I had the wonderful opportunity to spend an hour making Land Art with preschoolers at the Fiddleheads Forest School in the Arboretum with my son’s outdoor class. The excitement of their motivation to make these works and their careful placement of objects was so inspiring!
Category: Outdoor Play for Kids
Battling A Sense Of Lost Time – the importance of being in nature
Battling A Sense Of Lost Time by MARCELO GLEISER December 11, 2013 2:43 PM The first word that comes to mind when I think about modern life is “overload.” The second is “dispersion.” We are the targets of an ongoing war for our attention: the Web, new technologies, food, clothing, music. We feel the constant need to… Continue reading Battling A Sense Of Lost Time – the importance of being in nature
Fiddleheads Forest School, A Parent’s Perspective by Karah Pino
“Wanna Touch the Sap with Me?” Posted to the UW Botanic Gardens Blog November 18th, 2013 by Sarah Heller, Community Programs Coordinator & Fiddleheads Forest School Director “Wanna touch the sap with me?” This is the question posed by my 3-year-old every Tuesday and Thursday morning when he gets to Fiddleheads Forest School in the Washington Park… Continue reading Fiddleheads Forest School, A Parent’s Perspective by Karah Pino
Walk Through Green Space Could Help Put Brain In State Of Meditation, Study Finds
Entering a more ‘zen’ mindset could be as easy as taking a walk in the park, according to a small new study. New research from scientists at Heriot-Watt University in the U.K. conducted mobile brain electrical activity testing on volunteers to find that the brain enters a meditative state when going through green spaces. The… Continue reading Walk Through Green Space Could Help Put Brain In State Of Meditation, Study Finds
What is the Outdoor Classroom by Eric Nelson
Eric Nelson’s new book, Cultivating Outdoor Classrooms, clarifies the vision of the outdoor classroom, and explains simply and clearly how it addresses the needs of today’s children. He kindly agreed to share some extracts with Collage readers. I hope these selections encourage you to get and read this excellent book. The Outdoor Classroom: Fulfilling a… Continue reading What is the Outdoor Classroom by Eric Nelson
Natural Play in the Preschool Yard by Mary Rivkin
Imagine a circle of 15″ high logs, tops flattened, spaced just so a four-year-old can leap from one to the next, and if she tumbles, the ground is close. Sometimes the new walkers lay claim to the circle because the logs are just right for cruising. Another time, the threes cluster in the circle to… Continue reading Natural Play in the Preschool Yard by Mary Rivkin
Open the Door and Just Go Out… by Johanna Booth-Miner
As the first snow was falling and I was walking mid-day, snowflakes were sticking to my eyelashes. This made me hum “a few of my favorite things” from The Sound of Music. Being outdoors and connecting children to nature daily is definitely one of my favorite things. Having a certified outdoor classroom allows teaching to… Continue reading Open the Door and Just Go Out… by Johanna Booth-Miner
Natural Learning Initiative Publications and Research
Creating environments for healthy human development and a healthy biosphere for generations to come. The purpose of the Natural Learning Initiative is to promote the importance of the natural environment in the daily experience of all children, through environmental design, action research, education, and dissemination of information. Publications: Behavior Mapping: A Method for Linking Preschool… Continue reading Natural Learning Initiative Publications and Research
The Park Less Traveled: 7 Seattle Parks to Discover This Summer – ParentMap
The Park Less Traveled: 7 Seattle Parks to Discover This Summer – ParentMap. Seattle is blessed with an incredible bounty of city parks, ranging from near wilderness to little pocket parks. But even with such a fantastic selection, it’s easy to fall into a rut and go to the same old places. Does Parental Park… Continue reading The Park Less Traveled: 7 Seattle Parks to Discover This Summer – ParentMap
Testimonial for Forest Garden style teaching aka Free Range Children
June 18, 2012 8:53 AM Why my child will be your child’s boss By Suzanne Lucas (MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY Saws. The kind you buy at the hardware store to cut wood. That’s what the play-group teacher dumped on the ground for 3- and 4-year-old kids to play with. Knowing that doing this, in the U.S., would… Continue reading Testimonial for Forest Garden style teaching aka Free Range Children