SWEET!

This morning we were thrilled to welcome our community member, Mr. Neely! He came to share his hobby, making maple syrup with our class!

He was prepared! We were able to view the process and see many of the tools he used!

he uses this to tap the tree

sap from the tree looks clear, like water 

he filters out the impurities using a "sock"

then he explained how he tests the syrup

This year, he had two different colors of syrup. Ask your fourth grader to explain why.

 We had some really thoughtful questions. (Who knew that syrup didn't just come from a store? Or that EVERY store purchased syrup went through this process!)

 If you cook syrup too long, you can make maple candy. This is what the pioneers, like Laura Ingalls Wilder, ate.

 Two samples of maple syrup (really shows the variation in color):

THEN, we got to sample it!! We had two spoons, dipped them into each, and tasted the syrup.

These are the learning opportunities that make a school year memorable! We are thankful for our involved community members and sharing their many talents and skills with us!! What a SWEET learning opportunity!!