The Cupertino Courier
Education
McAuliffe students experience pioneer life
By Dominique Fong
Twenty third-graders from Christa McAuliffe Elementary School spent three days learning about what it was like trekking the Oregon Trail and living like pioneers.
Intended to bring the students' curriculum to life, the three-day simulation was held May 3-5 at Elkus Ranch, an environmental education center that offers hands-on learning experiences for students in the Bay Area.
Angela Perino, a third-grade teacher at Christa McAuliffe, and parent chaperones supervised the students. They all assumed the roles of pioneers.
"In the pioneer family I was a blacksmith. My name was Louis Marty Keller and I was 20, one minute older than my twin," said Idean Nakhjavani, 9. "I'm kind of the leader of the family.''
Idean described his family members, each of whom was given a specific occupation: his twin, Sam; his sister Meena, a doctor; his other sister Annie, a farmer; and Drew, who builds houses.
"I guess you could say he's a realtor," Idean said.
In their families of five, the students prepared necessary food and equipment for their journey.
"The hardest part about planning was figuring out what to take. There were different sized wagons that held different amounts of cargo. We each had $600," said Alyssa Robins, 10.
On the second night of the field trip, the students drafted a proposal to request land from the Town Council.
"Since we arrived at Elkus, we wanted to get some land. Even though the land was free, we were going to train horses to be broken. We had to do something to make the community better," Alyssa said.
Because Elkus Ranch still raises and sells sheep, the students learned how to properly care for the animals from the ranch's experts.
Cowpie, a lamb born two weeks before the students' stay at Elkus, became their pet. Alyssa and Idean say Cowpie needed students to bottle-feed him because his mother did not produce enough milk.
Though the typical day included getting up early to complete chores and feed the animals, the students gained a hands-on experience about being a farmer or rancher.
