Panning For Gold

We just finished up studying the era of the Yukon Gold Rush with our reading of Jason's Gold by Will Hobbs. It was a great book (read a review over at my book blog Fond Of Books) and so we were all a little sad to see the last page. To cheer everyone up, I pulled out some "Panning for Gold" kits I bought through Hearts and Hands awhile back. Great little kits for the price, they contain your pan, 2 bags of mixed sand and rocks with "gold" pellets mixed in, instructions and a vial of real gold flakes as a keepsake. And having everything in one place ready to go...priceless! Both Ben and Will thought the real gold was soooooo cool, and Charlie was just as pleased with the fake pellets. A great activity to follow an awesome book!

Prospector Will dipped his pan in the stream first. He thought it was quite a process to sift slowly so he wouldn't loose his precious gold. Can you imagine spending your days like that?

Next, Charlie gave it a whirl,

and with a little help from Mom, he struck it rich!



Finally, Ben came along and worked it like he was a grizzled old prospector.



The judges gave him a "10" on technique.