The Tiny Kingdoms Program at Timberlake Farm
by Chris Myers
Timberlake Farm, a 165-acre earth sanctuary and learning centre in Piedmont, North Carolina, is a unique place of beauty, with wildflower meadows, four miles of gentle trails, two lakes, small streams and tall hardwoods and pines. In 1999, a new three-story "treehouse" became both the practical and spiritual epicenter of Timberlake activities, which include a permaculture garden, programs for children and adults, and a place for non-profit retreats and meetings.
At Timberlake, we work from an awareness of the relatedness of all creation. Our work, like the work of Chickasaw poet and novelist Linda Hogan, desires to "show possibility, to show another way of being in the world where there is a relationship and a recognition of that relatedness. It is about a community larger than human. It is about our bond with other animals, with creation itself."
A highlight for Timberlake Farm this past autumn was the opportunity to host Joseph Cornell for a two-day experience of SHARING NATURE WITH CHILDREN. A generous grant from the Greater Greensboro Foundation made it possible for us to invite a number of students from local colleges, as well as others interested in becoming Earth Guides at Timberlake, to participate. It was indeed a magical weekend of learning, laughing, playing, and sharing that left us in closer relationship with the earth and with each other and gave us all new inspiration for sharing nature with children and adults. Cornell's Flow Learning* system, which he so enthusiastically demonstrated during the weekend, is an important component of the interactions with the natural world in all Timberlake's educational programs. The smooth, natural flow of the four stages of the system -- Awaken ENTHUSIASM, Focus ATTENTION, Direct EXPERIENCE, and Share INSPIRATION -- lends itself especially to the educational philosophy of Timberlake.
This is nowhere more evident than in our Tiny Kingdoms Program for 3-5 year old children, designed so that encounters between the child and the natural world are small-scale and at the child's eye level -- encounters with moss and fern and mushrooms and frogs -- with worms and flowers and ants and ladybugs and butterflies. The children view the small world of lichen and snails through magnifying glasses and share with each other the tiny kingdoms they discover.
The starting point for excursions at Timberlake is the Treehouse, where the children's enthusiasm is aroused by stories of the many creatures they may encounter during their day. The hayride that follows story time gives the children an overview of the farm and an opportunity to feed the cows at the barn. After the hayride, they visit the permaculture garden where "Farmer Joel" shows them the vegetables, the compost heap, and -- most interesting of all -- earthworms! The morning's story from Elfis the Earthworm (by Nancy Northrup of Black Mountain, NC) inspires the children to learn an earthworm song, with wiggle-worm motions, which they gladly perform for Farmer Joel. They leave the garden, sometimes with seeds (and worms) planted in paper cups, sometimes with a freshly dug potato, or perhaps with sprigs of fragrant herbs.
After snack time, the children gather with an Earth Guide at the entrance to the Creeping Cedar Trail at the edge of the woods where the Guide explains that they are about to enter a magical place which is the home of many creatures and that it is important to treat this home with respect by entering quietly and walking carefully. Then, in pairs and holding hands, the children cross over a stick laid across the trail at the border of the magical land where many wonders may be discovered and shared -- wonders that might include a beetle or pretty leaf or a mysterious hole in the ground where "someone" surely lives. Partly because they are so much closer to the ground than grownups, very small children see amazing things that creep and crawl on the earth, and the most miniscule of creatures or plants are often the most loved.
Frequent stops are made along the trail to give the children practice in using the senses -- the sense of touch by examining different textures -- smooth, rough, slick, prickly, sticky; the sense of sight by using "soft eyes" to see patterns, shapes, sizes, colors; the sense of smell by sampling the aroma of fresh loam, the scents of cedar and wintergreen and wild cherry. There is a "listening circle" where, with closed eyes, the group waits silently for sounds of bird calls, breezes in the trees, falling leaves, or each others' breathing. the children may safely taste twigs of black gum and sassafras, and, in season, may sample huckleberries, muscadines, or hickory nuts.
Along the trail, the children may come across a ring of "fairy dust" circling a small, flat stone -- evidence that suggests that a dance may have taken place here the night before. To the children's amazement, this suspicion is soon confirmed by a giant turtle who lolls across a huge log beside the trail. The turtle talks with the wide-eyed children, telling them that her name is "Boxy," and that her job is to help look after the forest and its inhabitants. She chats with the children about their favorite discoveries along the trail and asks that they be her helpers in keeping the earth beautiful.
Back at the Treehouse, the children recall and share, in a closing exercise such as the "Wonderful Circle," the experiences of the day. Each child contributes a favorite memory to take home before they all wave goodbye with smiling faces and full hearts.
by Chris Myers
Timberlake Farm, a 165-acre earth sanctuary and learning centre in Piedmont, North Carolina, is a unique place of beauty, with wildflower meadows, four miles of gentle trails, two lakes, small streams and tall hardwoods and pines. In 1999, a new three-story "treehouse" became both the practical and spiritual epicenter of Timberlake activities, which include a permaculture garden, programs for children and adults, and a place for non-profit retreats and meetings.
At Timberlake, we work from an awareness of the relatedness of all creation. Our work, like the work of Chickasaw poet and novelist Linda Hogan, desires to "show possibility, to show another way of being in the world where there is a relationship and a recognition of that relatedness. It is about a community larger than human. It is about our bond with other animals, with creation itself."
A highlight for Timberlake Farm this past autumn was the opportunity to host Joseph Cornell for a two-day experience of SHARING NATURE WITH CHILDREN. A generous grant from the Greater Greensboro Foundation made it possible for us to invite a number of students from local colleges, as well as others interested in becoming Earth Guides at Timberlake, to participate. It was indeed a magical weekend of learning, laughing, playing, and sharing that left us in closer relationship with the earth and with each other and gave us all new inspiration for sharing nature with children and adults. Cornell's Flow Learning* system, which he so enthusiastically demonstrated during the weekend, is an important component of the interactions with the natural world in all Timberlake's educational programs. The smooth, natural flow of the four stages of the system -- Awaken ENTHUSIASM, Focus ATTENTION, Direct EXPERIENCE, and Share INSPIRATION -- lends itself especially to the educational philosophy of Timberlake.
This is nowhere more evident than in our Tiny Kingdoms Program for 3-5 year old children, designed so that encounters between the child and the natural world are small-scale and at the child's eye level -- encounters with moss and fern and mushrooms and frogs -- with worms and flowers and ants and ladybugs and butterflies. The children view the small world of lichen and snails through magnifying glasses and share with each other the tiny kingdoms they discover.
The starting point for excursions at Timberlake is the Treehouse, where the children's enthusiasm is aroused by stories of the many creatures they may encounter during their day. The hayride that follows story time gives the children an overview of the farm and an opportunity to feed the cows at the barn. After the hayride, they visit the permaculture garden where "Farmer Joel" shows them the vegetables, the compost heap, and -- most interesting of all -- earthworms! The morning's story from Elfis the Earthworm (by Nancy Northrup of Black Mountain, NC) inspires the children to learn an earthworm song, with wiggle-worm motions, which they gladly perform for Farmer Joel. They leave the garden, sometimes with seeds (and worms) planted in paper cups, sometimes with a freshly dug potato, or perhaps with sprigs of fragrant herbs.
After snack time, the children gather with an Earth Guide at the entrance to the Creeping Cedar Trail at the edge of the woods where the Guide explains that they are about to enter a magical place which is the home of many creatures and that it is important to treat this home with respect by entering quietly and walking carefully. Then, in pairs and holding hands, the children cross over a stick laid across the trail at the border of the magical land where many wonders may be discovered and shared -- wonders that might include a beetle or pretty leaf or a mysterious hole in the ground where "someone" surely lives. Partly because they are so much closer to the ground than grownups, very small children see amazing things that creep and crawl on the earth, and the most miniscule of creatures or plants are often the most loved.
Frequent stops are made along the trail to give the children practice in using the senses -- the sense of touch by examining different textures -- smooth, rough, slick, prickly, sticky; the sense of sight by using "soft eyes" to see patterns, shapes, sizes, colors; the sense of smell by sampling the aroma of fresh loam, the scents of cedar and wintergreen and wild cherry. There is a "listening circle" where, with closed eyes, the group waits silently for sounds of bird calls, breezes in the trees, falling leaves, or each others' breathing. the children may safely taste twigs of black gum and sassafras, and, in season, may sample huckleberries, muscadines, or hickory nuts.
Along the trail, the children may come across a ring of "fairy dust" circling a small, flat stone -- evidence that suggests that a dance may have taken place here the night before. To the children's amazement, this suspicion is soon confirmed by a giant turtle who lolls across a huge log beside the trail. The turtle talks with the wide-eyed children, telling them that her name is "Boxy," and that her job is to help look after the forest and its inhabitants. She chats with the children about their favorite discoveries along the trail and asks that they be her helpers in keeping the earth beautiful.
Back at the Treehouse, the children recall and share, in a closing exercise such as the "Wonderful Circle," the experiences of the day. Each child contributes a favorite memory to take home before they all wave goodbye with smiling faces and full hearts.