Tuesday, September 22, our 3rd and 4th grade class went cranberry picking along the old airport strip. The day was chilly with north winds blowing, but we were dressed for the weather! With recycled bubble gum and jam plastic buckets in hand and a couple berry pickers, we walked a short distance on the road to Fannie Moore's house, then turned south on the tundra and picked as we walked toward the old airport. The kids were enthusiastic about picking, and probably because it was our first field trip of the year! It was nice just to get out of the building. We reached a boggy area while going to our destination. After a few attempts to cross it without getting water in our boots, our more experienced boys found one spot where we could cross in a single line. Me and the girls followed their "trail", careful not to take a wrong step in deeper spots. When I looked back at the girls crossing single file, I wished I had my camera! They all had colorful hats on, wind blowing their hair, the golden colored grass almost reaching their shoulders. They looked like leprechauns... common characters in Yup'ik folklore. We all made it across with dry boots. Time passed quickly as we picked. We took another route back to the school and picked more as we went. Today, we cleaned the berries (about 3 gallons) in two giant baking pans and divided them equally between eighteen students to take home. They were pretty happy with their berries, and couldn't wait to show them to their families. On our next field trip, I think we'll go gather bundles of grass, like the Yup'ik people used to do a long time ago. Instead of lining our mukluks with grass, we'll make grass dolls, and maybe do a few science experiments.
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