The third graders from Sawtooth Mountain Elementary were the last group to attend the class at North House. Above: After finishing his canoe, this third grader worked on the design phase. Right: These third graders, with help from instructor Brendan Grant, used the watering cans to simulate rain.
North House Folk School was a busy place Tuesday and Thursday with third-grade students from School District 166 and students from Birch Grove Community School and Oshki Ogimaag stopping by at separate times to participate in the Paddle to the Sea class. The class is based on a book of the same name about an Indian boy who carves a tiny canoe and sets it loose on a little river that flows into Lake Superior. From there, the canoe embarks on a long journey that takes it all the way to France.
The kids had the opportunity to carve their own canoe and design a pattern for the exterior of the tiny craft. Once the canoes were finished and the numerous wood shavings had settled into piles across the floor and tables, Jeanne Wright gave a brief presentation.
Wright described surrounding bodies of water and how some of them connected. She brought out a couple of pelts and a felt hat to illustrate how the fur traders who traveled the lakes used felting to transform pelts into hats.
After Wright’s presentation, Peter Barsness talked to the kids about watershed, explaining how the angle of the land influences water flow. Afterward, the kids got to see a small-scale version of the concept at work. Pouring three different colors of water down a diagonal surface with basins and rocks, the kids could see how the water ran together, meeting on the way down or collecting in the same basins.
Once upon a time, parents paid a little extra for their kids to be able to attend the class at North House. Now, however, the class is supported by a trust donated to North House by the late Walter and Phyllis Anderson. The class was a wonderful opportunity to get some hands-on experience in carving and a visual on the concept of water flow.
Above: These two third graders worked together to shave down the canoes, watching and chatting to see how the other was doing. Left: With instructor Peter Barsness’s help, the two kids and mom mark the sections of the tiny canoes to shave off.
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