All’s historically fair

Suzie Harrison

To use the word summer and school in the same sentence would repel a

lot of youth. Those in Mary Blanton’s summer school class, by the

looks on their faces July 9, were relishing it.

It was their time to shine. The assignment was to create an

individual exhibit for their class fair. The only stipulations were

that the family pet, or any other live animal, couldn’t be involved,

that it had to fit on their desktop, and it had to be created by the

students with minimal parental help.

Blanton’s third-grade class was learning about local history and

chose the 112th Orange County Fair.

“It was a unit based on a simulation teaching strategy,” Blanton

said. “This strategy taps into a child’s natural desire to learn

through playing.”

They pretended to go to the fair and each day learned about

different aspects of it -- from foods, arts and crafts, rides, gems

and minerals to livestock and entertainment.

“They designed their own ride, chose an animal to enter in the

livestock exhibit,” Blanton said. “As a culminating activity, they

chose something they wanted to exhibit in our classroom fair.”

Sky Jazdzewski, 8, had a vast collection of rocks, minerals and

stones that he has been collecting for as long as he can remember.

“I got this one from the desert and found this fossil up in the

hills back there -- it’s from the Indians’ time,” Sky said.

He showed his fool’s gold and copper through a magnifying glass

that he borrowed from his great-great-grandfather.

“I borrowed it to look at the rocks,” Sky said. “My favorite has

baby crystals on it, and I found this brown crystal in the hills.”

Ivan Vasquez, 8, displayed his rock collection too.

“I like collecting rocks because they’re cool,” Ivan said. “My mom

collects rocks, and I started collecting rocks.”

He said he had been collecting rocks since he was 2 and pointed

out his favorite pink crystal.

Veronica Clancy, 8, did a presentation of the ceramics she made in

a class in town. She described step by step how she created each

piece.

“You get the clay, make a ball and put your thumb in and twist it

around,” Veronica explained. “Then you stretch it out until you get

it in shape.”After each presentation, a peer read a written

compliment.

A classmate wrote to Ivan that he couldn’t believe he had so many

cool rocks and said they were awesome.

Carly Haines, 8, said her shark egg case was her favorite.

“Sharks are born from here,” Carly said. “This one is from the

East Coast.”

She spoke about her eastern oyster fossil and explained to the

class that she started collecting shells when she was 3.

“I started bringing home rocks and shells, and my family has been

collecting from way back,” Carly said.

Bridget Hockaday, 7, did a project on tennis.

“I looked up famous tennis players and wrote what it was all

about,” Bridget said. “First of all, I mounted a picture on a

cardboard stand and brought my tennis racket and balls and set it

up.”

She said she likes playing tennis and chose it as her exhibit

because she had to choose something she enjoys doing.

“I’ve been playing tennis since I was like 5 years old,” Bridget

said. “I enjoy playing it because it’s really fun, cool and my

favorite hobby.”

Camille Arredondo, 7, made a flower arrangement. She gathered some

rosemary and other plants from her backyard and other sources.

She said arranging flowers gives her a sense of satisfaction.

“I like planning stuff, and I like it to look good,” Camille said.

“Whenever my mom has flowers in the house, I say, ‘Mom, can I arrange

it.’”

After the presentations, students enjoyed popcorn, cookies and

brownies, adding to the fair-like atmosphere.