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Junior kindergarteners watched with wonder and scrunched little noses as their teacher showed them how she guts a fish on a school-day afternoon at Weledeh Catholic School.
They helped her scrape the scales off the whitefish with a spoon and ‘eeked’ at the sight of blood.
The demonstration came during an afternoon of fire feeding, splitting logs and swinging in hammocks outside during class time, all under plenty of adult supervision.
It was all part of the school’s land-based junior kindergarten program’s outdoor learning component.
“This is the first year and we’re learning while we go,” said Gloria Gaudet, who has been teaching the inaugural class. “I’m glad that the kids are enjoying it.”
She said it’s been a slow process to implement land-based elements in the program as the kids also adapt to being in a school environment for the first time.
“They’re in a big class, in a big school, in a big world,” she said.
The class has been going out two to three times a week to learn on the land, depending on how they do during the day.
They spent the afternoon in their dedicated space to learn on the land at school, a fenced off area with a pretend outdoor kitchen, plenty of logs, and a new cabin to warm up in and eat snacks.
Emily McCord, four years-old, said she liked warming up inside, and that yogurt is the best snack. Her friend Aaliyah Louise Murillo agreed.
“Although the temperature might be cold, the kids are well dressed and they listen to their bodies and have a ton of fun even when it’s cold out,” said Betsy Lucko, the school’s leadership and resiliency facilitator, who helped supervise the class during outdoor learning.
She said a program like this teaches the kids about resilience, and brings in a lot of cultural and language learning.
Gaudet said an elder from Dettah has also been spending time with the class to get to know the kids. The aim is for elders to eventually come tell stories, teach a bit of their language, and participate in activities with the kids.
Classroom assistants and volunteers, including older children, joined the class outdoors, to make sure everyone stayed safe and was appropriately supervised.
A little over two months into the school year, one child was already reminding a classmate how to split wood safely.
“I’m really happy, they’re all playing really well outside,” Gaudet said.
Gaudet is from Délı̨nę, where she says she was able to connect to the land and elders while she was growing up.
“I really want to show them what’s out here,” she said.
At the end of outdoor playtime, the children helped tidy up the play area, putting away logs, pots and pans.
Before going back indoors, everyone gathered in a circle to repeat after Gaudet.
“We are strong. We are healthy. We are loved. We are good. Mahsi Cho to the Earth. Mahsi Cho to the land. Mahsi Cho to everyone,” the kids echoed.