Nature Education...

I'd like to thank all of our families for the lovely parent-teacher conferences this past week.  It's been truly wonderful to hear your feedback and the wonderful stories about your kids and how much they love school. 

As I was thinking about what to write about for this blog post, I decided that I would write about something very near and dear to my heart--NATURE EDUCATION.  Most of my families probably don't know that I do trainings for the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County (they are almost always full to capacity) on this topic mostly, and I also travel all over the southeast (so far) to conferences for early childhood educators on this topic as well.  I'm just going to throw out there that I absolutely believe it is my responsibility to provide nature exposure in any way I can to the children I care for every day.

I challenge you to think about your childhood and what you loved about it.  Take a moment to think about this.... my favorite memories are of playing in the woods behind our apartments (can you IMAGINE?!).  I would no sooner send my grandchildren into any woods than cut off my own arm--the world is just a different place.  So I have committed to providing nature exposure to my class every opportunity I can.  I want them to have the body confidence that comes from climbing irregular surfaces, jumping from high places (high to them), rolling down a hill, building with blocks that are as big as they are, feeling weird textures from plants and trees, experience the sights and smells you can only find in nature, and all the other amazing things we grownups don't see or do every day.   

I see firsthand the benefits this has for children.  The ones who need to move more, the ones who need exposure to sensory experiences, the ones from other countries who get off a plane and come to my classroom the next day, the ones afraid to get dirty or touch bugs; they NEED this.  It makes them feel comfortable.   The garden is an amazing place at our school, and I don't know one single child who does not walk through there to see what's going on at least once a day.  I do the same thing.  I like to smell the herbs. 

Along with these benefits, I see how children are better able to focus when there isn't a bunch of florescent plastic everywhere, and the reason I can see this is because that's what my classroom USED to look like.  It was cute, in a very color-coordinated kind of way.  Now it's pretty sedate except for exuberant children's work.  I stick to natural colors that are muted and throw in colors here and there.  My furniture and bins are wood or baskets. 

What's more, I have made a shift to working WITH children instead of trying to make them conform to my schedule and what I want them to do.  I promise you that I can teach your child everything they need to know without forcing my will on them. 

Our classroom is not the free-for-all that it may sound like (or possibly look like from time to time).  It's a learning community where we all learn to work together and help each other, and find out where to look for the things we want to know.  I personally learn something new every day.