BREATHE IN….BREATHE OUT…..
Saturday at the Salesmanship Club’s seminar on THE MINDFUL CHILD, I discovered a new teaching technique that’s actually very old!
Susan Kaiser Greenland, author of The Mindful Child, using her audience of parents and teachers as “the children”, demonstrated how enabling the child to harness his own thoughts and energy works with all kinds of children—(as well as over the hill teachers like myself!). The $15 book can be ordered from Simon and Schuster.com and your next trip to the forest campus, we”ll try it with your children. Best of all, it works with ADHD, anxious, overeating, and all kinds of kids.
‘Tis the season ….to take nature-related courses and workshops so those of who work with children will learn more about the world we live in and do a good job of teaching what we have learned to them!
We call your attention to an upcoming workshop at the Welder Wildlife Foundation on Aldo Leopold who is at the top of our list because his ideas of connecting nature with the arts and literature shaped our becoming: a live-in museum for the harmonious convergence of man and nature!
One of our most treasured books at Treetops about Leopold has an inscription to Treetops written by his sister. You can find out more about the Leopold Project from http://welderwildlife.org.
Another long-standing training program is being offered by the Teachers Conservation Institute and includes Project Learning Tree and Project Wild. Information is available at www.texasforestry.org and the all inclusive fee is $150 per person. Treetops has both these curriculum resources for review but printing copies is not allowed.
Other teaching resources available for inspection and study include copies of Texas A&M’s MASTER TREE FARMER; The University Wisconsin- a graduate environmental level course (online); Joseph Cornell’s resources from a Lady Bird Johnson workshop; Montessori Erdkinder resources; Kettering Foundation: Global Education Boyer’s Basic Schools Texas Education Agency (Annual Curriculum Outlines).
Teachers bringing children for 4 to 6 day stays at Treetops are encouraged to review resources and make notes related to their own curriculum outlines.
IT’S ALIVE AND WELL!
Visit POSITIVE NEWS and you can read about the resurrection of the Rudollf Steiner holistic educational movement in England which really takes on a “WHOLE CHILD” approach by combining indoor-outdoor learning–in all types of weather–and teaches children and those who guide them about health, nutrition and education to build a foundation for lifelong well-being….in all kinds of scenarios. With our own emphasis often on speed, memorization, and test scores, we might do well (on a lifetime preparation basis) to include time for reflective thought and creative explorations.
And another book so new I have not “digested it “enough to describe it to you is: GODHEAD: THE BRAIN’S BIG BANG, which introduces a new strand of thought, drawing on neurobiology, psychology and ancient wisdom.
A SPECIAL INVITE TO BE MY GUEST AT TREETOPS-IN THE-FOREST WHEN YOU ARE READY TO DISCUSS WHAT ALL THIS IMPLIES FOR US TEACHERS!
This is a new column, directed primarily at the schools and teachers who have been Treetops participants over the years.
Charlie Rose’s late night series presenting top specialists on how the brain works has enormous implications for those of us who teach today’s children. (You may want to go to his website for times.)
Computers and state produced outlines can indeed present facts for the child to memorize to earn a high test scores but the amazing team of specialists on the Charlie Rose late evening show headed by Eric Kandell are emphasizing the multiple dysfunctions that occur in learners of all ages. (You can pull up a six page list at: http://spot.colorado.edu/-dubin/talks/agnosia.html. )
For my long time professional friends, I wonder if any of you are still using the Yellow Brick Road Screening Test that demonstrated the motor, visual, auditory and language strengths of each 5-6 year old so that their education could be individualized from the start? (One of the Montessori Schools in Ft.Worth was said to be using it.) I may have left over copies of the test battery if you’d like to try it no charge.)
I welcome your feedback, bad or good!
Families in the Forest: Exploring the Four Seasons in the Forest
(Based on The Walden Pond release A Time for Every Purpose by Michael Kammen.)
We will welcome four families (four to six members each) to spend four “seasonal” weekends. Families check in Friday evening, eat en route and check out after Sunday morning brunch.
When: The first weekend of each season in 2012.
- Spring (March 2-4)
- Summer (July 15-20 and August 5-10.
- Fall (September 7-9)
- Winter (November 30 – December 2)
Cost: $50 registration fee + $50 per weekend.
Please bring towels and pillowcases. Please do not bring guns, cigarettes, or alcohol. Medical and insurance releases must be signed.
Questions? Please email us for more information.
Whoops! Our mistake!
We hosted two groups of More Kids In The Woods at Treetops and participated in several MKITW webinars, but we are not an official Children’s Forest site in Texas. For information on the MKITW Forest Programs, contact Tamberly Conway at tkconway@fs.fed.us.