Westfield Kindergarteners Pledge to Be Caretakers of the Earth

Westfield, NJ -- Kindergarteners in Joellen Surace's class at Lincoln School in Westfield celebrated Earth Day in a variety of ways.

With the help of parent volunteers, students planted bean seeds and read stories about planting, sorted items for recycling, and pledged how they would take care of our earth.

Earlier this spring, Surace and fellow kindergarten teachers Mrs. Steele and Mrs. Corea attended a workshop at Duke Farms and were given the Bluebird houses to observe.

With the use of the Duke Farm Eagle Cam, students have been watching a family of eagles grow from egg to eaglet.

“Parent eagles ...both male and female bring fish to the nest for the eaglets to eat,” explained Mrs. Surace. “We have enjoyed watching them pull off a small piece of fish and hand it to the babies and are eagerly awaiting their first flight when they become fledglings,” she added.

As a STEM activity, the class read A House for Birdie by Stuart Murphy. They used found objects to design and create more bird houses that would include a roof, keep birds dry, and have an entrance hole through which a bird could fit.

At the conclusion, songs were sung and special snacks were enjoyed to celebrate the earth’s bounty.

--By Lorre Korecky

(Photo provided: Lincoln School’s student ornithologists with their homemade binoculars observing birds in front of bluebird houses.)