For the first and second-grade Outdoor Education trip, the students started their week exploring the Telluride Historical Museum and then touring a few of Telluride’s historical places. On the first day of the trip, the class became “miners,” when they visited the Bachelor-Syracuse Mine in Ouray, CO. Students ventured 1,500 feet inside an actual mine, practiced using mining tools, saw stalactites and other mineral formations along the way, and experienced what life would have been like working deep inside a mountain.

After dinner with their families, the students returned to school for a fun filled sleepover with their classmates. The enthusiastic group spent the majority of the evening engaging in math, history, and cooking lessons. They learned how to determine the correct number of coals to use in a Dutch oven, which required multiplying by two, skip counting by three, and regrouping. The students then helped bake a beautiful and delicious apple crisp using their favorite apples in the appropriate ratio. At bedtime, students read stories about climbing mountains and sang songs before nestling into their sleeping bags.

Finally, after an early morning rise and a delicious pancake breakfast prepared by TMS Head of School, Andy Shoff, the students took an exciting, albeit bumpy, jeep ride on the Tomboy Road and visited the remains of the Sheridan and Tomboy mines. The sunny, fall afternoon was spent rock hunting and practicing rock breaking skills amongst the ruins of the Tomboy mine.

It’s safe to say that the first and second graders truly embraced what it was like to be a miner during this week of enriching experiences at TMS!

~Sherri Leeper
First and Second Grade Teacher