The Power of their Own Stuff

We've had sick boys along with a snow day . . . my natural tendency is to be on the go. Of course, I checked out the Inside Outside Michiana Calendar of Events, but knew in my heart that we were spending more time at home nursing fevers. I decided to try following along with the Handbook of Nature Study Outdoor Hour Challenge with the kids. We could still have a little bit of a "Green Hour" while staying inside. Following along with the Outdoor Hour Challenge, I carried a pile of books on rocks and geology, a basket of rocks, some vases with dollar store rocks, and eventually a moving box full of rocks to the basement. The boys immediately dug into the books, but then something interesting happened . . . .

They went and got their OWN STUFF! This book was sitting on the table, but my oldest son had received his own copy for Christmas. He said he's already read everything in it. I had him put his name on it, so we'd know it was his.

Then this guy pulls out a Star Wars Lunchbox full of gems and other precious items. The boys have gone "gold" mining at Bonneyville Celebration and other area events. They've also found a few rocks in a Gem Mining Kit --imagine that!

Later, as we began stacking rocks, this guy went and found his own "gems" he bought with his own money from the dollar store. I really tried to discourage him from buying them, but he wanted them for his rock collection! Look at that, he even had them in a small treasure chest! These are part of his treasures!

As I reflected on this, I was reminded of how very powerful it is, for my boys at least, to have their own stuff. I had bins and baskets of excellent rock specimens available; however, it was the rocks they had a connection to that held the most meaning to them. Also, while I had many books to peruse, having a book my son owned and had read on his own made it his go to source rather than the many others I had  from several years hosting science clubs and thinking I was an amateur geologist. Hmm . . . 

So, application: My kids need FIRST HAND experience with materials and nature. I might have cool stuff and knowledge, but in the end, when the boys themselves make a connection, discovery, and assign meaning to a natural element, they OWN it. It's a process of discovery together. I most definitely am not (and maybe shouldn't) the one who knows everything, but must provide opportunities for them to explore these loose parts, as Richard Louv describes them. 

Resolved, I will:

• Let my children find their own loose natural parts, even if it means they buy them at the dollar store or I find random walnuts in the house (yes, there are some!).
• Encourage boys to discover some resources on their own, even if I have cool things to share.
• Facilitate my boys accumulation of naturalist items. They really need their own nature bags. 
• Allow space to "hoard" all these things to investigate that have meaning for them.
• Apply these lessons to other experiences with natural encounters. 
• Buy the boys some presents focused on natural elements so they can build their stash.
• Give consent when they want to use their own money to buy loose parts, even if I have plenty at home in my own stash. 

Meet New People Monday: Artist Grow

I'm starting a new feature on Mondays: Meet New People Mondays! One thing I LOVED about Indiana Master Naturalists was meeting other people with similar interests. They are all fascinating. As I've met more people through this blog, I thought I'd let you in on getting to know others, too!

I first heard of guerilla warart in books by Keri Smith. I purchased the original edition of this book, Wreck This Journal , for my siblings one year, thinking we could all compare notes. The book itself has plenty of blank space for writing, but also has many "ideas" for USING the journal to create art and interact with one's environment.



Later, I took an online class based on this book, How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum. The book is filled with great examples of how to observe and explore the world around us. While neither of these are "nature" books, I think they're quite fun and interactive.




After getting used to her style, I saw The Guerilla Art Kit and gave this to my sister. It looked like fun! I've even seen ideas for Random Acts of Guerilla Art Kindness on Pinterest!



On Facebook, I met a "page" called Artist Grow. I was immediately drawn to the pictures of nature meeting human interaction. Ever since I took an art class in college and we went out and created our own "Environmental Art" pieces, I have been intrigued by this concept. I especially like Andy Goldsworthy's work; however, there are many newer artists, including Artist Grow, in this field. I have this book Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature. It truly is eye candy for me! I will need to do a separate post on Environmental Art soon, as I have more to say on the topic, yet wanted to give a brief view to introduce Artist Grow.



I had several questions for Artist Grow. Since I've been following this movement on Facebook, I've seen some of the art and wanted you to be able to see it too!

InsideOutsideMichiana: Tell us a little about yourself and your Artist Grow project(s).  

Artist Grow: I am a south bend resident ( born and raised) who has enjoyed playing in the dirt from a young age,  I do this because I care about my home, it’s a way to celebrate my roots and add a bit of subversive culture, I am opening artist grow up as a guerrilla garden collective and also will be looking for a new admin of the FB page come spring!

InsideOutsideMichiana: Where can people see your work? Do you have a favorite? 

Artist Grow: I am at most local Pop-Up Art shows,  as for my guerrilla work well that varies from season to season, I do some install spots in private beaches and secret woodland spots though out the area that have evolved through the years but these are exclusive and private and I am not at privilege to reveal such locations J, last year I had large success with the planters at Edward Jones investment in downtown south bend with several large multi bloom sunflowers.

InsideOutsideMichiana: Are you an artist, a gardener, or a naturalist? 

Artist Grow: titles are so limiting, as in the fact you must go by only one title, I would consider my self all of the above and more, a renaissance man for I like to dabble in many areas of art and nature my main focus is in creating new perspectives to encourage people to stop and enjoy the little things in live to unplug and reconnect with a natural rhythm

InsideOutsideMichiana: What is your favorite "nature" spot in the Michiana area? 

Artist Grow: the surrounding area of trail 4 at potato creek, the artesian well before they reconstructed the dairy house (the best drinking water in the entire area!) I grew up stomping around these woods chasing animal trails before there was ever a marked trail in the region, exploring the old barn that used to be in the area and following the creek through the woods

InsideOutsideMichiana: What do you carry in your nature/art bag while you are out in the field? (want to share a picture?)

Artist Grow: i carry a modified hydration pack ( modified in that I removed the bladder) usually with a small shovel hand rake and various seeds ( mostly sunflower) or what ever I have extra and handy and is good for the local region, I also like to incorporate found objects ( see my beach install series on my FB page) usually I will carry a large onion sack that can be strapped to the outside of my pack if I need extra storage for moving things around

InsideOutsideMichiana: What do you hope to accomplish with your work?  

Artist Grow: Growing up I always had a mantra of supporting rural deurbanization. You walk though most any city and you see huge abandoned areas / warehouses boarded up unused land everywhere you look, and then we are being told that there are food shortages and not enough land to grow the food needed for everyone’s nutritional needs to be met, these two ideas do not meet up right in my mind, we need to go back to our roots and utilize what we have, my art and my guerrilla gardening work are part social commentary part tongue in cheek and wholly self expression at its finest

InsideOutsideMichiana: What tips do you have for enjoying nature in the area?

Artist Grow: Pack out what you carry in, leave no waste behind (nothing more I hate than having to take up space in my pack to carry out some one else’s trash), know your surroundings know what poisonous plants/animals look like know what animals and plants call the areas you are enjoying home , and then do not disturb their habitat

*****(((((special announcement artist grow will be limiting his connectivity with FB(see search for new admin for FB presence!)  come spring for all contact needs and to join in the guerrilla gardening army look for artist grow on the community forum atwww.guerrillagardening.org or email him/me directly at wanderingsage840@gmail.com )))

I encourage you to LIKE Artist Grow on Facebook and see more of the art! I love seeing this connection of art and nature and hope you will, too! Artist Grow also shares many links on gardening, sustainability, and other art/nature/city images and bits of information. Thanks for what you do!

Nature Club Winter

Our first Nature Club for 6-9 year olds started this last week. We started by talking about our winter theme of WINTER, looking at close up pictures of snowflakes, talking about how animals survive the winter, and looking at different animal tracks and patterns that we might see out on our walk. We sat near the wildlife viewing area watching the squirrels, observing the ice, and talking about the lack of birds. I noticed the neighbors have lots of birdfeeders--maybe they're over there! Then we headed out for a hike!

Who needs a balance beam when there is huge fallen log nearby?

The girls were investigating tracks they found, even the homosapien variety. We used our winter color hike cards and winter scavenger hunt cards. Though the materials the same, the experience was much different than with younger children. One of the boys was very thorough and did not quit until he found moss!

This was a good animal track specimen we found. What do you think it is?

More logs to climb!

Once we were inside again, we washed hands and made a snack. We had apples, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, and graham crackers. We talked about what food birds might need right now and how the extra fat in the suet feeders is helpful during the cold months. Black oil sunflower seeds are a good general feed for winter animals, such as birds and squirrels. Sunflower seeds, however, only appealed to a few of the children. Maybe with time . . .

We filled out on observation sheet from our walk from The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms . This just helps us record and document what is going on as we interact with nature. It's good for me to go back and review these at different seasons. I highly recommend this book. It goes month by month as to what to look for in nature, with examples, teaching moments, workbook pages to use, etc. It's a great tool to help interact more with nature. 

                                                            

While we recorded the sunset we realized that we were 2 minutes from sunset so we hurried outside to catch the sunset. Beautiful colors even in the middle of the city!

We made 6 sided snowflakes (at least theoretically) . . . some points break off as they fall, right?

Made pinecone bird feeders to bring home . . . I will say that I was a little skeptical with these before--did they really work or just a "fun" thing to make? We hung one my son made out near our bird feeder and have watched how much the birds, especially the downy and red-bellied woodpeckers have eaten off it.

Some of the kids even engaged with books! Looking forward to our next adventure. Look for the nature club on the Woodlawn Nature Center Calendar one Thursday a month. Please be sure to let us know if you'll be joining us. There is a small fee to pay the costs of materials and supplies and the use of the building, but I volunteer my time putting together what we'll do each time. We'd love to have you!

Nurturing Acorns--Snow!

We had another great day at Nurturing Acorns at Woodlawn Nature Center. We made snow scenes with winter words.

During story time, we talked about characteristics of snow, read a few stories, and sang songs and fingerplays. We had several good books. Here are a couple. The book, Winter's First Snowflake, is special as the author is from nearby in Niles. This signed copy was checked out of the Bristol Library. How fun! The boys and I listened to her read a story in town one day!

                                           

Little hands made snowflakes with pipe cleaners and beads. 

We revisited our snow painting while waiting for friends to join us.

On our walk, we did a Winter Color Match activity.

I loved hearing one girl find the blue in the sky! It's neat to see the children discover some things on their own.

We spent time checking out the trees. We usually think of brown tree trunks, but many were closer to a gray color.

After washing our hands, we made edible snowmen with pancakes, bacon scarves, snow marshmallows, and chocolate chip buttons and eyes.

We sorted different sizes of "snowballs".

Worked in the sensory bin again.

Cut snowflakes . . .

And drew snowmen!

We even made "snow" playdough with shaving cream and cornstarch. While crumbly, it was still moldable. We had eyes, noses, arms, and buttons to make snowpeople if we wanted.

Another great day of learning and exploration!