations of one or more of the animals that I have specimens or mounts of: 

• Kingsnakes are immune to viper venom
• Beavers have are "born to chew" look at those teeth; they never stop growing!
• Treefrogs have suction cups on their toes so they can climb anything, like Spiderman!
• Etc.

Soon sweat was soaking through my polo shirt and one little girl pointed out that I had a "smiley-face" on my chest; she was talking about the sweat marks!

The principal at Alto Park is my niece LaDonna Turrentine and she dropped by to give me a hug, and unbeknownst to me snapped this picture which documents, if you look carefully, the "smiley-face"!

One of the Cave Spring teachers turned out to be one of our "Big Fibbers" from our first Big Fibbers Festival in 2015, so I snapped a selfie with Gretchen Dodson. And there's that "smiley-face" again.

One treat of being with Cave Spring is getting to see my compatriot, Vivian Davis, who works with me after her day job teaching, at Arrowhead. Alas I didn't get a picture with Viv.

By the time two o'clock rolled around I was one exhausted septuagenarian. I loaded all that stuff back on the truck, stopped by the house for some lunch and a quick errand, then drove back to Arrowhead to unload and begin the process of putting things back in order. Called it quits at about six. 

It was a good day but this old night owl, who rarely crawls into bed before midnight, was under the covers and snoring about nine.