Jun
28
I was at an event this weekend in a lower income area, with a fantastic ethnic diversity. Open Space had our own booth. Our stealth ideas for sucking folks into a nature education experience seem to be working. We made a game spinner, like you’d see in Vegas. Although there are no blinky lights, the sound of the clicking wheel seems to automatically call the adults like an ice cream truck calls children. Overheated, sun drenched drones wander toward the table and say “Johnny, play this game” while they sit in our shade on our conveniently provided chairs. Their kids spin the wheel, it lands on an animal, and then we ask a question. (Where does it live? What do the babies look like? What does it eat?) All the questions and answers are in the form of a picture, so you don’t need to be able to speak English to play. You can just point. The rule is… if they get it wrong, you discuss with them until they actually get it right… allowing for unlimited answers, all the while coaxing and smiling and having a fun, non-embarrassing, non-stressful experience related to nature. And when it’s over, they win a prize! They get to choose a book mark with educational info on it, our very own playing cards, home made stickers, buttons or the ever popular Plastic bug. Most children choose the bug that looks most real. And when you ask why, they say, because they want to hide it in their mother’s bed. So see? Some things are darn near instinctual for kids and nature. And sometimes you really can suck them in by stealth. Pied Piper for the parents… (smiling in the sunshine). 
Tags: ESL, festivals, games, ideas, nature
Posted in LEP News | No Comments »
Jun
23
One of the best things about nature is that it reminds us that everything is cyclical. If there seems to be more than your fair share of loss these days, it helps to go outside, watch the natural world and remember that just as things fade and pass on, they are also renewed.
I recently lost a friend to a long battle with several health concerns. His memorial will be held outdoors, in his yard, surrounded by the nature he loved so much. he spent more time outside, involved with the critters and plants than anyone I have every known… and all in an urban environment! If there was one turtle in the middle of all of suburbia… it would find its way to this guy’s back yard. He used to remind me of Aldo, watching his world, from his yard, the glowing ember of a cigarette in his mouth (instead of the pipe), the hair combed back, and his hands constantly in the soil around his home, gently coaxing beauty and life from the earth.
Cycles. I imagine there will always be people like that around… people like us… who are connected, who love the earth, and who understand her ebb and flow.
Tags: aldo, cycles, loss, nature, renewal
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Apr
17
Family Nature Nights feature hands-on play
BY JULIE ANDERSON WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
A new consortium formed to foster nature-based play for area children is launching activities that will provide hands-on opportunities for families and a community forum to plan future efforts.
The group is hosting five Family Nature Nights at local elementary and middle schools. Each will offer at least 15 hands-on, nature-based play activities for children and their families, said Christine Jacobsen, chairwoman of the coalition and education specialist with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District.
The first Family Nature Night was Thursday; more are planned next week and in May.
The group, Metropolitan Omaha Resources for Exploring (MORE) Nature, was formed by more than a dozen area nature organizations, including the Papio-Missouri NRD, the Henry Doorly Zoo, the Omaha Children’s Museum, the Hitchcock Nature Center, the Lauritzen Gardens, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Green Hearts Institute for Nature in Childhood.
The group’s goal was spurred by author Richard Louv’s best-selling book “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.”
The consortium will sponsor an introductory Community Forum on Nature Play on April 28 at the Treetops Restaurant at the Henry Doorly Zoo.
The forum will feature an introductory session about the issue and small-group sessions to discuss in more detail how to restore active outdoor play.
The forum will start at 7 a.m. with a light breakfast. The introductory session will begin at 7:30 a.m. Those interested in attending should RSVP to Jacobsen at 315-1713 or cjacobsen@papionrd.org.
For more information, see www.MORENature.info.
Contact the writer: 444-1223, julie.anderson@owh.com
Copyright 2009 Omaha World-Herald. All rights reserved.
Tags: Activities for Educators, Children, Louv, nature
Posted in Food For Thought, No Child Left Indoors | No Comments »
Apr
4
A friend reccomended this great web site…she really hits the nail on the head.
http://grassstainguru.com/
Enjoy!
Tags: Children, nature
Posted in Food For Thought | No Comments »