Yellow Band: By Land Expo

We made it!Across the country, that is. Oh, and all the way through the By Land Arc.For lack of better words, HOLY CRAP. We did so much during this arc! We moved really heavy things, moved hundreds of things, studied simple machines and the scientific method, dug deep into 19th Century North American history, and built, built, built along the way. During Expo Week(s), all of these strands come together in such a beautiful way, and By Land has been no exception.Let's start with the Trail Picnic. A few weeks ago, I proposed the idea to Nicole and Nathan. Thankfully, they were amenable, and we all agreed that it would be super fun to make food together and then eat it in a little picnic style lunch. On the calendar it went. Along with it, of course, a trip to the grocery store a few days before. With this date on the calendar to look forward to, our work chugged right along. The buzz of approaching expo presentations adds a bit of pep to everyone's step; the end is in sight, are we going to finish?For many of the Yellow Banders (and a few Red Banders as well) our board game really tied all of our strands together this arc. Not only did we make it ourselves, but the element of both chance and choice coupled with the history made the game fun and engaging in a nail-biting, heart pounding kind of way. Even though the Red Banders didn't make trail journals and play the game with us, they were deeply interested in the process. Working on the wagon in the afternoon was a great chance for us to share the things we learned, weaving us together as the Beehive even more.Below: phew, Oscar's cat didn't get cholera! Also, Oscar, you brought a cat with you?!?![embed]https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfbrightworks/32904588856/in/dateposted/[/embed]Oh, and the wagon! Wow that wagon was huge! But also, it was the real size, which I think was really impactful for the kids. Like I talked about in one of my last few posts, this project really beautifully wove together our bigger picture goals with day to day work and play. Each day, our planning check-in consisted mostly of teamwork reminders: How will we communicate with each other while we're working? How should we use the tools in our space and around others' bodies? What should you do if you find yourself without a job? The Red and Yellow Banders knew what would come next in terms of construction, it was their design after all!Then, all of a sudden, it was Expo week. But actually, when you researched, designed, built, redesigned, planned, and built as a team, getting ready to tell people about what you've been working on isn't really hard! I was so impressed with the detailed and thoughtful questions and answers we brainstormed in order to frame our presentation. The kids were clearly ready to get in front of the community and talk.While I don't have many good pictures of our presentation--it was dark, I was presenting--I'd like to share a favorite moment: After we opened up to questions from the audience, a Magenta Band member (Ally I think?) asked a great question, and one we hadn't practiced an answer to. "How did the teamwork aspect of working on the wagon go?" I asked the Red and Yellow Banders who were presenting to put up a quick 'thumb-o-meter' to show from thumbs-up to thumbs-down how they felt about working on a team to build the wagon. Immediately, the audience saw an array of thumbs, some up, some down, some in the middle. So, I asked a few kiddos to share some more about their reaction. "Because it's hard to take everyone's different ideas and put them together," May explained with her thumb in the middle. And Quinn appreciated that, "There's always someone there to help you with a tool if you need it."With our presentation out of the way, our focus turned back to finishing up our projects and explorations. A few kiddos were still a roll or two away from the West or North in Emmigrant Trails; we set the goal of installing two hoops in time for Expo Night. With the youngest students here at Brightworks, I think I like having our presentation several days before Expo Night, because after the presentation, they really get it: people are coming to look at our work, and it's our job to have something we can show and talk about. The work in those last few days is always so focused, kiddos ask me so often, "How can I help?"Oh, and we got to start actually getting ready for our trail picnic! Really, what better way to close out the By Land arc than with a celebration around food?! First, we researched what foods the folks on different journeys would have eaten, and learned some interesting things along the way. Like how folks on trails West stored their eggs in their barrels of flour and cornmeal so they wouldn't break on the bumpy journey. And how folks on the Underground Railroad foraged for much of their food. Former slaves needed to be able to move quickly from one place to the next, and leave no trace of their presence. So, they didn't carry a lot of food. Instead, they ate greens, roots and berries that they picked along the way. This made for a pretty great menu at the trail lunch, because the food of the Oregon/California Trail is frankly pretty boring, and doesn't include a lot of fresh fruits or veggies.And, for one last field trip of the arc, I thought we should do some foraging of our own of course! Where does a kid who grew up in the suburbs learn about what's safe to pick and eat here in the big city? Mackenzie of course! The Blue Band collaborator gave me a few great tips of things we'd be able to find in any park in the city, so a foraging trip to Glen Canyon Park to hunt for miner's lettuce and chickweed went on the calendar.Finally, Expo and Trail Lunch day arrived! Thank you so much to Lisa and Kerry for helping cook and setup in the morning. We made rice, beans and biscuits in the morning with the Red and Yellow Bands. Then while the kiddos were at the park, we put together some fresh fruit, washed our foraged greens from the day before, and put the biscuits in the oven. So many kids asked, "How can I help?" all morning, and even though it was a bit hectic and we had to be very patient and take lots of turns to do everything, it was such a great morning. When the Bumblebees got pack from the park to see all the food laid out on the front table, what a great moment. And then we got to sit outside in our courtyard with the big kids from the Orchard eyeballing our feast as they walked back to school for lunch! I even heard Khalilah tell a few as they passed, "We made all this ourselves!"Now my friends, like I always tell the kiddos, all good things must come to an end, including the By Land arc. I'll wrap it all up with a few pictures of your children hanging in the air on the pulley machine (aka block and tackle) they built earlier in the arc. Because learning should be playful, and we certainly played our way across continents the past few months.