|
The Garden School is
a non-profit community organization formed
to support the development
of outdoor classrooms and science, organic gardening, ecology and conservation programs for kindergarten and
elementary children. Learning is taking place at all times
in all circumstances for every person. There are as many ways to learn something as there are people. Teach less and share
more. Children learn best by doing. Love each child with your eyes, your smile, and your words! THANK YOU for visiting my website. You inspire me! susan
Snowman Wisdom: The key to life is to be a jolly, happy soul. We're mostly water too! New
classroom recipes! Inexpensive Superfoods - New
kitchen recipes - "Crystals, Flowers of the Earth" and
"The Sun and Stars"/ earth science page. The story of Susie Snowflake and Poetry
page for snow! The Digestive System / Human Body page. "Talk About Teas" / History
of Herbs page.
National Healthy Schools Day simple
steps to improve indoor air at school:1. Use certified green cleaning products
to reduce or eliminate perfumes and toxic chemicals. Fully 25 percent of chemicals in cleaning products used in schools are
toxic and contribute to poor indoor air quality, smog, cancer, asthma, and other diseases.2. Fix floor and plumbing leaks to keep classrooms dry and reduce likelihood of molds growing.3. Use durable surface flooring that's easy to keep clean.4. Remove water-damaged or old carpeting.5.
Phase out room deodorizers.6. Keep food in the classroom to a minimum.7. Ensure windows open easily to let fresh air in regularly.8. Clean up classroom clutter, which creates a haven for dust and germs. 7 Steps to a Green School 1. Establish A Green Team or Eco-Committee The
Green Team is the heart of the Green Schools process by organizing and directing activities. Consisting of students, teachers,
custodians, facilities managers, parents and school board members. The Green Team is democratic and can often be run by the
students themselves. Whatever type of school or age group, student involvement in the committee is essential. The group can
be responsible for coordinating many of the greening activities, making recommendations to relevant school decision-makers,
and facilitating communication among and actions by the whole school community. 2. Adopt An Environmental
Vision Statement or Planet Pledge Produces your own vision statement,
setting out what the students and/or school community are striving to achieve. The Environmental Vision Statement or Planet
Pledge is displayed in various places within the school and is recognized by the students and community members as a statement
of beliefs and intents. This statement is often in the words of students, and can be an inspiring classroom, art, or school-wide
assembly project. Such statements can also be accompanied by a resolution from the school board, Parent Teacher Association,
the Green Team, or other school bodies (see the sample school board resolution and sample policies on our Take Action page).
Use our Four Pillars Graphic to help you understand and define the key components of a Green School. 3. Conduct A School Environmental Survey or Audit To
identify priorities for action, begin with conducting a review of your school’s environmental impact. Students are involved
in assessing the level of waste from school lunch, checking the building for inefficiencies such as leaky taps, or electrical
equipment left on overnight. The school and the Green Team can work with local organizations, businesses, or other resource
people or experts during the review. Take the "How Green is Your School Quiz" and see how you rate. Find other examples
of environmental surveys and audit tools on the Resources page, under Curricula. We've also got lots of ideas and resources
on our Curriculum Ideas for Hands-On Audits page. These audits can be fun and really help educate the school community about
the health and environmental impacts of the school. 4. Create A Green School Action Plan Use the results
of your environmental survey or audit to identify priorities of the key areas where you want to make change and create an
action plan. It is important to set realistic and achievable targets to improve environmental performance at the school so
kids and adults can take pride in tangible accomplishments in the short term. And it is important to set long-term, inspiring
and challenging targets to move beyond the status quo and foster greater environmental improvements. The action plan could
involve and promote, for example, a school recycling program; eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaning materials; carpooling; energy
conservation like turning off lights, computer monitors and printers; or a school garden. See the "sample school board
resolution" and "Steps Forward" on our Take Action page for examples of policy resolutions, and specific action
items under a range of environmental and health topics. Download a sample worksheet (Word doc) to help create a one-year work
plan. 5. Monitor and Evaluate Progress The Green Team, students, or other school community members can assist with monitoring
and evaluating progress on the priorities in the action plan. This could involve conducting an annual environmental audit
to monitor levels of waste, recycling, energy use, purchases of environmentally-preferable products, and financial savings
and/or costs. Use these ecological footprint tools combined with our resources on school audits. The information from the
monitoring is needed to ensure that progress towards the goals and targets is made and that the action plan is modified, if
necessary. It also ensures that environmental education is an on-going process in the school, since students can be responsible
for the annual audits. The basic data collected over time can show the waste, pollution, and energy avoided - big motivators
for people to continue the efforts. 6. Integrate Greening into the Curriculum Greening
activities can be integrated into existing curricula in science, art, humanities, math, language arts, or electives. Using
the school as a hands-on laboratory offers opportunities for real-world problem-solving. Students can undertake study of themes
such as energy, water, forests, toxic pollution, and waste. The whole school should be involved in practical initiatives -
for example, saving water, recycling materials and saving energy. Outdoor education, and time spent in nature locally - whether
the schoolyard, a park, or a field trip - is a critical component of a hands-on, place-based, experiential education. Where
environmental education is not part of the regular curriculum, recommendations can be made by the Green Team as to how these
themes can be incorporated. See our Teach Stewardship and Resources pages for a Sustainable Curricula Directory, examples
of environmental curricula, on-line quizzes, and other teaching and learning resources, including reviews of books and other
media with environmental themes. No need to reinvent the wheel - there are loads of existing curricula you can use! 7. Inform,
Involve, and Celebrate! Honor,
celebrating, and communicating about achievements are critical components of a Green School! Greening programs can often unify
the whole school and strengthen community relations. Your school might consider partnering with external organizations from
the community to benefit from their experience and expertise. In some schools, environmental consultants have offered to take
part in the environmental review process. Many local government agencies and utilities offer free advice on energy, recycling,
and hazardous waste management. Schools should also consider the wider community when preparing action plans - for example,
schools could offer to be the local recycling point or to be a drop-off for Community Supported Agriculture boxes. Some schools
get involved with clean-up or habitat restoration at nearby parks or share their experiences in other ways. A communication
and publicity program keeps the school and the community informed of progress through classroom displays, school assemblies,
newsletters, or other press coverage. Communicating is key to spreading success and inspiring more actions. Annual Earth Day
celebrations - organized around April 20 - can offer an opportunity to showcase actions taken by the school and bring together
the school and wider community.
Saving seeds
I collect seeds
all the time. Seeds are as distinctive from one another as grains of pollen or people. It is the beautiful flowers that make
incredible seeds that can stick to you, fly or float. Seeds feed the world. Seeds feed the most
people with: Corn, Rice, Bread, Cereal, Pasta, Beans, and Nuts. I love seeds as much as I love dirt!
I use a big basket and clippers to collect seeds, snipping mature flowers, seedpods or stems. Hang the stems for seeds
to drop onto paper. I may spread seeds on paper or put in a basket to air dry for about a week. For zinnias, I clip the flowers,
let them dry and pull the petals off. The seeds are attached to the flower petals. Catnip I hang up and the tiny seeds fall
onto the paper. Remember the food you buy may also contain mature seeds for you to sprout! Store seeds
in envelopes labeled, or plastic snack bags, film canisters or glass jars. They must be dry before you seal I don’t
store seeds in my refrigerator unless I eat them. Some seeds must be frozen though before they will sprout. I seal seeds in
envelopes and keep in a big basket in a cool dry spot. Bugs besides me like to eat seeds, so make sure seeds are sealed. Humidity
and warmth grows mold and rot. Most seeds last about 3 years Plant open-pollinated varieties of plants and they’ll come back true;
Seeds from hybrid varieties won’t come back true.
Suggested Reading: Last Child in the Woods Richard Louv The Absorbent Mind Maria MontessoriExploring Nature With Your Child
Dorothy Shuttlesworth The Zoo Garden Chris Hastings Seeds of Change Judy
Mannes and Marsha Rehns Gardening Wizardry For Kids Patricia Kite Play and Find Out About Nature
Janice VanCleave Sense-Abilities Michelle O’Brien-Palmer
Nature Activities
for Early Childhood Janet Nickelsburg 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth
Natural Resources Defense Council Seeds and Weeds Joan Westley Food and Nutrition for Every Kid
Janice VanCleave There was a child went forth everyday, And the first object he looked upon, that object he became, And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, Or for many years or stretching cycles of years. The early lilacs became part of this
child, And grass and white and red morning glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird, And the Third-month lambs and the sow's
pink-faint litter, and the mare's foal and the cow's calf, . . .
Walt Whitman
Nature isn't a place
to visit, it is our home. The most effective way to connect our children to nature is to connect ourselves. "It is not half so important to know
as to feel when introducing a young child to the natural world." Rachel Carson "I am well again, I came to life in the cool winds and crystal waters of the mountains . . . "
John Muir What is the extinction
of a lily to a child who has never seen a flower ? Robert Michael Pyle Listen to the sound of a creature not stirring - the sap rising in the tree. Nature's power to improve physical and and
emotional health should guide the way classrooms are conceived, houses are built and communities are developed. I bet I can live to a hundred if only I can get outdoors again!
"The Trip to Beautiful"
Nature and the Child
Outside in nature is an important
classroom environment for the child. Children need to develop their footsteps, balance, and coordination. What better way
than exploring nature and the world around them! Granted very young children must learn to walk and talk a little but as soon
as they learn to button or zip that coat, they are ready to go outside. Ask any of them and you will know that children want
to be outside in nature. Many children are separated from nature today. You’d be surprised at all the children I see
who say they have never seen or been on a mountain and for sure they don’t eat plants! We are the reason. Almost all
day every day infants and children are separated from nature and their family as well. Outdoor time is little and usually
limited to sand box and jungle gym. Outdoor classrooms are vital to the health
and growth of children. The child is a natural explore and has an intense desire for knowledge of his surroundings. It is
important that we provide opportunities for children to explore the natural world. If there are not early experiences with
nature, a love and respect for nature do not develop. How can children learn reverence for nature and grow healthy and strong
when everything they experience is inside, artificial, and full of fantasy?
Nature is our source of knowledge . . . it sustains us with sunshine, green leaves and sparkling water. Think about
it. Trees are stationary, turn sunlight to food, drink from the clouds, breathe the air and grow huge and ancient. There
is much for a child to learn about and from trees alone. It is the responsibility of adults to guide children to discover
themselves and the natural world. By doing this, the child will become more observant, feel a sense of belonging in nature,
and develop a reverence for life.
Society puts its best foot forward in early childhood education. Fifty percent of our intellectual capability is achieved
before the age of four. Psychological patterns are set before the age of seven. A child’s self image is formed during
the early years and sets his or her personality pattern.
Children are not born with finely tuned perceptual skills, but they are a result of being challenged as a child. Research
has shown us the intellectualizing capability of the senses. The development of the senses precedes that of superior intellectual
activity. The power of observation is procured through the development of the senses and there is a close relationship between
sensory perception and motor development.
Children are sensorial explorers. They gain a better understanding of the world around them when they are involved in activities
that bring them in direct contact with nature. Nature will captivate the child’s imagination, activate their sense of
belonging and they will develop the ability to express their experiences.
Stand back and watch children in nature. Knowledge advances rapidly when the line between work and play fades. Children unconsciously
take in impressions that form their minds
Conduct some observation excursions. Walk with a purpose. Maybe it will be to discover trees, the kinds of leaves or fruit
they bear, the shade they give, or the shelter they give to birds and animals. You can teach children about trees in the classroom,
but they must see and experience trees to make trees real to them. Get outside with children, get some exercise and
explore together. Everyone will benefit! Susan Dean
|
