rockford michigan – Woods & Wetlands

Ah, the dramatic statements of fifth grade girls! I don’t often do programs with upper elementary students and, honestly, my comfort level is definitely with the younger learners. But this week I had a lot of fun and some useful learning experiences with three 5th-grade classrooms from Crestwood Elementary in Rockford. The title of this post is a direct quote delivered with delightful flair, though the girl in question was utterly serious.

With only five minutes left before we had to wrap it up, two girls who were working on their nature study page nearby asked me to show them how to do a leaf rubbing. I never know for sure which of the many elements of my programs are going to spark interest, but in this case it was immediately clear that being able to use a leaf, a crayon, and some paper to save some of the lovely sassafras leaves we had just learned about was an evident game-changer for at least these two girls. Who knew a leaf rubbing could change lives?

Sassafras and Salamanders

Prior to life-altering leaf-rubbing, both of Tuesday’s classes managed to find multiple, tiny salamanders all over the beautiful woodland we were exploring. Their presence as an important environmental indicator species largely confirmed a guess I had about a few lowland areas nearby that showed evidence of having held a good deal of water in the past season. I’m no expert on this, but I think those spaces hold vernal pools in the early spring! Vernal pools are absolutely critical to the survival of many amphibians, including salamanders. Unfortunately, too many of these areas are unprotected as they do not have water year-round and are not considered wetlands. (But they should be!) Scientists are finding that vernal pools are incredibly important to the ecosystem. (Click the link above to learn more about them!) Thank you to amphibians for eating so many bugs! And for being food for thousands of other animals.

I wish we could just do this all day instead. of learning!

Ha! To which I replied, “Too late! You are already learning!” Even when they don’t know it, I know it. Regular readers of my blog will already know the plethora of learning experiences children have during Woods and Wetlands adventures. For those new to it, here are just a handful: physical learning (balance, strength, coordination, aim, flexibility), mathematical learning (estimation, spatial awareness, patterns, number sense,) SCIENCE (literally everything,) art (noticing and recreating fractals/patterns in nature, building structures, nature-art and design,) emotional and social (independence, self confidence, collaboration, empathy, compassion,) … you get the idea. Want more? Please read my favorite nature book ever: The Nature Fix by Florence Williams.

And yesterday? Fractions!

Three boys discovered a long stick stuck through the vertex of a tree and when one of them pulled on one end it snapped the stick. Upon seeing this, they realized they could break other sticks that way. As a team, the boys began hauling bigger and bigger sticks, lifting them one by one into the split between the two trunks, and then planning how and where they would break it, waiting for each other to be in position, and coordinating their efforts as it got more difficult. I hung back just watching and listening. They were totally absorbed in this activity that may seem like meaningless play to most, but I saw completely meaningful, playful, learning happening. One of the boys said, “I bet we can break this one into like twelve pieces!” They shifted the stick and evaluated where to break it each time so that they could get twelve, roughly equal pieces. (Hands-on fraction action!)

Independent Nature Study

This time I deviated from the Observation and Conversation cards I’ve been using for the last year because they weren’t quite always working as I’d hoped. Trial and error is a great way to learn if you’ve got the time, patience, and self-forgiveness to do it! The master’s class I am taking on play and learning declares that, “the children ARE the curriculum.” That is to say, their interests should be guiding the teachers to offer support and enhancement. (Another incredible book: Lisa Murphy On Play: The Foundation of Children’s Learning.) While the class is focused on young children (birth through age 8) I know too many kids these days haven’t gotten the kind of critical play-based learning that they all needed when they were young, so I think it’s worth applying these principles to older elementary children as well. Playful learning really is the foundation for ALL future learning!

So this time around, rather than giving everyone a laminated card with specific activities to try or photographs of cool, natural, objects I wanted them to notice in their exploration space, I gave everyone a card that invited them to choose something they had discovered while they had free exploration time, and offered some options for how to do a mini-nature study page. On the other side of the card they would find a copy of some of my own nature study journal pages, just for reference. After engaging the whole class by sharing my box of found nature treasures (snake sheds, fossils, half a muskrat skull, dead butterflies, dead cicadas, a robin’s egg, feathers, galls, various cool tree seeds, etc.) I sent them off to find a peaceful space in the woods they just explored and invited them to sketch, draw, label, and/or write about something that interested them in that place. This was only a tiny part of our program because I only intend it to be a quick sample of what it might be like to engage with nature by recording our experiences independently. Frankly, I’d much rather save it for consecutive programs with the same group rather than pushing it during their initial program. Not everyone would love it, but they had a chance to try it out. Below are some samples of their efforts.

Luckily my current favorite topic to talk about is the connection between all life and soil! The fifth graders have recently been taught about decomposers in school. I find myself imagining how much more deeply they could understand these concepts if we could spend many more hours playfully learning in that lovely woods.

Nature Adventures with Cannonsburg Elementary

A few weeks ago when my (retired) dad was ranting about how miserable it is for a person to have to go to work, thus interrupting their enjoyment of Life, I responded cheerfully that I actually really love both of my jobs and enjoy going to them. He paused, just barely, and with hints of both mock horror and admiration tucked into his smirk, he exclaimed, “Well, you must not be doing it right!” I beamed at him. It’s true. Woods and Wetlands continues to evolve and I learn ways to improve it with every single program, but the senses of purpose, joy, and meaning it gives to me are full and shining. Even in moments when I notice that I am being too hard on myself, wishing I had said or done something different, I catch those harsh thoughts and reframe them. Now I know this. I did not know it before. I will try again. I return home feeling like what I do matters, and it’s getting better all the time.

I also try to remember to ask the students at the end of their program, “What do you know today that you did not know yesterday?” (I frequently do forget to ask this, or I run out of time because time management is evidently something I will have to work on for the rest of my life.) Last week I got to take two classes, each, of kindergarten, first grade, and second grade out into the beautiful, hilly woods behind Cannonsburg Elementary for an hour and a half per class. It is a lovely little space, though it would be much better if it wasn’t split off from the creek in the wilds of Townsend Park by a loud and somewhat busy road.

Before today I did not know that nature could be peaceful.

I did not know that there are tiny things that eat dead stuff and turn it into soil, and that new things can grow in that soil.

I did not know that we should get our hands dirty to protect frogs and toads if we hold them.

I did not know there was this bad plant we should pull out because it is pushing out plants that are supposed to be here.

Now I know what poison ivy looks like.

Now I know it’s okay to get my hands dirty.

I did not know that some bees live underground.

I did not know there are flowers people can eat.

Imagine your eyeballs could pop out on stems and pull back in whenever you want.

As for me, now I know that if I want the students to really explore and get curious about the diverse array of nature, I should wait until later in the program to show them how bizarrely satisfying it can be to pull out garlic mustard plants! Because once they knew, it was all they wanted to do! I also now know that just a few classes of children can fill massive bags with this terribly invasive and aggressive plant in a short amount of time! Of course, I was pleased on behalf of native plants and animals, but somewhat aghast that I had inadvertently short-circuited my own program plans. Oh well. Now I know.

The kindergarten classes chose to keep their scheduled day and time despite the rain, and I allowed the kids to pick (not pull) just one May Apple leaf to use as an umbrella, just as I loved to do in our lane when I was their age. We had a grand time playing in the rain.

One boy accidentally pulled out a plant that was not garlic mustard, nor did it resemble it in the slightest, but as I began saying so, it hit me that I must remember that to one who has no experience, one plant may very well look very like another. I also recalled that pointing out what has been done wrong should be done kindly, with credit given for good intentions. This was a chance to teach and learn. So we found a spot of soft soil and used our hands to dig a little hole. I showed him how to gently set the plants roots down into the hole and we tucked them all back in again, patting the soil tightly at the base of the plant. Now he knows how to plant something. A day later, another student did the same thing, and I was ready for it. Now I know exactly how I want to handle this in the future. We should all get such do-overs whenever we can.

I adored every single one of those K-2 class programs. The kids were enthusiastic, respectful, engaged, and brave. If I could have stayed there with them all day, I would have. I will never tire of seeing kids transformed by the magic of our beautiful, one-and-only, Earth.

Tag: rockford michigan

You Have Just Changed EVERYTHING for me!