Exploring Nature With Young Children An educator’s workshop Facilitated by: Natalie Elkins

WILD History 1983 Project WILD premieres 1987 Project WILD Aquatic Guide released 1992 Elementary and Secondary Guides updated and combined into one K-12 volume; Aquatic Guide updated 1999 Spanish Supplement of Project WILD Activities and Correlations to National Education Standards 2000 Updates of WILD and Aquatic WILD including 25 new activities and new learning framework released The Project WILD program reaches the one million mark for educators trained since The premier of Growing Up WILD for early childhood educators.

Sponsors Co-sponsored in Michigan by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) and the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) Copyrighted, printed and supported by the Council for Environmental Education

Why are we here? To give today’s children a chance to reverse current trends.

Children between the ages of 8 and 18 years spend an average of nearly 6.5 hours a day with electronic media. Rideout, V. and Hamel, E. (2006). The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Their Parent. Kaiser Family Foundation. (Note: Remember this was published in 2006 think of how much bigger Facebook, Iphones and Ipads have become since then)

Children under 13 spend only 30 minutes per week outside in free style play. Louv, R. (2007). Mother Nature: Raising Healthier Kids. (interview with) USA Today.

Children who play outside in natural settings are less likely to suffer obesity an less likely to contract diabetes. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) CDC funds registries for childhood diabetes. Press Release from CDC/ National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion.

Studies have shown that stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces. Even a view of nature helps reduce stress in highly stressed children. Children with these views also demonstrate increased attentional capacity. Wells, N.M. & Evens, G.W. (2003). Nearby nature: A buffer of life stress among rural children. Environment and Behavior (32) 6, pp

Children who have regular opportunities for free/unstructured play in the out-of-doors demonstrate greater levels of creativity, cooperation, conflict resolution and leadership. American Institutes for Research, (2005). Effects of Outdoor Education Programs for Children in Califormia. Submitted to the California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA

Students who play and learn in outdoor settings perform better on tests, have higher grade point averages (GPAs) and cause fewer classroom disruptions. Chawla, L & Escalante, M. Student (2007). Gains from Place-Based Education. University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences.

Goals Encouraging attachment and comfort with the outdoors. Learning through active outdoor exploration and play. Increasing opportunities for children to be outdoors. Assisting in the future development of nature stewards. Meeting education and developmental goals and standards. Prioritizing outreach to diverse and economically disadvantaged children. Emphasizing literacy.

The Guide Targets educators for children ages 3-7 Includes 27 activities –field-tested –hands-on –nature based activities Table of Contents from simplest to more complex Green sub headings for quick reference

The Guide Foster learning in all domains –social, emotional, physical, language, and cognitive domains Correlated to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Standards Correlated to the Head Start Domains

Supports developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) Guide uses a variety of teaching strategies. Child-initiated and teacher-directed learning experiences. Opportunities to learn through play – “Take Me Outside” –“Centers and Extensions” components.

Mighty Math Practice using math vocabulary Sort, compare and classify objects Display data with graphs and pictures Identify shapes, and Make measurements

Early Literacy Read-aloud fiction and nonfiction books. Music & Movement Student Resource Pages Nature Notebook Wild Wonderful Words

Healthful Practices Healthy Me Snacks—fruits, vegetables and whole grains Take Me Outside—include physical activities like running games or nature hikes Music & Movement—dance, role play and other physical activities

Creative Expression Art projects use a wide variety of materials and art forms. Many art projects involve free expression. Many activities include ideas for dramatic play. “Music & Movement” components include songs related to the activity topic.

Scientific Inquiry Activities encourage children to explore the world around them. “Ants on Parade” models the scientific method. “Field Study Fun” outlines a simple field investigation. Many activities utilize inquiry. Tips for maximizing benefits of inquiry included in front matter for educators.

Assessment “Warm Up” helps determine children’s prior understanding of a topic. “Wrap Up” reviews what they have learned. Nature Notebooks Graphing, artistic representations, taking digital photos, creating field guides

Explore Your Guide