Fourth-graders find lots to love about the Pine Tree state
By Samantha C. DePoy
Staff Writer

JAY – Most fourth-graders haven’t gotten excited about stuffed animals for years.

That wasn’t the case last Tuesday in fourth-grade classrooms at Jay Elementary School when a clan of taxidermy stuffed animals made their appearance, giving students a paws-on lesson in Maine wildlife.

The fourth-graders are nearing the tail end of their unit about Maine. The four-week lesson tied in directly with Maine Learning Results.

Students did research, oral presentations, math lessons and writing on all things Maine including writing persuasive essays on topics of their choice.

One student focused her piece on why the state flower should change from the pinecone and tassel to the lady slipper. Another wrote about why people should come to Maine to visit and live.

What excited students the most was a visit Tuesday from Bruce Farnham, park manager for the M ount Blue State Park in Weld. Farnham is no stranger to the Jay Elementary School, having student-taught there last year.

This time around he had the floor mostly to himself, save for a few appearances by two and four-legged creatures including a stuffed skunk, a fisher, an owl and a menacing looking coyote whose snarled teeth elicited a few timid glares from students, who scooted back in their chairs a few inches as if the animal would come back to life.

All of the animals, Farnham told students, had been killed by cars and were preserved and stuffed for educational purposed.

The hour-long lesson focused on learning about animals native to the Pine Tree state, and their habitats, appetites and survival skills for snowy Maine winters.

Farnham also taught students how to look for animal tracks in the snow or dirt and even got one student to get down on all fours and hop like a rabbit so as to show how that animal gets around.

After the wows died down, students said they had more appreciation for Maine’s wildlife and that the four-week unit made them prouder than ever of their state.

“We should cherish it more and try to learn as much as we can about it so we can protect it,” said 9-year-old James Richards about the state’s flora and fauna. He moved to Maine from Florida more than a year ago.

Richards said he was happy with his new home state. “I like the snow. It’s fun. Yesterday, it was up to here on me,” he said talking about the recent nor’easter and pressing a hand above his waist to show just how high the snow had been. “I like it here because of all the different changes outside.”

Sitting next to Richards and thumbing through a book on critters was Alexis Blodgett, 9. Both agreed that the lesson on animals was their favorite part.

Farnham taught Blodgett a lot about nature, a subject that’s “cool” in her mind. The wilderness is just one the facets that makes Maine unique, students have learned.

“It’s like ‘Wow!’ I’ve been in Maine a long time and I didn’t know this stuff. If people didn’t know much about Maine, they might think it’s a boring state, but we’ve been learning it isn’t. There is only one state that borders us and so that makes us kind of special,” she added.

“We can never learn too much about Maine,” Blodgett went on to say. “I wouldn’t move unless I had to.”

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