EDITOR'S NOTE: Ann Bailey serves on the Larimore (N.D.) school board
LARIMORE, N.D. -- With a temperature of 13 below zero and a biting wind that swirled the snow into clouds of white, the timing was just right for Larimore Elementary School second-graders to escape to Hawaii for a day at the beach.
On Friday, 18 students and Sue Rankin, their teacher, "flew" to Hawaii and spent the day on the island without ever having to leave the elementary school. Dressed in beach clothes and wearing leis around their necks, the students did schoolwork in their classroom deco-rated with sea shell displays and a mural of the ocean.
Although Rankin doesn't plan it that way, the beach party usually ends up being on a frigid day, even for January.
"People always tell me I've chosen the coldest day of the year," she said.
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Despite, or maybe because of the cold, beach day has become legend over the years, and Rankin's students eagerly look forward to it.
Rankin also enjoys the break from the regular classroom routine.
"I really do enjoy this day, even after 20 years. There's always a new little something one can do."
Over the years, people have given her ideas and brought her shells that she can add to her collection. One of the second-graders' favorite shells is the bleeding tooth, Rankin said.
Hands-on learning
Preparation for beach day begins in mid-January when students start working on art pro-jects to decorate the classroom. During free time, they colored the ocean mural, and, in art class, the students made orange crabs from paper plates and colored and cut out seahorses.
Excitement for beach day builds as it draws closer and by the time the Friday that it's held rolls around, the students can hardly wait to go to school. When they arrive, the first thing they do is watch a movie -- this year it was "Under the Sea" -- and eat pineapple while they sit in their seats on their "flight" to Hawaii.
Throughout the day, math, science and reading are incorporated into the curriculum.
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"We don't really skip a beat. We still adhere to the curriculum and the standards and the subjects," Rankin said. "We just do them in a different way; it's very hands-on."
For example, during math, students toss change into a large seashell and then count it and mark the amount on a sheet of paper. For science, children go to the classroom "marine museum" and identify specimens of sea creatures.
One of the students' favorite beach day activities is sea foam spelling. Rankin sprays shav-ing cream on the tops of the students' desks, and the students spread it out and use it as a white board on which to write their spelling words.
"I love this day," said Jose Villoreal, as he spelled out words, including "ocean," "fish" and "salt water," and then drew his favorite sea creature.
At the end of the day the students have a beach party and eat snacks.
"Playing games and making the shells and crabs and making animals on my desk, this is the best school, ever," Jose said.
Reach Bailey at (701) 787-6753; (800) 477-6572, ext. 753; or send e-mail to abailey@gfherald.com .
