A Field Trip to the Wausau School Forest

Within the Wausau School District, there is a unique educational opportunity for students of all ages called the Wausau School Forest.

Click here to read all about it.

Allie's first grade class went on a field trip to the School Forest yesterday and I went along as a parent volunteer.

It was a cool and rainy day so our morning activities were indoors. First, the kids went into a log cabin classroom complete with a roaring fire in the fireplace to keep us all warm. Here they were able to look at all kinds of rocks...

...with magnifying glasses...


...and microscopes.


Afterwards, they had a lesson in the different ways to describe how rocks look and feel. The teacher even incorporated some math into the lesson.

After a snack, the group went into the arts & crafts building to build and decorate a wooden boat that would later be used in a boat race down a creek.

There is a cafeteria at the School Forest. They have round tables that seat six and the meal is served family style. Each person at the table was given a task for serving the meal and also for cleaning up afterwards.

After lunch, we hiked out to the creek for the boat races. The kids dropped their wooden boats into the water and watched them float down the creek.

Allie's boat was the winner of the second race!


We also toured the small wildlife museum located in the basement of the main building and went through an obstacle course in the woods.

I thought for sure we'd have some napping kids on the bus ride home but they all managed to stay awake.

I was exhausted!