Sharing Reflective Nature Activities with Young Children
By Nancy Spagnoli
As a teacher in the Montana public school system, I am acutely aware of the cerebral approach taken in educating our children. Mental activity is emphasized, and intellectual understanding is highly prized. To create a balance, I frequently take my fourth-grade class out to wild areas. I feel it is vital to provide children with opportunities to be in nature, sometimes in physically active ways, and sometimes in quiet, reflective ways. I believe it is important for children to experience the universe through their whole beings - head, body, and heart.
Interacting with nature helps children keep alive a sense of the connection of all things. Being in nature in a quiet and reflective way, listening, watching, touching, and feeling, allows children to witness the interdependence of all things. As children experience the truth that they are not separate from the natural world, but a part of it, the qualities of empathy, patience, and compassion blossom forth.
I integrate field trips into many of our areas of study, including science, social studies, and language arts. Most trips have the students rotate through four stations. Some stations are physically active and interpersonally interactive, others are quiet and reflective. A recent trip included learning the use of compasses, pencil sketching, a "Scavenger Hunt" from Sharing Nature with Children and "My Special Spot" from Journey to the Heart of Nature.
The trip was at a local Wildlife Refuge which is a short distance from our school. The walk into the heart of the refuge is probably longer than our bus ride. I decided to set the tone for the day by describing a "Silent Sharing Walk" to the class. (This activity is also from Sharing Nature with Children.) I explained to the students that we would walk into the site with our partners. I invited them to look and listen for special things as we walked.
They could share their discoveries with their partner in any way they wanted as long as they did not talk. I modeled showing a flower to my partner by pointing to it and getting down on my knees and smelling it. My partner got the message and smelled it too. She looked up at me and, through her eyes and smile, communicated her appreciation for the flower's beauty. The students understood the activity and eagerly agreed to walk silently into the site.
Although I had never done a Silent Sharing Walk with this class, I remembered back to a time I had used it with a second-grade class. It was at this same refuge, and we had spent the morning doing group activities and games focused around the topic of ponds. In the afternoon, we were to meet a wildlife biologist at a more remote, hidden pond. When the time came to start walking over to the pond, I gathered up the class and taught them how to do a Silent Sharing Walk. Then we silently made our way to the pond.
The Wildlife Biologist had his back to our approach and never heard us coming. We were less than five feet away when he turned around in total surprise. With a shocked look on his face, he said, "I never expected a class of 20 seven-year-olds to walk up so quietly!" He was obviously impressed.
On the day of our fourth-grade trip, we used the Silent Sharing Walk to enter the site, to move from one station to another, and to leave the site. The kids were totally into it, especially as our list of wildlife sightings continued to grow. The list included deer, a pileated woodpecker, a mallard duck, a rabbit, chickadees, and two chickens!
During this fourth-grade trip, I conducted the "My Special Spot" station, which is fast becoming one of my favorite outdoor activities. The more I do this activity, the more I become aware of its benefits on many levels. What struck me most this day was the message that the activity was conveying to the students. Although I give them a copy of activity choices to do while they are in their special spot, I also tell them it's fine to just "be" there and not "do" anything. Then, while they are in their spot, I leave them completely alone. They have already been given the guidelines-that I must be able to see them (mountain lions have been spotted on this refuge), and that they are not to get up until I give them the signal.
It occurred to me as I observed my students in their spots, that they were being given a space not usually afforded them during school. In the twenty to thirty minutes they spend in their spot, they are freer than they probably ever are - free from expectations, free from accountability, free from demands, free from teachers or parents. What does this communicate to them? It tells them they are trusted; they are capable. They have privacy. They can relax. And all of this in the nurturing, comforting container of Nature!
It was absolutely fascinating for me to observe my students in their spots. When invited to go find their Special Spot, some students plopped themselves down in the nearest convenient place. Others squirmed and wormed themselves into well-hidden little nooks. Once in their spots, some students never even opened their journals. Others completed every suggested activity. The only student I approached all day was one who had lost his pencil in a bed of fallen leaves and was looking as if he was going to spend his entire time trying to find it. I told him it would be all right to leave it there and use his other pencil. He murmured something and kept looking, so I decided to leave him alone. He finally found it, and I heard him exclaim "There! Now I can do this thing." I learned so much about my students!
After observing my students in their Special Spots, it came as no surprise to me that they all loved the activity. Here is a sampling of their comments:
"I loved that, and wished I had a lot more time."
"It was kind of fun because it was so unusual. I don't usually do that."
"I didn't do any of the paper work. I just sat and relaxed and built things."
"I sat and listened."
Here are more comments, from the children's thank-you letters to the field trip helpers:
"I learned that if you are really quiet you could hear lots of different things. When I went home I spent the night at my friend's house, and we had to be so quiet because there were five deer outside. We did not want to scare them off. So really, when you're quiet lots of things can happen."
"I learned that I can just sit and do nothing and it will feel really good."
"I learned that it is good to be alone for awhile."
"I liked sitting in a special spot alone without anybody bothering me."
I've been working with Joseph's activities for eight years. More and more, I am coming to the conclusion that the younger the child, the more receptive, energetic, and enthusiastic they are with Joseph's work. Although the "Awaken Enthusiasm" step of the Flow Learning model is certainly fun, it is not needed as much with younger children. I have taught second, third, and fourth grades. All three age levels love what I call the "Sensory Awareness" activities: Blind Walk, Meet-a-Tree, Caterpillar Walk, Un-nature Trail, Camera Game, Silent Sharing Walk, etc. I have done these activities repeatedly, and I never tire of any of them.
I have done many of these activities with children as young as four and five. The only modification I make for these really young ones is that I set the Blind Walk rope lower to the ground! I've also used many of these activities with adults. It's interesting to observe that adults are usually more reserved and slower to let down their guard and open themselves to the experience at hand. I've had children lead their parents through the Blind Walk, after they had been through it themselves earlier in the day. No doubt this is a humbling experience for the parents and an empowering one for the kids! I've also had parent and child teams participate in the "Meet-a-Tree" activity. The child delights in leading his/her parent to a tree, and the parents find themselves in the position of having to trust their child.
I am very thankful for all of the Sharing Nature activities. Each time I lead Sharing Nature activities, I add to my collection of delightful, meaningful outdoor memories. A memory from our recent field trip is walking silently with five nine-year-old boys to the edge of a pond. We stood side by side and observed a mallard drake. After a few quiet moments, one boy said in hushed tones that he thought the duck might be getting nervous, and we all decided to retreat. Not a stick was thrown, a rock skipped.
We walked away as silently as we had come, all of us feeling respect and reverence for what we had just seen. This was yet another opportunity to see how the power of guided nature experiences can and does bring forth the highest and most pure qualities in us all.
Nancy Spagnoli is a primary school teacher in rural Montana. She integrates nature and outdoor experience into her teaching as much as possible. She feels very blessed to spend her days with children. When she isn't teaching, Nancy loves almost anything that takes her outside: backpacking, hiking, bicycling, skiing, ice skating, gardening, or simply just sitting and watching the birds.
By Nancy Spagnoli
As a teacher in the Montana public school system, I am acutely aware of the cerebral approach taken in educating our children. Mental activity is emphasized, and intellectual understanding is highly prized. To create a balance, I frequently take my fourth-grade class out to wild areas. I feel it is vital to provide children with opportunities to be in nature, sometimes in physically active ways, and sometimes in quiet, reflective ways. I believe it is important for children to experience the universe through their whole beings - head, body, and heart.
Interacting with nature helps children keep alive a sense of the connection of all things. Being in nature in a quiet and reflective way, listening, watching, touching, and feeling, allows children to witness the interdependence of all things. As children experience the truth that they are not separate from the natural world, but a part of it, the qualities of empathy, patience, and compassion blossom forth.
I integrate field trips into many of our areas of study, including science, social studies, and language arts. Most trips have the students rotate through four stations. Some stations are physically active and interpersonally interactive, others are quiet and reflective. A recent trip included learning the use of compasses, pencil sketching, a "Scavenger Hunt" from Sharing Nature with Children and "My Special Spot" from Journey to the Heart of Nature.
The trip was at a local Wildlife Refuge which is a short distance from our school. The walk into the heart of the refuge is probably longer than our bus ride. I decided to set the tone for the day by describing a "Silent Sharing Walk" to the class. (This activity is also from Sharing Nature with Children.) I explained to the students that we would walk into the site with our partners. I invited them to look and listen for special things as we walked.
They could share their discoveries with their partner in any way they wanted as long as they did not talk. I modeled showing a flower to my partner by pointing to it and getting down on my knees and smelling it. My partner got the message and smelled it too. She looked up at me and, through her eyes and smile, communicated her appreciation for the flower's beauty. The students understood the activity and eagerly agreed to walk silently into the site.
Although I had never done a Silent Sharing Walk with this class, I remembered back to a time I had used it with a second-grade class. It was at this same refuge, and we had spent the morning doing group activities and games focused around the topic of ponds. In the afternoon, we were to meet a wildlife biologist at a more remote, hidden pond. When the time came to start walking over to the pond, I gathered up the class and taught them how to do a Silent Sharing Walk. Then we silently made our way to the pond.
The Wildlife Biologist had his back to our approach and never heard us coming. We were less than five feet away when he turned around in total surprise. With a shocked look on his face, he said, "I never expected a class of 20 seven-year-olds to walk up so quietly!" He was obviously impressed.
On the day of our fourth-grade trip, we used the Silent Sharing Walk to enter the site, to move from one station to another, and to leave the site. The kids were totally into it, especially as our list of wildlife sightings continued to grow. The list included deer, a pileated woodpecker, a mallard duck, a rabbit, chickadees, and two chickens!
During this fourth-grade trip, I conducted the "My Special Spot" station, which is fast becoming one of my favorite outdoor activities. The more I do this activity, the more I become aware of its benefits on many levels. What struck me most this day was the message that the activity was conveying to the students. Although I give them a copy of activity choices to do while they are in their special spot, I also tell them it's fine to just "be" there and not "do" anything. Then, while they are in their spot, I leave them completely alone. They have already been given the guidelines-that I must be able to see them (mountain lions have been spotted on this refuge), and that they are not to get up until I give them the signal.
It occurred to me as I observed my students in their spots, that they were being given a space not usually afforded them during school. In the twenty to thirty minutes they spend in their spot, they are freer than they probably ever are - free from expectations, free from accountability, free from demands, free from teachers or parents. What does this communicate to them? It tells them they are trusted; they are capable. They have privacy. They can relax. And all of this in the nurturing, comforting container of Nature!
It was absolutely fascinating for me to observe my students in their spots. When invited to go find their Special Spot, some students plopped themselves down in the nearest convenient place. Others squirmed and wormed themselves into well-hidden little nooks. Once in their spots, some students never even opened their journals. Others completed every suggested activity. The only student I approached all day was one who had lost his pencil in a bed of fallen leaves and was looking as if he was going to spend his entire time trying to find it. I told him it would be all right to leave it there and use his other pencil. He murmured something and kept looking, so I decided to leave him alone. He finally found it, and I heard him exclaim "There! Now I can do this thing." I learned so much about my students!
After observing my students in their Special Spots, it came as no surprise to me that they all loved the activity. Here is a sampling of their comments:
"I loved that, and wished I had a lot more time."
"It was kind of fun because it was so unusual. I don't usually do that."
"I didn't do any of the paper work. I just sat and relaxed and built things."
"I sat and listened."
Here are more comments, from the children's thank-you letters to the field trip helpers:
"I learned that if you are really quiet you could hear lots of different things. When I went home I spent the night at my friend's house, and we had to be so quiet because there were five deer outside. We did not want to scare them off. So really, when you're quiet lots of things can happen."
"I learned that I can just sit and do nothing and it will feel really good."
"I learned that it is good to be alone for awhile."
"I liked sitting in a special spot alone without anybody bothering me."
I've been working with Joseph's activities for eight years. More and more, I am coming to the conclusion that the younger the child, the more receptive, energetic, and enthusiastic they are with Joseph's work. Although the "Awaken Enthusiasm" step of the Flow Learning model is certainly fun, it is not needed as much with younger children. I have taught second, third, and fourth grades. All three age levels love what I call the "Sensory Awareness" activities: Blind Walk, Meet-a-Tree, Caterpillar Walk, Un-nature Trail, Camera Game, Silent Sharing Walk, etc. I have done these activities repeatedly, and I never tire of any of them.
I have done many of these activities with children as young as four and five. The only modification I make for these really young ones is that I set the Blind Walk rope lower to the ground! I've also used many of these activities with adults. It's interesting to observe that adults are usually more reserved and slower to let down their guard and open themselves to the experience at hand. I've had children lead their parents through the Blind Walk, after they had been through it themselves earlier in the day. No doubt this is a humbling experience for the parents and an empowering one for the kids! I've also had parent and child teams participate in the "Meet-a-Tree" activity. The child delights in leading his/her parent to a tree, and the parents find themselves in the position of having to trust their child.
I am very thankful for all of the Sharing Nature activities. Each time I lead Sharing Nature activities, I add to my collection of delightful, meaningful outdoor memories. A memory from our recent field trip is walking silently with five nine-year-old boys to the edge of a pond. We stood side by side and observed a mallard drake. After a few quiet moments, one boy said in hushed tones that he thought the duck might be getting nervous, and we all decided to retreat. Not a stick was thrown, a rock skipped.
We walked away as silently as we had come, all of us feeling respect and reverence for what we had just seen. This was yet another opportunity to see how the power of guided nature experiences can and does bring forth the highest and most pure qualities in us all.
Nancy Spagnoli is a primary school teacher in rural Montana. She integrates nature and outdoor experience into her teaching as much as possible. She feels very blessed to spend her days with children. When she isn't teaching, Nancy loves almost anything that takes her outside: backpacking, hiking, bicycling, skiing, ice skating, gardening, or simply just sitting and watching the birds.
Free Nature Activity!
https://www.sharingnature.com/uploads/3/8/3/8/38383903/interviewwithnature.pdf
Phone: (530) 478-7650 Email: info@sharingnature.com Sharing Nature Worldwide © 2021
Sharing Nature Worldwide is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization Tax-ID: 47-1259066
Sharing Nature Worldwide is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization Tax-ID: 47-1259066