At the end of each quarter, the special area teachers at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School develop a combined curriculum on one subject. They then collectively teach each grade during the “Specials” time.

This quarter, the lesson plans were about “Nature”. The students met in the outdoor lab. There, they sang about “Going on a Nature Hike”. They learned how we benefit from trees and the importance of taking care of nature. The classes then participated in an abbreviated hike through the DM Tree Trail, looking at the different characteristics to try to determine the types of trees, and gathering acorns, leaves, etc., to create artwork.

In the DM Tree Trail, there are 27 different types of trees marked for easy identification. The trail was refurbished in 2003 by Jonathan Lang, Mrs. Donna Lang’s son, as an Eagle Scout Project.