It was Maple Syrup Week for the 5th Grade Outdoor Education students last week! With temperatures above freezing during the day and below freezing at night, the conditions were perfect for tapping the three sugar maples outside our classroom window. On Monday, the students learned how to identify maple trees and how God made them unique for tapping. Each student participated by drilling holes, tapping in spiles, and hanging bags and buckets. Throughout the week, the 5th graders tracked the temperature, logged their activities, and collected sap. By Friday, we collect around eight gallons of maple sap! Friday was boiling day, which meant a day spent outdoors watching the water evaporate off the sap leaving our sweet sugary syrup behind. In the end, we produced close to two pints of maple syrup. Now, the students are working together to “Share the Good” of God’s great blessing of maple syrup by creating an informational book to pass on to the next 5th grade class. In the end, we celebrated our learning by eating our maple syrup at our class pancake party!
