Moving Nature-Based Education Up Through the Grades
Guest Presenters: Janis Boulbol, Megan Dubuque & Laura White
Present: Megan Dubuque-2nd grade, Bradford Elementary; Laura White-5th grade, Chesterfield School; Janis Boulbol-6th grade, Sharon Elementary; Jenifer MacDonald-K, Loudon Elementary School; Joan Carey-Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center; Rachel Kenndey-pre/K, Heather Damon-1st, Brett Limura, Jan Baudendistel-6th grade, Katharine Payne and Natalie Adams-Hartsbrook School; Janet Altobello and Jaime Hutchinson-Harris Center for Conservation Education; Amy Butler-(education director) North Branch Nature Center, Mindy Beltramo-(director) Dewey School; Anne Stires-(director) Juniper Hill School; Ellen Doris-Antioch University New England; Seal Rossignol-(director)Boxberry School; Christina Wild-2nd grade, Dothan Brook School and doctoral candidate at Antioch in Leadership & Change; Nicole MacKay-preschool, Gale River Cooperative Preschool; Becky Proulx-(K-4)Outdoor Educator, Newton School; Chelsea-(7-11yrs)Belfast Adventure Education; Allie Flynn; Jay DeGregorio-(preK-6th, senior environmental educator)The Nature Museum; Erika, Wright-Locke Farm; Liza Lowe-Antioch University New England
Meeting Notes:
Each presenter (Megan Dubuque, Laura White and Janis Boulbol) has been engaging students with nature-based education in various ways, modeling and inspiring this work for their colleagues over time. Let’s hear their stories!
INTRODUCTIONS:
Megan: Have been doing nature-based education all along, but this is the 3rd year, once a week for 4 hrs. after attending the Wellborn Conference (taking a mini workshop with Eliza Minnucci and Meg Teachout). We started slow… one hour… lots of boys that year… and eventually took lunch outdoors and now stay out for 4 hours. Came up with a handbook with Eliza and Meg’s help.
2nd year we started slow with one hour at the beginning of the school year and then two hours. Lunch is delivered in the woods to us. We have a ceremony at the beginning looking at the risk and hazards...
Laura: Taught Environmental Science to begin with. Read a book by David Orr, wrote to him and was advised to study at Antioch. Has done different things at different schools/grades and eventually learned to adapt to the public school setting. Brattleboro - big school gardens and the gardening was used in the curriculum, eventually - Woods Recess! Effective for a lot of learning and social connection and play. Stoddard - Place-Based Social Studies (water mills). At Chesterfield the school - GPS mapping unit with 6th grade then science with 5th grade / once a week outdoor science session (1 hr. 45 min.) The science we’re studying that week gets incorporated (food web, physical change, chemical change, native shrubs, Journey North..)
Janis: It all began at Antioch (early on a semester with Outward Bound, which cemented a lot of what has come to be in my teaching)... Antioch was the marriage of how I want to be as a teacher. First year in Wardsboro… we now snorkel in the river (kids get done up in wet-suits), tracking in the winter, in spring we study the macro-invertebrates to determine the health of the river. Anything we can do as a community to improve the health of the river over time. A few years ago, Eliza Minnucci and Meg Teachout came to us and we had a PLC with them - came up with a plan (K-6) for each grade level for how to teach outdoors. There have been challenges with noise and invasive PI. Younger grades stay on campus….
3rd year where the principal was great about saying that we’ll get you there (down the road to Sharon Academy - outdoor sites) 3rd/5th go one day and 4th/6th one day. Have to plan time accordingly because there aren’t restrooms or an indoor space.
Meg and Eliza have helped us map out the curriculum to touch on when we’re outdoors… concentric circles… individual → whole child → community → global (developmental curriculum). Shelburne Farm and EFS… Whole staff is on board (new hires…. Where are you with this? Willing? Able?)
QUESTION: I am looking for information about if and how you have created a schoolwide plan/ scope and sequence for all the grades.
Janis: First we looked at what is important to us as educators and as a community. What components did we want to see carried through the grades. The nitty-gritty of aligning to the standards and making it beautiful was all Meg and Eliza (grant funded - the principal got this grant). The document was to help us focus our time outside, but also to show the intention… it’s not “just” free-play and exploration… but we also know that we’re held to the standards.
Laura: We’re working to have more and more teachers who feel comfortable to get out there. Two outdoor classrooms, but with 17 classrooms it’s a challenge - a cohesive curriculum planning is in the works (a big block of time is a huge obstacle… we just don’t have the time to make this happen)... having the grant to hire someone to do this work would be great!
Janis: every Friday 1:00-3:00 we have staff meeting and PD and once a month it’s specific to outdoor classroom … that’s where all of this work happened…
Megan - kindergarten and 2nd grade stays on site and 5th grade gets on a bus to go to a different ste (in the woods, with a pump track)... once that happens hopefully 4th and 6th will get on boar. Different philosophy
QUESTION: How big are each of your schools? In terms of land/student number ratio? How many classes of each grade?
Janis: 150 kids, one class per grade… campus is small, not much to it, nice garden space and pizza oven! Not much woods or structure for outdoor use. We also use the White River, which is across the street.
Laura: Chesterfield is K-8. Approximately 2 classes per grade. 14-27 kids per class depending on numbers. Campus is school, playing fields + 23 acres of woods/fields. Town forrest is nearby, but getting there requires a lot of work so on-site is ideal.
Megan: 230 (K-6), 1 acre one campus with a giant stream that runs through it. 30 acres in the woods in town with a pond, the rest is deciduous forest.
QUESTION: How much interdisciplinary learning is happening utilizing outdoor time/space/nature focus?
Janis: Northern Woodlands Calendar - sharing with students… spring wildflowers… birdsongs…
Laura: map of outdoor territory and conversation with parent/adult about where they are aloud to go… each child added their sit spot to their map. Weekly nature journals, even to have 5 kids who are doing this outdoor work can drive the conversation / science discussion. Studying phenology - bud sketches… Jenna Harris Center (lilac in Keene to Chesterfield)... Pandemic Sprite Quest…
QUESTION: Of your time outside what percentage is academic work/study? What percentage is exploration play?
Megan: with 4 hours, science and math, specials outdoors as well
Laura: set routine, which is helpful, 45 min. Science lesson and 15-20 min. Free explore
Janis: 3 1/2 hours, morning circle, yoga in the woods, snakc and free play, reading, ask students to focus on something as we’re walking in, game that’s tied to concept we’re focusing on (ecological concept), use something from Coyote Guide...
Resources:
https://chesterfield5w.weebly.com/whats-happening-in-science
