Falmouth Outdoor Learning Project Recognizes East Falmouth Elementary Teacher, Kate Skehill’s Outdoor Lesson for September
 
The Outdoor Learning Project, a committee of the Rotary Club of Falmouth, Cape Cod highlights one teacher or staff each month featuring their outdoor learning lesson. Staff members are encouraged to self-submit their lessons for recognition and receive a $100 cash card as a thank you for featuring their outdoor lesson.
 
For the month of September, we are highlighting Kate Skehill, a veteran 3rd grade teacher with 19 years of experience at East Falmouth Elementary School.
 
The interdisciplinary lesson: “The Power of Flowers: Trait Variation, Inheritance, and Artificial Selection” covered standards in Math, Science, Social Studies, Cooperative Learning, Listening, Speaking and Productive Debate. The lesson took place in the gorgeous courtyard at the school. They explored answering the question: “Why are some apples red and some green?” through their senses and observation. The students also explored how are the apples color, texture, and taste similar and different through taste testing and observations under the microscopes. Students collected data and graphed student preferences among Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious. The students had lots of fun learning, exploring, tasting, and debating!
 
When asked what Ms. Skehill enjoyed most about this outdoor lesson, she told us that, “I love watching the excitement of students when learning to use scientific tools! They are so engaged! Working on social skills like forming opinions, justifying their thinking, LISTENING to opinions that differ from their own, and taking turns all while learning the subject matter and having FUN just can't be beat!”   The students also loved the lesson! “They know they are real scientists and feel it when using the microscopes. Also, third graders love anything to do with food. They had such great questions about how apples have changed in the last hundred years!”
 
Congratulations to Ms. Skehill!

Interested educators can submit their lessons here: https://forms.gle/shV6rPwqh8z4AzFY8
 
If you would like to contribute towards the Teacher Recognition Fund,  please visit The Rotary Club of Falmouth, Cape Cod, a 501c3 organization.  Select Youth on the Paypal link and  outdoor classroom project. You can also send a Venmo or mail in a check and be sure to include the same note. Our address is: PO Box 293 Falmouth, MA 02541

Thank you again to Sara and Caleb Giguere who raised around $2,200 for the outdoor learning project! "Caleb and I are both passionate about getting kids outside, for many reasons. Fresh air is so important, and it’s a different stimulus than being in a classroom,” she said. “There are so many opportunities for learning, from plants and nature to weather patterns to moon cycles.” You can still donate to Caleb or Sara (click their names) thru the end of September or you can donate directly to Rotary Club of Falmouth Cape Cod. 

This year our project will continue to build out infrastructure, finish the nature trails, build out the island in the sky website, introduce our new teacher recognition incentive (stay tuned for our first teacher spotlight next week), and work with our new learning partner specialist, Carmela Mayeski. If you would like to get involved no matter how big or small, we would love to have you join us and lend your talents!

Article in the Falmouth Enterprise Link

​If you would like to contribute towards the Outdoor Learning Project,  please visit The Rotary Club of Falmouth, Cape Cod, a 501c3 organization.  Select Youth on the Paypal link and  outdoor classroom project. You can also send a Venmo or mail in a check and be sure to include the same note. Our address is: PO Box 293 Falmouth, MA 02541