Behind the Headlines

This week I covered two really cool events.
The first was St. Patrick School in Carleton’s downtown scavenger hunt. The principal wanted the students to see the history and family-friendly places that are downtown Monroe.

For the whole day, students worked in groups visiting different locations throughout the downtown and around the city. Along the way, they had to find items corresponding to the alphabet.

They learned about Custer, how their school got started and even how pizzas were made.

The other event was Airport Community School’s Pioneer Day.

Once a year, fourth-grade students from around the district travel to Sterling Elementary to step back in time and learn what Michigan was like during pioneer times.

Some students really got into it and dressed in costumes.
I was impressed by the number of kids who told me they would much rather lived during those times because life was simpler.

Simpler? How could waking up at 4 a.m. and working until 9 p.m. every day from the time you were small until the day you can no longer work be any simpler than today?

I was even more impressed some of the boys said they preferred playing with the toys from that time than playing with some of the games nowadays — including video games.

Both events were very creative ways to learn about history. I’m continuously impressed how interactive schools have become in recent years.

I guess I’m a little jealous.

Because both looked like so much fun, I wished I was back in school. Well, almost.