Over the past several decades I've been feeling increasingly concerned with the environmental catastrophes unfolding around us. As a teacher, I feel it is vital for me to foster in children a love for nature. I've just recently discovered a teaching technique that I know will help me to get kids back in touch with the natural world around them. It's called nature journaling. Kids get outside and observe plants and animals. They take notes and sketch what they see and experience. By focusing their attention on nature, kids can appreciate it more. When students appreciate nature, they are much more likely to make decisions that support its protection/recovery.
Nature journaling is also a powerful tool in language development and critical thinking skills. When journaling, kids are encouraged to observe and interpret the world around them through three basic prompts: "I notice...", "I wonder...", and "It reminds me of...". They are encouraged to express their individual awareness and use that to ask questions about the world around them. Nature journaling can be paired with technology in the form of slideshow presentations, videos, and other tools I hope to discover during the course of my master's classes. The technology will provide motivation for kids to share their ideas with their peers, teaching leadership and speaking skills. I've been troubled about technology and children lately. It can be a powerful learning tool, but it can also do the exact opposite of what I hope to achieve in getting my students outdoors and back in touch with nature. I have heard, and experienced first hand with my own son, stories of "too much screen time". Kids seem to be getting away from outdoor play and exploration and favoring screen entertainment to an alarming degree. So, my BIG question might be: How can we use screen technology to get kids outdoors and away from it? If you are interested in reading more about my developing interest in these themes, here's a letter I wrote to the teachers who taught me about nature journaling at Pepperwood Preserve a couple of weeks ago. Hi Marley and Holland, Jeremy, here. I took the journaling class with you and friends at Pepperwood Preserve a week ago. At lunch, we talked about the biomimicry of carbon fiber bike rims from the 'lumps" on humpback whale fins. Remember? (Turns out, it reduces “sheer” turbulence on rims, especially in side winds, making them 15% more slippery than continuously straight edged rims.) This kind of inspiration that comes from observing nature is what I got a feeling for in your nature journaling class. I can't remember when a practice has so inspired me... so much so, that I am interested in making it the focus of a master's thesis. I just started an online program called Innovative Learning with Dr. Pamela Redmond at Touro University, located on Mare Island. Here’s a description of the program: Program Features: By embracing innovation in the context of open and collaborative approaches to education, cohort members in this program explore and prototype new models for learning and performance. Through problem-based action research, participants cultivate provocative methods to support equity, literacy, and the re-imagining of school and learning to close achievement gaps, promote social justice and equity. The curriculum encourages candidates to:
I’ve already taken my 3rd graders outside to nature journal. We used little containers for holding bugs. They loved it! (They can sure find bugs better than I can.) We wrote “I notice, I wonder, and It reminds me of” statements, and posted our drawings and notes on the wall. I’m training them on Google Slides so that they can eventually do presentations on their work. For the thesis, I’m looking for more ideas on how to integrate nature journaling with technology in a school setting. I’ve purchased the “Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling”, “Opening the World Through Nature Journaling" from the California Native Plant Society, and also “Last Child in the Woods” by Richard Louv. I plan to do some serious reading this weekend! How about you guys? Any ideas to share on nature journaling with kids? I might be asking you for support and collaboration this year. I hope this is ok. I’m very happy that my students will be going to Pepperwood twice this year. What can I do to make it a more powerful experience for them? This feels so right because I’ve been feeling increasingly concerned about the environment. I have been looking for a powerful way to get my students aware and involved in protecting it. Nature journaling has given me a path forward to do this! It really resonated with my own machinations over the past several years on how to help kids enjoy life more by getting more focused on nature, (directly), and less on the 2D digital screen. Love that quote from “Last Child” where the kid says he prefers to play indoors because “that’s where the electrical outlets are”. I’ve participated in two “Nature Bridge” led, week long trips to Yosemite with 6th graders, and one to Marin Headlands with the 5th Graders. I’ve seen what a great time they have when they are out in nature. I’m not the only one concerned about kids losing touch with the outdoors. At a "Back to School" night, several years ago now, when I asked parents: "What is your biggest concern for your child/ren?", ALL five parents with whom I remember speaking that night said: "screen time". They were worried about what a draw the phones and laptops etc. were to their kids. And my job that night was to tell them that their kids were all getting personal laptops for even more screen time in the classroom! Odd things are happening. It’s starting to feel like kids do not need peers to be in close physical proximity. Instead, they increasingly rely on screens as the interface for friendship. They are also increasingly dependent on screens to experience physical world around them. Also, my role as a teacher seems to be shifting toward tech support. SO, given that screens are here and not going away soon, my big question is how can we use technology in the classroom in order to get away from it? Can we set up technology driven learning situations that make kids want to get outside more, putting their attention into, and therefore appreciating the natural world around them more? Regards, Jeremy Smith Here are a couple of links from two nature journaling teachers. John Muir Laws is Marley Peifer's teacher. Link to Marley Peifer's video on nature journaling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAmtqGtz1UA Link to John Muir Law's video on nature journaling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u1EOeuZxok
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AuthorJeremy Smith teaches third grade at Calistoga Elementary School. Archives
July 2020
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