4th Graders Dig for Gold

On Friday, April 22, the Fourth Grade Students at Redlands Christian School had the opportunity to participate in the 2nd annual Gold Rush Day. This is a day that we use as a culmination of our study of the Gold Rush in California. The students are given the opportunity to dress up as miners, eat food that the miners would have eaten, and search for gold like the 49ers did. They experienced joy when finding gold and disappointment when another miner “jumped” their claim.
We transformed the playground around Mr. Bird’s classroom into two separate Mother Lodes (gold fields). One section was stocked with smaller gold nuggets, and the students were encouraged to use their pans to sift through the sand were the gold was buried. Another Mother Lode was created in Bird Stream, which was created on the west side of campus. This stream was stocked with larger gold nuggets, and the students went wild as they scoured the stream looking for riches. Several students took the opportunity to literally dive into the stream and look for gold. Once they finished their mining, the students traded in their gold at the Assay office for candy. It was an enjoyable day, and the students had a great attitude about participating in this activity!