Exploring My Backyard: Growing Up Wild

On Thursday, February 24th, I was privileged to be a co-facilitator at a training for Head Start teachers from the Worcester Massachusetts area. A total of 32 teachers of 3 - 5 year olds gathered to learn about Growing Up Wild, "an early childhood education activity guide that builds on children's sense of wonder about nature and invites them to explore wildlife and the world around them." (This from the website http://www.projectwild.org/GrowingUpWILD.htm .)
The site goes on to describe the six hour training as exciting, fun, hands-on... with activities that may include crafts, art projects, music and movement...and much more.

What the site does not say is how much fun is had by all who come rested and willing to learn by being actively involved in the agenda.

Our morning was spent with facilitators (Gini and me) demonstrating active involvement in each area/lesson shared and teachers enjoying themselves as they learned about the GUW materials.
Morning topics included What's Wild?, Wildlife is Everywhere!, and Tracks! Activities included sorting cards and toys into wild/domesticate, going outside to search for signs of wildlife, and learning this chant...

Tracks! Tracks!
(To the tune of "Soup, Soup, We all love soup!)
Tracks! Tracks!
We all make tracks!
Big Feet or small paws
With or without claws.

Tracks! Tracks!
We all make tracks.
A footprint left in mud or snow
A clue that tells which way to go.

Tracks! Tracks!
We all make tracks.
Come follow me and have some fun!
(from Growing Up Wild: Exploring Nature with Young Children, copyright: Council for Environmental Education)

After lunch everybody was introduced to some amazing worms...and learned a song!

Worm Song...
(tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb)

The worms are mixing up the soil,
Up the soil, Up the soil.
The worms are mixing up the soil
So we can plant our seeds.

The soil is loose and all mixed up,
All mixed up, all mixed up.
The soil is loose and all mixed up,
The seeds are growing well.
(copyright: Council for Environmental Education)

Teachers then divided into groups with each choosing a lesson from the activity guides. The fun began in earnest when lessons were presented to the larger group...

"Big Ant Eyes" were created by members of the group that presented Ants on Parade, a lesson that has children going outside to observe ant behavior and learn insect characteristics.

Trash was sorted by everybody then graphed to demonstrate a math connection in Less is More, a lesson in which children learn that using less is a way of sharing resources.

Participants designed their own birds as part of Bird Beak Buffet, a lesson about the special functions of bird beaks.

Each of the seven groups were given time to present their ideas/material as they were comfortable. The day wrapped up with participants providing feedback, receiving their certificate of completion, and taking their own copy of Growing Up Wild Exploring Nature with Young Children activity guide with them as they left.

From the view of a person who has presented numerous math/science/gardening workshops, I was amazed at this day. The teachers attending this training seemed genuinely interested in what was presented. The level of participation and excitement was contagious! This was beyond a doubt one of the best groups I have ever worked with...in over twenty years of facilitation. THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE HEAD START TEACHERS WHO SO WILLINGLY SHARED THEIR ENTHUSIASM, THEIR KNOWLEDGE, AND THEIR TIME.

More pictures...