Owls

Let me begin by saying that I love Rachel's teacher. Mrs. Neely is, by far, one of the most amazing teachers I have encountered. She brings the children into her classroom, meets them on their level and then, magically grows readers and writers. She expects the world of the children, and somehow, manages to get the majority of them to reach and exceed her expectations.

An example of her capabilities is in the "Nature Conferences" that take place every 6 weeks or so. The first one, held close to Halloween, was about Spiders. The children listened to many non-fiction stories and wrote what they could remember in their journals. Over time, many of their journal entries grew quite lengthy. Mrs. Neely had each child read their writing to her and she typed. The children practiced reading what they had written. Finally, during the Conference, each child came to the podium on stage. They introduced themselves as Spiderologist Rachel McFadden and read their writing. The audience consisted of their parents and the 3rd graders (their classroom reading buddies). I am always amazed at how willingly most of the children get onto the stage and speak clearly and loudly into the microphone. Stage fright - not them.

Tomorrow is the second Nature Conference. This one is about Owls. They will introduce themselves as Ornithologists - which is impressive enough, but the children have obviously learned a great deal about owls. Do you know what an owl pellet is? How about a nictitating membrane? My first grader does.

This is Rachel's writing:
Good morning, I am Ornithologist Rachel McFadden.

All owls have heads that turn very nicely because they have lots of bones in their neck. How do owls hook on a tree? An owl has four toes and an owl has a toe that can go to the front of the back of the foot. Owls are birds of prey. An owl is at the top of the food chain because he eats meat and hunts. Owls hunt at night. Owls eat field mice and snakes. Owls kill their prey by wrapping their claws around their prey's neck. They the owl takes their prey back to the nest. The owl swallows its food whole and coughs the things that its body cannot digest up and the stuff the owl cannot digest is called an owl pellet.

A baby owl is called an owlet. When the owlet comes out of its egg it cannot see. An owl has three eyelids and one of the eyelids is called a nictitating membrane. The nititating membrane acts like a windshield wiper.

Pretty impressive for a first grader, I think. Once the children have made their presentations, they will get to dissect an owl pellet. Yes, you read that correctly, an owl pellet. Blech. Rachel's comment - COOL! Kids.

So, in honor of the Owl Conference tomorrow, I am making Night Owl Cookies for the children after lunch.



I thought they were cute.