Jun
22
Special Needs Special Moment
Model Magic Santa Sighting!
Archive for the ‘Coordinator Corner’ Category
Jun
4
Sidebar to “Sky Dance – Missouri Style!”
The following was a sidebar to this article published in Strides but absent from the posting on the Coordinators’ Corner. It may help the reader to know that all the names used in the article applied to the American Woodcock as noted below.
The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) possibly holds a
record for the number of alternate common names given this chunky, large-eyed, long-beaked, well-camouflaged bird. The names given herein are offered to familiarize the reader with those names found in a 1936 Doubleday & Company, Inc. edition of Birds of America, originally published by The University Society, Inc. in 1917. Of the 17 names given, I believe I omitted only one to avoid confusion: Pewee. The tome contains 106 plates in full color by Louis Agassiz Fuertes which in itself made the book worth the 20 bucks I paid at a yard sale. Due
to its age, the book describes the Ivory-billed Woodpecker as being among those species we count as “nearly extinct.” Surprisingly, this bird shares one distinction with the Timber Doodle, which is the name, Woodcock.
Mar
12
Sky Dance – Missouri Style!
From the Spring 2010 Edition of Strides available for download at http://www.lep.org/strides/
Photo U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
“The drama of the sky dance is enacted nightly on hundreds of farms, the owners of which sigh for entertainment, but harbor the illusion that it is to be sought in theaters. They live on the land, but not by the land.” – Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac
By Celeste Prussia, Missouri LEP Coordinator
Finally. I’ve been listening for years. I even shot one 20 years ago from the daylight sky of an eastern Connecticut woodland when I knew very little about the “Timber Doodle” tumble. My self-imposed, lifetime bag limit for that species ended with that bird.
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Jun
24
LEP integrated into Study of Place
Nine South Dakota teachers recently had an opportunity to learn how to study “place” both in the classroom and in the field using LEP curriculum amongst other resources.
The teachers spent one day in the classroom learning activities to teach “place” consisting of the physical, ecological and cultural setting. The teachers participated as learners in January Thaw, and then set to work in small groups to peer present LEP activities throughout the day.
Teachers presented:
Home Range to teach about ecology/animals,
Axe-in-Hand to teach ecology/plants,
Green Pasture - geomorphology,
Come High Water – to illustrate the intersection of the natural and built worlds.
The following two days were spent kayaking the White River doing field studies on soil, plants and water. Teachers were required to journal, keeping records not just of the field studies and observations but also their reflection on being in place on the White River.
The spirit of Leopold was infused throughout the entire session. The Good Oak made for an excellent nighttime campfire discussion while Great Possessions and the ignominiously transported coffee cup served well for a morning. Come High Water was continuously on everyone’s mind as the group kept a sharp eye for boards to salvage.
LEP is an excellent resource to integrate place. With its depth and breadth of content, teachers across the curriculum can find material to use in their classrooms.
For more pictures and narrative about the Study of Place workshop, see this photo album
Apr
28
Inspiration
For those of you who view educational workshops as just that, “WORKshops,” read below. At the end of our Facilitator Workshop in February in Akron, IA, we passed around a piece of paper and asked everyone to jot down just one thought left in their mind from their experience at the workshop. As the paper was passed around, each person was to only read the most recent entry and build on it with their own thoughts. Here is the end result:
Just a thought…
Leopold has been an influence on conservation and his legacy should be continued.
I look forward to taking Leopold’s legacy and sharing it with other children and educators.
I want to teach in a way that will have a greater meaning and a greater impact.
I have learned so much more about Leopold and the importance of this man who came from my hometown. I want to teach what I have learned to the students so they have a better appreciation of this “hometown boy” who did good things!
Every experience we have to learn is our chance to teach the next person. This weekend has added to my “drive” to make moments “teachable moments”
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