Old Oak School: Some Things Are Worth The Effort

With the temp near 100 degrees F. and the heat index at 110 today, it was very tempting to hide out in the air-conditioned comfort for like the billionth day in a row, but Will's second meeting of the summer for the WISE Kids group was this morning. If you read the blog on a regular basis you know how much time we spend up at our local state park taking advantage of their great programs, and no matter what the weather, it is hard to stay away!

This week, instead of our usual hike, our Fearless Leader Julie took us down to the lake and the kids (and Moms) had a great time playing in the water and learning a thing or two about water use and conservation.

The morning started out listening to a short story about a pioneer family and their weekly bathtime. In our lives of convenience it is so easy to turn on a faucet whenever we need water, and not be accountable for how much of it we are using. Leave the tap on while brushing teeth? Two gallons of water, easy, down the drain. Ten minute shower without a water-saving head? Fifty gallons, down the drain. Yikes.

To demonstrate how much water one might have to fetch and carry for their family's use, such as a pioneer would have to do, Julie set the kids up with buckets for a water carrying relay.

The kids had to scoop and carry buckets enough to fill their team's own 25 gallon barrels waiting up the hill from the beach. The kids realized it was hard work, even with a team backing them up! Lesson learned? We certainly would pay more attention to what we did with our water if we had to refill our buckets several times a day...every day. I know I'll certainly be paying more attention to the length of showers around here!

Then, just for fun (as if it hadn't been fun so far), Julie brought out The Rubber Ducks. The kids raced their own ducks first with air power, then with white water wave action and then again with a "no wake" technique.