Trout in the Classroom Update

January 18th, 2010

During the holidays the fish grew and grew. We are now giving them regular water changes, they are eating food pellets and are actually "striking" at the top of the water. They are developing at a very quick pace into healthy rainbow trout.

The children of Mr. Burleson's 4th grade class have been doing a fabulous job taking care of the fish and taking the water readings. At the school in the hallway outside of their class, they have a question board in place where all the children at the Hubbard Woods Elementary School can write any type of question regarding the fish. The questions are then answered on another board by Mr. Burleson's class. Here is a sampling of their questions: How long do they live? Why are they so colorful? What do they eat? Why are they so strong? Why are they called trout? How many kinds of trout are there? Why do they have so many fins? How fast can they swim? How big can they get?

They also have completed a number of art projects making their own version of a rainbow trout. Very beautiful watercolor paintings hanging from the ceiling in the classroom (see pictures in our January PDF Tippet). Well, so far so good. The fish are doing great and we are getting them ready for their release on Earth Day in April. What an exciting day that will be for both the children and our chapter.

We will keep you posted on their progress. We are also hoping to get a very solid network of schools involved in the Trout in the Classroom program. If anyone has a school that might be interested in participating in the program, please contact Joan Butzow at (847) 606-3492. Be sure to check in with us next month for the progress of our exciting Trout in the Classroom project!!