How Hospital Gardens Help Patients Heal - Scientific American

Having worked at a hospital, I agree with the research that suggests gardens help patients. They offer a place for peace and rejuvenation for staff, family members and visitors as well.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nature-that-nurtures/

March Toddler Tales and Trails

It was wonderful to team teach with the new Americorp Early Childhood Educator at the Nature Center.   We met together and planned yesterday and today it made it much easier for us to keep 15 or so children and their parents engaged in nature exploration.

Our topic today was salamanders.  However, we did not find any salamanders at Seward Park.  There may not be any.  But, we will continue to look.  In the meantime here is what we did to engage the youngsters in nature connection and play.

First the children entered and made a play dough salamander.  Then we read a few books: In the Small Pond by Denise Fleming and The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer.  In The Salamander Room a young boys brings a salamander to his house and in telling his mom how he plans to care for it- he connects his salamander to the web of nature.  

We shared a few poems and songs before heading out on our nature walk and exploration.  Along the native plant trail we had children and their caregivers look for things that salamanders need- where could your salamander live, what could it eat- many are mentioned in the book-and along this trail were leaves, decomposing logs, insects,  large stones and even small pools of water.  

Next we played a salamander game.

Finally we ended at the lake and dipped for water macro invertebrates as well as searched along the shore.  The kids found mostly shells and rocks, but had a great time scooping and exploring.  They also used magnifiers to investigate.

We ended with a couple of songs and a closing circle.

In Like a Lion

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.  Yesterday in Seattle was a “lion” day.  The winds were blowing and an occasional rain would pour down. My children said they had only two recesses - as the third one was canceled due to rain.  Luckily, the rain stopped by the end of the day and my husband and i gathered up the kites and went to pick up the boys. 

On the school playground after school kids excitedly watched as we unwound the kite tales and checked to see if the kite string was fastened and untangled.  Then the kids took turns and with  a bit of running the kites were unfurled to the wind and lifted.  Kids gathered gleefully shouting “my turn, my turn.”

“I have never flown a kite before,” said several of the children.   I was glad that we had brought extras. Soon there were three- four kids at each kite taking turnings, running raising the kite into gusts- watching them dance and then often tumble back to the ground.

A couple of the kites were of lighter material and once up stayed high in the sky.

Indeed this was a day of wind blowing, kids joyfully laughing and getting tangled in strings & soon more neighbors joining.  It was a great way to greet March.

This reminds me of how much fun wind can be.  Here are some other ideas for playing in the wind:

Get small wooded rings and tie on strings to catch the wind

Give out scarves for children to throw in the air and then catch

Make home made kites out of all sorts of materials- see which flies the best

Sing: Lets Go Fly a Kite from Mary Poppins

Spring

My heart sings out when my almost seven year old boys notice and wonder about things in nature. Today one of my boys said, "we have that flower in our yard," as he pointed to a patch of purple crocuses along his path to school.

My other son asked, Isn't it early this year that the daffodils are already blooming? I noticed them as early as Valentines day?!"

I suggested, we should keep a journal so that we note when they are opening and can notice if they are coming up earlier each year.

These understandings of nature, climate and the seasons let me know that even though my boys are in a dense city - they are not disconnected from Nature.

Seed balls

Today at the Beacon Hill good forest work party we made seed balls. We added many nitrogen fixing legumes such as peas and fava beans, plus some other edibles. It was a team effort. 5 parts clay to 5 parts compost and a bit of water. Then we sun baked them. Next is to find a place to throw them!!

Thank You!

Thank you to those of you who came out for the Schools Out Washington Summer Con Workshop on Incorporating Nature and Outdoor Time in your Summer Youth Programs. I wish we could have spent time outside listening, feeling, seeing and playing in urban nature, but time went so fast!  Thank you for sharing your stories and memories.  Thank you for all you do for our children.  I hope you find some time to take in nature as you get inspired for your after school and summer programs. 

I did want to follow-up with a resource on the benefits of walking to school as someone asked.  Here is one resource from Safe Routes to School that lists the benefits.   Another local resource if you are trying to plan walks in Seattle is Feet First where you can access maps of many of our local communities.

Toddler Tales and Trails: Moles

Today we focused our lesson on: Moles and what they eat.  We started with an opening activity of making play dough worms and stamp insects.  Then I showed a stuffed mole.  We talked about what moles eat,  the insects and worms that are in our soils.  We sang a song that was an adaption of a song in the curriculum Growing Up Wild. It went.  “the worms are mixing up the soil, up the soil, up the soil, the worms are mixing up the soil, now plants can grow”  we added a verse about bugs and then moles.  After singing we read the story of Mole’s Hill by Lois Ehlert.  Then we tried a parachute mole game where we pretended the kids were moles and the adults held up the parachute as kids tunnelled under it. 

We also sang the song “Wish I were a mole in the ground” learned from Pete Seeger from his Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Fishes cd, but with variations … such as if I were a mole I would tunnel through this town...eat wiggly worms.

Then it was time for our hike.  We stopped for an opportunity to dig for critters living underground.  We found and explored  mole holes and then play a mole game.  Kids had to find bugs & worms (plasic) first using their eyes and then being guided by their adult with their eyes closed, since moles usually have quite week eyesight and adaptation due to their life underground.