Childhood+and+Nature-Design+Principles+for+Educators

Sobel endorses authentic projects that connect learners to the curriculum and that empower them to solve real-world problems by looking first to their own communities. On page 3 he advocates for " . . .an approach to education that simultaneously honors developing a child's love of the earth and developing a child's academic and social competence." Chapter 6 (pp. 75-97) describes design principles that can make such learning possible. After you read this chapter, please post your suggestions for creating authentic curriculum.

I am overwhelmed by the headiness of this chapter. It makes me heavy with regret over opportunities missed and puffed with pride and pleasure at the recollection of a few successes. Perhaps nowhere at Summit is there a grade level less encumbered than Jr.K. by the bugaboo of SCHEDULE or by demands that the curriculum be taught identically in each of the three classes. Yet, even we encounter our open time limited by our need to travel to the welcome offerings of Physical Education, Foreign Language, and Music. And even we are resolved that the curriculum that we have thoughtfully developed be translated with equal thoroughness, if not with identical experiences, in each classroom. Then there are the seasonal demands: who can ignore the beauty of fall leaves, the sparkle of frost crystals on blueberry twigs, the magic of a frozen bird bath, or the arrival of the Cedar Waxwings in early spring? We could make our whole curriculum BE the anticipated (somewhat planned) reaction to these serendipitously delivered events and phenomena. Indeed, they are nearly always included, but often seem thrust into the midst of something else MORE planned. This balancing act is aptly described by Sobel in his discussion in Chapter 6 without my belaboring it further here. We are pleased that within the confines of our intended curriculum, we can leave the door open to whatever catches an individual's or a group's interest this particular season. Will it be a greater focus on fall as a time of seed production and dispersal, propelled by bowls and buckets of harvested seeds of all sorts? Will it be an exploration of density and weight following our comparison of our small gourds (old and new) using the Primary Balance? Or will we just be happy to do a visual color sort this year? Sobel has it right that seeing when the iron is hot and having the courage to strike with it is key. Teaching 4 and 5 year-olds as I do, it would seem I would NOT be surprised at the power of play in generating and extending learning, but I find that I steadily am. The most recent examples that come to mind are not full-fledged study sequences like Sobel's damming project. Rather they are small incidences of a teacher planned activity, taken over and embued with meaning by the children's creativity: RIDING HORSES: __Problem:__ (teacher stated) The AfterSchoolProgram teachers have complained that they can't see the children inside the U-bed on the playground because of the giant nematocidal Marigolds! We need to cut some of them back. Who will help, using big loppers and small clippers? __Initial engagement__: (student volunteers) Power of "real work," testing which tools work best, smelling scent of //tagetes,// noting how tiny the flowers are atop such a tall, tall plant, feeling the feathery foliage, remarking, describing, working, passing on the tools and turns. __Task product__: A mound of cut Marigold stalks 4-6' long, set aside by the fence on the playground. __By-product:__ A hastily tossed suggestion and teacher demo: "Shall we mount our horses and go riding?" This is not the age of hobby horses, and many initially looked puzzled, but within minutes most of the class was whinnying, snorting, and galloping. They fed their horses, put them into stables, and had them make friends with each other. This did not send us to the library in search of horse books or prompt the teacher to bring in her collection of horse figurines or encourage us to make a graph of how many children had/had not ridden a real horse. Neither did we go on a walk to see how many other members of the //tagetes// genus we could find on campus. We just played horsey for days. Several side paths: on the third day, we found the larger sandbox hosting a forest of these cuttings, "planted" in the sand! Someone had gotten into our horse stable and returned them to the plant world! Our horses have since been retired to our composting piles, but, every few days we have a request to ride horses. We'll have to be looking for other steeds. HAULING ROTTING PUMPKINS: __Problem__: Our Jack-O'-Lanterns are rotting outside our doorway, and the weeping and seeping are getting smelly and messy. Let's move them on to the compost area. I enlist the help of 2 four-year-old ASP volunteers, one in my class, the other in a neighboring class. __Initial engagement:__ How shall we get the Jacks in the wheelbarrow? Can the two short boys use shovels to heave them over the raised sides, or must we lift the trays directly and slide the Jacks in? Once in, how does __this__ wheelbarrow work? How long can they keep the rear supports elevated without taking a break? What kind of sound do the plastic supports make when grating on the concrete in the passageway between Eagle's Nest and the Library? Where are we going? How do we get there? Compare traveling on the concrete sidewalk v.s. on the gravel road behind the Library. What about the wooden ramp surface? How do we get the slats off the front of the compost bins. Which bin shall we use? They observe there are the most bees in bin #1, a few less in bin #2, and hardly any in bin #3. They figure out why. __Children take the lead__: "We don't need any help." "We know how to steer." "We can do it ourselves." "I'm not tired." "I'm just a little bit tired." "Let's pretend we are hauler guys. We haul stuff." "How can we get the Jacks in the compost bins? " "Let's chop 'em up." "Let's swap our shovels back and forth. I have the longest one, you have the shortest." "That's all the choppin'. The bees are getting mad. Let's go." __Sub-project__: Let's take some flower pots back with us. Shall we wash out our wheelbarrow before loading it up? Using a hose, etc. Where to dump the goo? Compare our loads. Pumpkins were heavier, but we have to take extra care of this load because our cargo is "fragile." Discuss why, what they're made of, etc. NOTE difference in going DOWN the ramp! HELP US! __Follow-up:__ On return, the volunteers re-up to clip our wispy mint bed back to the base so we can set pots of pansies on it for the winter. They enjoy using hand clippers and experiment to see which they like best. They select some long fronds to be kitty toys. One has no kitty, and the other boy proposes he can take it to his grandmother's kitty. They take in the last of the fuzzy mint flowers to their after school teacher, Ms. Simmons. They check with her to make sure they can stay out longer to WORK more.They are hungry and thirsty and are offered an apple and a cup of water at the picnic table. One says he never gets an apple when he does jobs for his father! They act like they're eating and drinking ambrosia. They make up songs and pretend they're going out to eat. They walk formally around the semi-circular path; they're going to McDonald's. We select some of our best mint to take inside and make mint tea. We may dry some to use in our sachets in Feb. We find a caterpillar curled inside one leaf, making a silk-webbed cocoon. We remember we forgot to release the Wooly Bear we had in our classroom, so we release him into the heart of the Mullein plant, velvety soft inside. All this took place in under two hours. I can't replicate it for the whole class or even for half the class, but it is instructive to me to see the things I can shoot for. Perhaps I CAN do it for half class (and often do), but I just can't be as privy to what's going on in their minds as I am able to with 2 after school volunteers. This may be an argument for considering some open ended after school outdoor experiences for SMALL groups of children!