The March of the Crayfish

This is Part 2... the final chapter... of my 'Mad Scientist' escapades! Similar to my two 'horse stories of Aug 24', I succumbed to the pressure of:

"Oh come on! You can do it!! Give it another chance!

I will help you through the entire science unit!" said Ms 'I love science', my new team partner when I was transferred to 4th grade. I had already tried to negotiate my way out of teaching science. Science units arrived in kits, and the first one was electricity. It had hands-on experiments with batteries and light bulbs, and ...oh joy!!!

Simply electrifying! [just kidding].

Since you were supposed to learn by discovery, there was no teacher's manual...with 'the flippin answers'!! So when the kids would ask, "What's going to happen when we connect these two wires?" Joking around, I might tell them that their hair would stand straight up and then their eye color would change!!...and smile as their eyes got bigger...followed by....."Really?? "

"What do you think?"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Good thinking, Bradley!"

In looking back, I must say that the most unforgettable unit had to be.....the crayfish!!!

They arrived by UPS in a package labeled: Live material! Open immediately!!

Cheers and whoops of joy were the kids' response to their arrival. We had already set up the tables with sand, water, and containers under which the crayfish could scurry for cover.

Everyone got to pick out a crayfish, name it, weigh it, and label it with a distinctive design like maybe a blue dot on the left pincher or a stripe on its back, etc.
During the next month or so, we conducted experiments and kept records. It was important to learn how to pick them up, or you could get hurt. It was safe to lift them up behind those pinchers [weapons] by their main body part. [I have already forgotten its official term.] And so, I was a little shy about that.
Mind over matter...You have to be brave in front of the kids. And I did it!! After a few times and with practice, I had no fear! This was a piece of cake! Answering questions about the crayfish, well, that was a different challenge.

"Mrs. W, how do you know if is a male or a female?"

"Good question!! Pick up their shelter and look for the shopping bags!![kidding!]"

It goes without saying that the kids got attached to their crayfish. When it was time for the crayfish to move on, there were many long faces. My partner and I decided that we could take an autumn walking field trip with the kids to the lake and then the kids could be a part of the 'proper send off' back into their natural environment. We all stood on the shore and on the count of three, all crayfish were set down on the shore. As a small wave picked up crayfish, they went belly up!

"Why are they doing that? asked the kids.

"They are doing the back stroke to get out there faster. Ok everyone, let's go."

My teammate couldn't believe how fast I came up with that answer, and holding in the laughter, we returned to the school for a little bit of distraction on the playground.

The next science unit was 'powders and crystals'. At that point, I refused to go any further without a teacher's manual!! I didn't want to cause any havoc mixing things that I wasn't positive were not going to explode!! I got through it, and it was my last adventure in teaching science.

There is an epilogue to the story, though.

Years later, and in a different building, I was teaching 5th grade and I walked into Ms Science's room for something. There was a [friend]substitute teacher in there, and the kids were interacting with....their crayfish!!

Hey! I remember studying crayfish, and it was a lot of fun!

In an effort to show how comfortable I was with the little critters, I stuck my palm out and said to one of the kids, "Let me see your crayfish."

What was I thinking? I was not thinking.

The kid put the crayfish in my palm.

The crayfish promptly grabbed on for dear life with its pinchers.

Yeeoowww! My instinctual response was to immediately shake it off of my hand.

Did you know that crayfish can fly??