Our Feathered Friends 2018

Our Feathered Friends

Sign up here.
Who: Dr. Carla Gull from Inside Outside Michiana with six years of experience with nature preschool playgroups will facilitate the study group. The group is open to 3 to 6-year-olds with a caregiver.  A minimum of 8 children must sign up, with a maximum of 15 children in the target age range.

What: A STEM unit on Birding for Preschoolers from Mass Audubon. Birding topics will be explored through nature exploration, playtime, story time, and art projects.

Where: mostly at Carla’s house just north of Goshen off of 15—address will be given to confirmed participants

When: Fridays (see below), 9:30-11:30 am, please arrive on time and make a commitment to all sessions

Why: Early childhood is the perfect time to connect to the wonders of nature!

Cost: Free—a nice donation for supplies and other nature education supplies is welcome and appreciated.

Dates:

August 17-What do you know about birds?

August 24—What are feathers? How do they help birds?

August 31—How are beaks useful to birds? Why are they different?

September 7—What sounds do birds make? Are they all the same?

September 14—What are nests? How are they made? How do they help birds?

September 21—How do birds survive?

September 28—NO MEETING

October 5—What is migration? Why do birds migrate? Do all birds migrate?

October 12—Birding celebration!

Please wear weather appropriate clothing and shoes as we will be outside.  If cancellations/rescheduling are needed due to inclement weather, watch for a message by 8:30 am on the day in question.

Sign up here. 

Shelling Beans

We recently went to a friend's house and explored her wonderful garden! If you don't have your own garden, I find the most gardeners would love to share their pride and joy with you, as well as some of their harvest, especially during tomato and zucchini harvests. :-) 

I noticed she had beans on a trellis and asked if our nature preschool group could shell them after they are dried. She was ecstatic and it turns out that she had a small barrel of dried beans from last year that still need shelled. She hasn't taken the time to do them all so just goes out and shells a few at a time for whatever soups or other foods she is making. 

Nature Preschool Planning in an Outdoor Classroom

In many types of spaces, we do a little planning for our learning experiences. I have heard many say to "just let them play"; however, most spaces also need to meet learning standards and such. Even in an emergent learning setting, a little planning can help us pull things together for success. I have used a planning sheet similar to this for the last 5 years I have done a nature preschool group. I also use a similar approach to event planning using an outdoor classroom.  Our basic rhythm for our group is to have a gathering activity (or more), craft/art, a story time, hike, wash hands, edible craft (snack), and then open options centered around our areas of the outdoor classroom. We try to do as much as this outside as possible, but do have some moments inside as well. Below is a very sketchy example of seeds. Children are free to participate or not and we follow the children's needs and interests, as well as any seasonal or unexpected finds when we are outside. We may not get to all of these options and it is okay if the children do not do each option. Having a variety allows the needs of all children be met.

Since I typically do programs at a place where other activities are happening, I schlep a lot of stuff around. This helps me remember everything I need. See some examples of the results of this under "Nature Preschool" on the blog.

I use a few resources to help in planning:
Growing Up Wild
Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood
Pinterest Boards:
Spring
Fall
Winter

Here are a few examples of how our activities turned out. Honestly, there is usually enough that could work for a week at a time; however, we just had one morning a week for a couple of hours.
Oh Deer!
A Natural Holiday
Spiders
Exploring Trees
Sensational Senses
What's Bugging You? 

Here are some events planned using a similar sheet:
Fairy Wings and Wild Things
International Mud Day

Find the planning sheet here. Let me know how you use or modify it--I love seeing how others use similar stuff!

Nature Preschool Invitations

Late last spring, I went to the Northern Illinois Nature Preschool Associations's Summit. I loved how they had hands on activities set up for us to explore. I find this is crucial to trying things out with children on our own terms as we have had first hand experience with it already. There was a slight drizzle outside, but many options to explore!  Spaces were set up to try various activities. The signs shared why we might try these and what we can expect to learn or experience through the activity.

We love painting with rubber worms mud, too! Such a tactile experience! This is colored mud. We found worms like this at the Dollar Tree around Halloween one year. Other paintbrushes and such are also available, but using hands sounds great to me! 

These loose parts options were set out as well. I love the frames (we have many!), tools (like the magnifying glasses), sorting baskets, and STUFF (mostly natural!).

Tubes and acorns, tree blocks, branches, pinecones, and more! Loose parts books as well! 

The tent invited us to explore as well. It's a great way of creating a semi-private hiding space outside while still being able to supervise children.

I think this was the activity most inspiring to me--having real tools (with adults right there) available to make your own tree cookie necklaces. Clamps were used to hold the logs in place, the saw was used with an adult right there, a hand drill was used for holes.

I was in love with this hand drill! I had to get one for my birthday. I did find that the drill bit got really hot while in use. This tool is a great way to look at cause and effect, build wood working skills, and have a sense of independence. 

These mirrored invitations had corks on the edges for safety, as well as tape on the back to reinforce in case of breakage. Some make them out of acrylic mirrors as well. Baskets of natural items are nearby to explore. 

We could also explore reflection with those silver pouches snacks come in. They had a whole roll of the material that we could cut some off of. 

Kaleidoscopes could be made out of the reflective material or old CDs!

There were a variety of great books to examine as well!

I presented a session on loose parts play, with options to explore as well. I love the artwork of Take 'Em Outside as a springboard for creativity. 

Others made mandalas or created habitats. 

We also looked at reflective invitations.

Rachel Larimore was the keynote speaker--excellent! There were several great sessions, including time to collaborate as well. So great to see many people committed to providing and allowing for nature play and exploration with younger children. Some vendors included Hitchcock Design group. They create beautiful outdoor play spaces, including the one at Morton Arboretum. Tuffo Muddy Buddies were also available to see up close, making it easier to get outside on rainy days. 

I love Kodo Kids and their materials for sale. It's always nice to see their materials up close. 

We also toured the Children's Garden at the Arboretum. It was excellent!