Teacher vs Student

Parkinson's chapter on the shortcomings of binary thinking really resonated with me and has helped me to think about my teaching since then. One of the really valuable applications of a more holistic thought process in regards to teaching is recognizing how inextricable teaching and learning are. Any time you teach you learn and when you are the learner or student you are teaching.
Last Thursday I had a really unique opportunity to take a group of students out on the trails near the learning center in the morning and then in the afternoon go out on the very same trails as a student. It felt like a controlled experiment. The group sizes were similar, the paths were the same, and the experiences happened within 4 hours of each other so recall was fresh. The manipulated variable was my role a teacher and then student. The results were that the differences in the experiences in the two conditions were very few.

In both conditions I found a lot of value in what other people found valuable. On both walks people would point out things they found interesting or beautiful and all of the members of the group would offer any pertinent information. Sometimes I would know a thing's name or some piece of information about it and sometimes I wouldn't. I do think that the expectations of me were different in the two conditions. When I was the teacher most of the questions were directed towards me. When I was the student most of the questions went to Lisa. I didn't hire a statistician to help me out on this but I would guess that I had answers as frequently on the first hike as on the second. I also think I probably learned as much from my compatriots comments of the first as the second. In both instances peoples questions caused me to seek further information about certain questions that were raised on the trail.

I guess what I am trying to say is that that day acted as a stark lesson in always being willing to be flexible in your rolls. Just because I show up ready to teach mean that I wont also be learning or visa-versa.

Touching is seeing?

Yesterday, Amy, Matt & I, taught Kindergarten at Chamberlin. It was a new experience for me to be in a school building, as a teacher, not a student. 45 mins is not a very long time to have with kindergarten to attempt to cover living/non-living, MASH, Seeds & Plants, and seasons. I really wished that I could have taken those children to Merry Lea. Their curiosity and energy was contagious. Instead of having them come to carpet and since we had Autumn Adventure workbooks for them to write in, I had them stay at the tables. This helped with crowd control, and I was able to bring things to each table group. I am constantly amazed at how many times I hear "I can't see" from a child in the group of students that I am working with. This did happen occasionally in the classroom, but even more often in groups at Merry Lea. Often, when I observe the child, this was especially true in the classroom, that to me there is no reason that the child can't see. I was holding the plastic jar of frogs right above the middle of the table group, the child had no obstruction to seeing the jar or the frog inside. When she was able to put a hand on the jar she calmed down. Why is seeing so often associated with touching? How often do adults tell children to look, but not touch? How do we work with their natural inclination to touch, and yet make sure that each has the opportunity to "see"? We try to talk about being gentle, of leaving things intact, often adults emphasize the dangers of thorns or poison ivy. I want them to experience nature, not just think of it as something beautiful to look at, but something to interact with. In thinking about changing attitudes, it seems increasingly clear that interacting with nature is the only way that behavior changes. So how do we walk the line? Encouraging gentle touching (without scratches or itchy results). Is observing (without touching) a skill that needs to be taught?

Autumn Adventures

This week featured my final two Autumn Adventures (of three total). The experiences were polar opposite.

The first grade group had something like five or six parents and a number of quite rambunctious little boys. There were a number of times where I had to repeat myself several times, and when the kids did hear me they just ignored me completely. There were a number of stations where the parents kept talking, which modeled to the kids that it was ok to be obnoxious and rude. At one point I "sacrificed" the group and started teaching three kids who were actually interested in the topic at hand. I found myself silently counting the minutes for it to all be over, and when it was all over I fell to my knees. After lunch we were on the trail. While it wasn't perfect, being on the trail was exponentially better. They payed more attention overall, and the parents only talked in the back slightly. The teacher tried "catching" a snake by hitting it with a stick, but it got away.

The second grade group on the other hand made me happy to be an educator. The children were responsive, friendly, attentive, inquisitive, excited, intrigued, fun, a joy to be around. There were two parents in my group, who were very polite and helpful. While on the trail, a number of kids kept showing me random things they would find: leaves, and nuts, and seeds, and a millipede, and mushrooms. I told them it was alright to ask questions, and they asked A LOT of questions. They were well behaved on the trail and at the stations. We were about seven minutes late getting back from the trail, but it was only because we were having so much fun turning over logs and exploring. I am very very happy that this was my last group of teaching Autumn Adventures as it will remain in my memory with a hint of sweetness.

I'm not sure if the big difference between the two groups was age, or the number of parents, or just the kids in general. I didn't really change my teaching style in between the two groups. I had a bit more direction during the second group, putting a theme to our walk (wild edibles), but I'm not sure if an increase in confidence is enough for such a big change. Perhaps I should have been more governing with the first group, but that's just not my style. I don't want to spend large amounts of time playing babysitter - I just want to be silly and goofy and have fun learning and teaching about the beautiful world. The excitement of the second group was infectious, and I could have spend all afternoon with them hiking on the trails and overturning logs.

Last Farmcraft and Autumn Adventures

My last 2 farmcrafts were for 2 different groups from the same Goshen school. They both went over well. It is such a great program for its purposes and the kids really enjoy them time at the farmstead. The second farmcraft was the very last farmcraft for the year. Too bad. The second group of students did really well. I would say the animals, toys/games and cider press are the favorites. It is getting hard to do garden at this late time in the season. The most interesting part, on the second day was Jane video recording the granary station. I thought there would be a small camera set up, maybe a hidden tripod. But no, Jane was standing behind the students with the camera getting all the action on film. It was hard not to acknowledge the camera. I caught myself looking at it and I could not help but smile at the camera. I can’t wait to see how silly I look on the video.

On Thursday, I had Autumn Adventures. I love this program!!!! I could do a program like this all the time. A wonderful nature hike with a bunch of very inquisitive and energetic youngsters. We had the hike before the stations. I think that the program works well either way - hike then stations or stations then hike. Personally I would rather do the stations and then the hike. It is easier to reinforce the topics discovered at stations during the hike. The hike is so much fun. Aaron and I merged groups to play the bird migration game on the long, wide lane instead on just on the trail. I think this went over pretty well- more room for them to run. I had a great compliment from the students teacher - she actually used the word phenomenal. Again here at Autumn we were video taped. This time it was put up on a shelf in the library for the insect station. It was not as easy to notice the taping of this station. I did not have the urge to look at the camera, because it was out of the way - out of sight out of mind. There was so much else to do at the insect station than worry about the video recording. Too bad these programs are winding down, now back to us being the students...

Highlights from a Great Week of Teaching

Today featured one of the best Farmcrafts I've taught yet. I'm not sure if it had to do with the students (first graders) or because there were only two adults in the group instead of five or six, but they were responsive, well behaved, friendly, and a overall a great group of students. I was also really excited to remember around five or so names compared to my zero-one a few months ago.

A few highlights: During our "migration" across the lawn I asked them to stay behind me just like geese stay behind the leader, and it worked much better. I hesitated to do the harvest for cottonwood leaves (for the goats) because I couldn't see many of them, and was about to change pace when they all seemed to find the leaves better than I could! At one point a little boy, Andrew, just sort of took my hand as we were walking, and it just sort of hit me: I could be a role model to some of these kids - scary thought!

--

Enchanted Forest was a great experience! It was my first official "acting" role since elementary school. I've always wanted to be a character actor is some sort of feature, so this was a great opportunity to play the role of some non-human creature.

There was a bit of nervousness before the first group on both nights, but I quickly got into it. The guides were a relief, as there were many times where I wasn't sure of the timing or what to say or what to ask. For many of those awkward moments, the guides were quick to fill in the gaps and keep the conversation going. I was also really happy about my placement with other people.

Amy and I (skunk and owl) had a great interaction going as we transitioned. It was surprising to see how some groups would rally around the skunk to save it from the owl while others would try to give away her location.

The fox and coyote station on the second night was also really fun. We had a great back-and-forth going the entire night, with humorous antagonisms, and I think it went great overall!

The only downside is that I didn't get to see what everyone else was doing, but it was a great experience and I hope to get another opportunity again. This sort of teaching (dressed up as a character) is something I can see myself doing as a side job.

Sight and hearing

I have often felt that there never seems to be enough time teaching farmcraft to relate to the individual children. While, compared to the 10 mins of being an animal for Enchanted Forest, it seems like plenty of time. I also have a new appreciation for being able to make eye contact with the children that I am talking to. I really disliked not being able to see, okay, to be fair, I could see some. At one point though between the hat I had on my head to try and stay warm, and the mask, my vision was drastically obscured, and it wasn't until the group left that I finally was able to adjust it, at that point I couldn't tell if anyone was waiting to ask a question, or as some children did raised their hands. This a great reason to have a guide, and it was nice to have someone else to help with encouraging questions, or even repeating quiet ones. (I found it difficult to hear with the mask on.) I enjoyed being a guide on Friday, and talking with the group between stations, and even trying to encourage questions, or repeating ones that had been missed. I am glad to have sight and hearing intact. I am also glad to have longer periods of time than 10 mins to interact with students.

Pulling teeth

For the past 3 years I have been helping out with the Quail Unlimited Youth hunt up in Elkhart county. I have always done a number of teaching things that have always revolved around teaching about habitat for quail and restoring prairies/ creating prairies. However, this years group was a little dull and unresponsive. For the first time, they didn't really want to learn about how the birds they just hunted survive in the wild and what they can do to help preserve their habitat. I typically have them go out and pick something that looks interesting to them. However, they didn't do that. Instead they just wondered trough the plants like sheep. It was also hard to get them to answer any questions. Its was like I was the dentist trying to get that tooth out of their mouths but it just didn't want to come out. Unfortunate I couldn't use power tools to get them out, that might of made things a lot better.
Although on the plus side all of the parents were super interested.
I don't know why this group wasn't like the ones in the past but I think that they still took something away from my lesson (or I hope so). One of the girls in the group did say that she was tired because she had to get up at 6am to be there. So maybe next time I should give them all coffee before my lesson. Maybe that will get them going next time.

Enter the Beaver

Oh man, so many good potential titles for this post: Leave it to Beaver; I am the Beaver, Choo-choo-ka-choo; DreamBeaver; A Tail-Slapping Good Time. But I digress.

In case anyone didn't know, I had the distinct privilege of being an enchanted beaver on Saturday, and it was even more fun and exciting than it sounds. I was somewhat nervous at first. I had spent some time studying up on the beaver and all of its intricacies. Finally got to use that Peterson's Field Guide to Mammals! There was more information about the beaver that I didn't know in the that book than what I did know, and I thought I had a pretty good handle on beavers. Heck, I even did the beaver for my animal adaptation profile in Natural History! So, I was really hoping that I could remember everything about them as I became one of them.

The studying paid off, because I don't think I got any questions that I didn't know the answer to, and I had enough material to talk about and fill the time when there weren't questions. I even had the foresight to grab a couple props. I took a paddle out to smack the water as groups approached, and I took the beaver chew from the learning center (hmm, I should probably return that) to show the kids that beavers really do chew on logs and what it looks like when they do. However, even more satisfying than the prep paying off was just how much fun it was and how much the kids seemed to enjoy it. I think some of them actually thought I was a beaver! Just awesome. I guess if the whole EE thing doesn't work out, I can get into the sports mascot business.

Enchanted Forest was a really unique teaching experience that I'm so glad I got to take part in. There's something truly special (or enchanted?) about physically "becoming" what you are teaching about. It creates a totally different dynamic: teaching in first-person rather than third. You can use different language and act differently than you normally would. I think it creates a totally different learning experience for the students, as well. It was certainly memorable for me, and I hope even more so for the kids.

comments to carli and aaron

Carli --- "the genius of autumn adventures". I agree about the magic of the unstructured hike, and having a similar component in all of the programming at ML. This is somewhat similar to comments of Jason's several weeks ago regarding farmcraft and inquiry.... how adding a less-structured, more nature-focused station might add to the value of that program.

Aaron --- thanks for telling us what you need when you are, shall we say, out of sorts. If we all communicate that way, we'll be a better team and provide a better product. And, in our defense, most of us respond to issues by trying to fix them. Glad you are back!

the freedom of the outdoors

Last week I taught Autumn Adventures. I thought that I had the material down pat because I had just taught it the previous weeks. Feeling confident I arrived on the scene ready to roll, and not feeling that I needed to look over the material for the stations. My confidence was apparently unjustified because all of the information had escaped me along with a lot of the procedures for the stations. The one that stood out as a less than stellar station for me was the spores station. All i was armed with was a crumpled up mushroom and a dried up brittle fern. That doesn't feel like very much to go on when you have 12 first graders for 15 minutes. Evidently we are supposed to spend much of those 15 minutes actually looking for spore producing plants right there in the LC yard. Brilliant! (if only i had reviewed the material)

Really thought I think that that is just a microcosm of the genius behind Autumn Adventures. My stations were a mess. Then we had lunch and went for a hike. It was like the magic came back! I could do no wrong out there. The kids and the adults were riveted by everything they saw. I didn't have to try to decide moss or mushrooms or trees to them. They were all right there. People had original and probing questions about the season changing. The pressure was off and the learning was on. Long story short I love that hike. I look forward to more unstructured OUTDOOR time in our programs. I think that all of the programs would benefit from including this as an element.

reflecting

First of all, I'd like to thank Carol for scheduling me to observe Wonderful Wetlands again. It was beneficial. It was a great wet day. One boy asked me how I knew what I knew while we dipped. I said I'm an engineer and came here to learn this for a year. His dad's an engineer, too. I heard two girls comment that Tom knew everything.
With the teaching schedule slowing down a bit, it's tough to reflect on specific days. Last week was Autumn Adventures on Tuesday, Creative Writing on Wednesday, Wetlands observation on Thursday and Enchanted Forest Saturday. These were distinctely different experiences.
I said in last weeks post, on Tuesday morning, that Autumn Adventures would be great because it had been in the past. Instead, there was a little disconnect. I felt like I was trying too hard at the stations and wasn't really achieving my intent - it felt less like experiential learning and more like passing information in different locations. I recognized that some of this was related to one or two disruptive students, and I did a few things to mitigate, but I didn't overcome the challenge in my 2 hours of stations. The hike was better. I love the insect nets! And the squirrels hid and found lots of corn. And one of the moms carried the frog we found back to the LC for us.
Creative writing brought me back to my world -- adult learning and teaching. I liked what Jennifer did in having us spend time "word harvesting" in an applicable environment. I think often about how what we do with EE and teaching K-12 can be beneficial in that other world. My post next week will reflect on this.... I am teaching 12 hours in Holland Michigan on Wed and Thursday.

This week was my first experience teaching Autumn Adventures. I really enjoyed it. It was a bit odd, because there were only 8 students and three teachers. Jason had 4 in his group and Matt and myself each had 2. Man o man, the two girls in my group were so quiet. It freaked me out a little. One girl was 5 and the other was 8. The 8 year old, Ashley, would not answer questions directly; she whispered them to her mother.
After lunch we all went on the hike together. The 8 children were all so curious; it was great. The 5 year old, Faith, who was in my group in the morning totally changed personalities. She was asking questions, talking out loud and just overall enthusiastic. It was nice to see.
It was a good first time for me. I was a little nervous, because I was unsure of the material to be covered. I look forward to the next Autumn Adventures.

Coordinate and Autumn Adventures

My first chance to coordinate went over well. The preschool group was great: small groups, active participation and a hay ride. This group of preschoolers were fun and really interested at all of the stations. We did not do laundry or granary, due to the shortened time they were at Merry Lea. Carli and I were the only two on duty that day. We did substitute in the toys and games station, since we had 3 year olds. We thought it would be a station they would really enjoy. They did! Having these little tikes in the cinder press was a challenge. They were so small it was hard for them to turn the press. They did well with my help on the other side turning the wheel. I was surprised at how well they were involved in the summer kitchen. It was obvious many of them had spent some time in the kitchen with mom at home. They did like the muffins I made as coordinator. We were getting low on a few of the baking supplies. I informed Carol, but since Farmcraft is winding down, I think we’ll make it through with the last bit of baking powder. The hay ride was enjoyable for the kids. Every time I looked back they were all wide-eyed. The hay ride got off to a bumpy start. The tractor was cold, since it had not been used in a few days and since it was a chilly morning.
Autumn Adventures went very well too. Individually the groups were small, like 2 or 3 students each. We had to keep the stations indoors at the Learning Center since it was raining out that morning. With three small groups and six stations, we stayed out of each others hair pretty well. Some of the homeschoolers were full of questions, active and involved. Others in the group were quiet, shy and hard to get involved. The hike in the light rain was fun. Since the total number of students was small, we all joined forces for the hike. It was great for Ken, Jason and I to hike with all the students together. They had fun playing the games and talking about many of the things we discussed at the stations. The parents were involved in helping by being the boundaries for the games. They really liked this program. If my children got to come for this program, I would definitely like to tag along.

Coordination

While I haven't taught many programs at Merry Lea this past week, I was given the opportunity to coordinate a standard Farmcraft for the first time. Nervousness beset me in those first moments, but it quickly subsided as I began to introduce the 59 second-graders to Merry Lea, program safety, and their leaders.

Overall the program went fairly smooth. It was interesting to see the various nuances that differed from the other grads. We each seem to have our own teaching style and way of interacting with the children. I think this is the greatest benefit of coordinating.

There were a couple times where the head teacher asked me a question about the program. For example, she asked me if the students were going to do the apples because she hadn't seen a group in there. I just told her that we had fewer groups than stations and everything was fine.

These last couple weeks have given me the opportunity to try out a couple more behavioural methods, which have gone alright. My name retention rate has gone up from zero to about three - sometimes even after I ask their name several times it's still difficult to remember. But at least I can remember a few. A month ago I couldn't even do that.

There are a couple Autumn Adventures coming up and I feel completely unprepared. But just as Farmcraft was once an unknown, I'm sure it will be ok.

thankful

As anyone who worked with me on Friday noticed, I wasn't in the best mood. There were many things that contributed to the moodiness, one of them being the 3 days of rain that we had. No matter my mood, I still put on my happy face and was excited to work with the 2nd graders. I don't think that it really affected my teaching and I don't think the students were picking up on my false face I had on.
Anyway, one thing i have to say is, that I appreciate the fact that people sort of let me be, before the students arrived. I don't get in these moods very often and when I do its best to leave me alone. Which everyone did and it turned out for the better for everyone. The one thing I want people to know is that when I am in these bad moods and you can tell. Just leave me alone, don't try to ask me whats wrong and try to make me feel better. It has been tried in the past and it doesn't work. In all actuality it makes things much worse for you and me. But I do realize things still have to get done and I do them and work with others. What I am saying is don't try and make me get out of my bad mood. I can work with others in this mood and still get things done.
With that, I am happy that no one attempted to make me feel better on Friday.

teaching and missing teaching

I was disappointed to miss both of my Rock Cycles. Today I have Autumn Adventures, and will enjoy it, having had a delightful one last week.
I was on farmcraft last Friday. It was a nice group of 2nd graders. Very interesting how different one group is from another. This was Friday. Perhaps we were all tired. It was a sunny day that followed 3 days of heavy rain. I thought behavior could be all oveer the map. Instead, my group was attentive, quiet,even. And it was a gentle meander around the farmstead. Jason coordinated, and I felt like I had plenty of time for everything, no hurries, no worries. But I didn't feel that there was a lot of excitement. Perhaps this is the difference betweeen 2nd grade and Kindergarten...or some other variable. I thought later how much I like to see their excitement. This is, I think, how I judge my success.

The past week I coordinated for the first time. I do not have any exiting stories to tell about. The group showed up on time and everything went as it usually does. The students had sack lunches so I did not have a fire to make. One interesting thing was that I could not find the muffin materials, because they were placed in a bag in the far corner of the kitchen. Sara called Carol for me and we got it figured out. But, I could not find the baking powder, it was in the pantry and I did not know we had a pantry, so I used the ancient baking powder from the summer kitchen. Worst muffins ever. Half the students came out of the summer kitchen spitting out their muffins. Oh well, what are you going to do. Those kids will never forget this day.

The best yet!

This weekend, Laurina and I had the opportunity to teach a Farmcraft program that very well may have been my favorite of the whole term so far! We hosted a group of 10 awesome girl scouts, which I think made for an amazing experience for everyone. Very small groups, relaxed stations and transitions, and plenty of extra time to take a little nature hike. On top of all that, my Mom was here to visit, and being a Saturday Amy didn't have to work, so they both got to see me in action!

I was amazed at how different the whole program feels when you only have a group of five and there are no bells to signal the station changes. It was like all the usual restrictions of Farmcraft melted away. Rather than being pressed for time, I found that I had extra time at the stations. The girls had more time to do hands-on work and ask questions. I had more time to go into topics more deeply and explore the space we were in a little more.

Top all that off with the opportunity to build a fire for them to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, and a nice long straw ride that included a stop to hike out to the bog and jump around like maniacs. I think Laurina and I both really enjoyed the chance to teach a little bit about what we knew about that part of the property instead of just the stations of the farm. Laurina talked bog, I talked prairies and ditches, it was great! When we were done with "All Earth's Creatures" the girls even taught us a song! It was about the journey of a baby bumblebee who gets picked up, squished, licked, puked, and cleaned up. Heartwarming ;)

Oh, a reminder to all: if you notice that we are running low or are totally out of anything, please let Carol or Jane or someone like that know about it. In just this past week I think we were out of some ingredients for muffins, and apparently we ran out of Farmcraft certificates and Enchanted Forest fliers. I know the ingredients have been restocked, but we didn't have any certificates or fliers to hand out. I suppose that was the low of the day. I know it's really easy to forget, and it certainly tends to slip my mind pretty easily. So, let's all try help each other to remember stuff like that. Word.

Highs and Lows

Weather! I really wish that we could skip to spring. (I know, then we wouldn't have sugar bush, but I have to admit that I am fairly apprehensive of being cold). Everyone said that I would eventually get used to winter. Well, I have to admit that I still haven't. I still dread those mornings when I can see my breath, when there is ice to be scrapped off my windshield, or worse snow to be shoveled. I get tired of layering clothing, feeling like I can't move properly. I don't like wearing gloves, not being able to manipulate small items. I start moving slower, choosing not to do things, because it is cold. Wednesday's cancellation, felt like a snow day! A day to stay curled up inside, reading a book, drinking hot chocolate. Friday, I struggled to be excited about being out in the cold. I struggled to find my normal enthusiasm for interacting with the school group. The group seemed to have trouble focusing, the parents in my group were great at trying to help, I tried to point out that if they listened well, they would have more time to do the various things at the station. Some complained of being cold, but there wasn't much that I could do about that. In the kitchen and again in laundry I allowed them to warm up by standing near the fire. There are so many factors that I can't control about my teaching day. This is frustrating probably for all teachers, but when we see them for 4 hours, it is disappointing to have a low energy, low temperature day.

The next day, Tom and I had the girl scout troupe. Talk about a high after a low, while there was frost on the ground, the sun quickly warmed up the day. The small number of girls (5) made it easy to interact with each of them and learn all their names. It also allowed a more relaxed day, as we could move from station to station with more flexibility. I could pay more attention to their questions and their level of learning. We were able to take them on a straw ride and even go to the bog.

Even Parker Palmer a 30 yr teaching veteran would agree that, this is life, not every day is a high, thankfully, not everyday is a low. I just hope that I can continue to find ways to make those "low" days still include a high.

EE for a 3 yr old?

Matt and I did an hour and a half farmcraft for a group of 12 students. They were only 3! I could just squeal thinking about how adorable they were. So tiny. So curious. Such off the wall
answers.
"What do you think that smell is (refering to the smoke they had noticed)?" CHICKEN FIRE!
"What do we get from chickens?" MILK
"What's in here (showing them the fire inside the stove)?" CHRISTMAS TREES!

More than once I thought, "oh my these little people are just insane." It is like a bunch of tiny people who are hallucinating on drugs or something. Are they seeing things that I am not? Then I realized that they have only been alive for 3 years. They spent the first one lying around pooping and they might not remember much from the second one. So really EVERYTHING is new to them. They are trying to make connections in a world where every thing is strange. I was trying to talk about the energy we get from the muffins we were eating standing outside of the Kitchen, when one of them interrupted me. He had just spotted the bathrooms and was so excited to have made a connection. "Look! bathrooms! We wash our hands in bathrooms!"

So I guess the point that I am trying to make is can we really teach EE to person with one year of life experience when they seem to be having psychedelic hallucinations? I think David Sobel would say yes. I agree with him and think that we can start even younger. That is to say that I think that we can foster a bond to nature by allowing children to be in natural places. I don't however think that the three-year-olds who were seeing Christmas trees in the wood stove necessarily went away with a greater sense of connection to their world. But then again what do I know?

Another short week

This week was shortened by weather. I had the opportunity to do a program that is new to me - Autumn Adventures. I had not taught this program yet and I was happy to get to it. This is a great program, the students loved it, the teachers loved and I loved it. We had to adjust the schedule a bit, due to the possibility of rain in the afternoon. The hike was first and stations came after lunch. Usually the stations are first and hikes follow, to reinforce ideas discussed at the stations. I think it still went over very well. My group’s hike was very eventful. We played many of the trail games and went to the meadow to catch insects with the nets. It was chilly so I was not sure how many the students would catch. They caught more than I thought. Insects don’t move too fast in the cold. The students enjoyed the squirrel game and the bird migration game. We had a good talk about each subject after the games. The students made some good connections between the activity and its correlation to real life interactions. Stations went over well, too. The time seems so short, just like in Farmcraft. No bells here, just Carol stopping by and throwing up a few fingers, “3 minutes left!” Wow, time flies. So much to say and more that we could do at each station. I am scheduled for a few more Autumn Adventures, I can’t wait, they’re a blast.

I missed the opportunity for coordinating Rock Cycle for the home school group. I like this program, it’s right up my alley, but the weather was against us. I spent some time on Wednesday preparing for leading the power point discussion for the Rock Cycle program for Thursday. Then later in the day, I found out it got postponed. Too Bad. It was rescheduled, so I will get the chance to really lead the program. I also found out the Rock Cycle program for the high school group from Ft. Wayne is cancelled not postponed. That would have been an excellent program to be part of, just like my old classes. Next week will be busy - Farmcraft, Autumn Adventures, and Enchanted Forest.

First Day Coordinating

I coordinated for the first time today. Fourteen preschoolers came to the Farmcraft program this morning. I took half the group while Aaron took the other half. Coordinating went alright, although it wasn't a traditional coordinating role. I didn't keep track of time for the 5 minute warning bell because I was also teaching, but we watched the time and got through the stations in good pace. The introduction and outro went alright, although I still find difficulty using age-appropriate language for three year olds. I wasn't sure where they were developmentally, and so for the entire day I found myself stumbling with words and concepts. In many cases I talked at them instead of asking questions. It seemed that whenever I would ask a question no one would answer, or they would answer with things completely unrelated. I tried to ascertain what preschoolers should even be getting out of the Farmcraft program, and started to focus more on giving them a chance to try things out and just do things kids on a farm 100 years ago might have done them, leaving out most of the theory.

Baking the cornbread muffins went surprisingly well. At first I couldn't find the baking equipment/ingredients, and then couldn't find the recipe. I ended up trying to remember the ingredient amounts we use during Magic Muffins, and sort of just eyed everything: a cup of flour, a cup of cornflour, a bit of salt, a smidgen of sugar, a smidgen of baking powder, and a dollop or so of oil. I didn't see any milk in the fridge so I decided to make vegan muffins, adding two cups of water and half a banana. I guessed at the temperature and kept checking in on them as the bus pulled up. Luckily Aaron was there to greet the bus while I was finally able to put the muffins in the kitchen and meet everyone to take them upstairs. They seemed to enjoy the banana cornbread muffins well enough, and I was glad considering it had pretty good odds to simply turn out as a gooy mess.

I'll have another opportunity to coordinate again soon, and an actual full program - but I was glad to get the chance to try it out with a smaller group. I do think that I still prefer third graders . . . but it's hard to say.

comment on short week

Farmcraft and the Bog sounds so cool. I love it when we get to experience the custom programs. It seems like the perfect costumer service piece, and, it helps us staff(ish) keep excited and engaged.

comment to laurina biking

It was nice to read of your experience on learning from Josiah, and of all the things he did that made a difference in your learning. I am learning so much about teaching by being a student again. Your entry makes it clear that our lives are filled with opportunities to learn, and to teach, and we are surrounded by masters.

N Webster Kindergarten

I had the opportunity to coordinate Thursday and teach today for N. Webster kindergarten. Nice to be able to have both perspectives...
I feel comfortable teaching farmcraft. I LOVE kindergarteners! I appreciate the program and our team and the teachers/parents. Coordinating went well. Plenty of time. Good muffins. I had time to listen to and watch our teachers. It was great. I learned how Laurina talks chicken, how Ken plays corncob "darts", etc. Very valuable. I really liked how relaxing it was. I am struck by the level of professionalism and responsibility of our cohort team. Everyone is good at their jobs and it feels that all are completely focused on providing excellent experiences for our students. I think we are a great team.
This week I will be teaching both Autumn Adventures and Rock Cycle. I haven't done either yet. I'm looking forward to new experiences, new learning, and new students.
This is fun.

Biking beside

So, this weekend I did the Hilly Hundred. I am so excited about having accomplished this goal. Believe it or not, August 2010, I would never have believed I could ride that far. As I lay here writing this, it still seems unreal. So, how may you ask did that change in 14 months? Partly, I had a great teacher in Josiah. When we started dating, it quickly became apparent that Josiah had a passion for biking. I enjoyed bike riding as well, but never considered long distance riding. Early on we biked the pumpkin vine trail in Goshen. Josiah did a great job of encouraging me during the riding, as well as getting a used bike from a friend and fixing it up for me to ride. During the winter of course we didn't ride. This last spring, when Josiah decided that he was going to do RAGBRAI, he printed out a suggested training schedule, breaking it down to show me how easy it was, I knew that starting the program here, there was no way I could participate (still not sure that is how I wish to spend a week of vacation). I saw that there was a benefit ride in Goshen, and we decided to do that together. Josiah went on to do 2 week long rides this summer. I am not certain how the Hilly Hundred came up this fall, but initially I don't think that I was considering going. It sounded like fun, and I didn't want to be left out, so I talked to Josiah about going. End result... I did go. Josiah was really good about sticking with me throughout the ride, encouraging me along the way, stopping to wait when a group of bikers would separate us. He even turned around and went back to look for me at one point (I had already started thinking that he was right behind me). Okay, so how does this relate to teaching. Well, I think it made me realize how important it is to not get too far ahead of the students. Granted, we know a lot more than Kindergartners, but if we display too much of that knowledge at once, a child will be overwhelmed. Just as I became discouraged if suddenly Josiah was at the top of the hill, and I was struggling to get up. Now granted, I still walked up 4 of those hills. I would have walked up more of those hills, if it hadn't been for Josiah, and some other bikers encouragement. I honestly wasn't certain if I could make it up some of those hills. So, how do we as educators, ensure that those "hills" are challenging enough to keep a child's attention, and yet don't seem so big that they become overwhelmed. I am eager to "bike" beside them on that ride of discovery, encouraging them and challenging them to learn more and achieve more than they thought possible.

The yonger ones

I don't know if its just me or what, but I really like teaching the younger students. Like the kindergarten groups that I just taught today and last week. Although I think I got really lucky with these past two groups! By that I mean, they were really smart in engaging.
But that's what I like about teaching that young audience, there are always engaged in some way or another. Its like filling the blank slate with information that might or might not stick with them as they move through life.
I think also I like teaching the younger groups more, is because they are easier to manage. I really don't have to push them to behave. They so far have been really good at behaving and most I would dare say are very mature for their age.
Now that I say this I am sure I will get a group that is challenging behaviorally in the near future. However, in many senses I like those challenging groups because I learn more when I have to deal with more things at once. Rather then having the children who are good behaviorally and intellectually.
So I knock on wood as a write this and hope I get a group where I don't have to deploy a lot of behavior management techniques but still are intellectually challenging.

Comment on Tom + Reflections from this week

I am not allowed to make comments on this blog for some reason, so I will just include my comments in my blog posts.

Tom talked about the challenge of teaching to a mixed group of students. I think that this is an important thing to think about. At a place like Merry Lea We get mixed group in the form of families often. Do you teach to the lowest level and possibly miss out on the more advanced material for the more advanced learners in the group? Or do you teach the more advanced material and risk losing some of your students completely? Tis quit a conundrum. Though I don't have all the answers I will say that getting to know your audience a little bit BEFORE seems like an ounce of prevention that will be worth a lb of trouble. I don't know if this happened at the photo workshop or not, because I was not there for the beginning lecture. However if the presenters would have taken a quick assessment of how comfortable folks were with the concepts and the technology they would have been better equiped to present their material.

On my last weeks teaching:
I went on a nature walk with Micah's class in Goshen. It was so beautiful and the kids were really keen. I don't know what else you might want from life. Sunshine and happy children are just an amazing combination. The following day was my premiere as a coordinator on farmcraft. Pie, I thought. You ring a bell you light a fire, you smile and point towards the bathroom. Turns out it ain't always a walk in the part. We had 2 separated groups doing a shotgun start because one of them showed up an astounding 40min late. They also had requested a custom bog tour hay rack ride!? Who know such a thing was possible? These factors plus the gale force wind that kept blowing out my fire might have sent a less fortunate soul over the edge. Lucky for me that I had an amazing group of teachers who stepped up to the challenge. Jason was a fearless guide on the unprecedented bog tour hay ride. Amy pulled an impromptu wetland walk out of her hat, and Matt and Laurina did not let a very last minute station switch ruffle their feathers. I thought that things ended up wonderful in fact, but it was owed in whole to others adaptability. Thanks all!

Short week

Last week I was only on the schedule once. That day, Ken let me work his shift, so I could come down to Merry Lea for Farmcraft and our practicum meeting, not just the meeting. THANKS KEN!!!

This Farmcraft group was late, but went off well. They even got a little extra in the process. The group had asked for a custom program. So, the hay/straw ride went a little long. We did not just talk a long ride, the group went out to the bog for a visit. Jason drove the tractor with the wagons. Laurina and I rode in the Ranger, to bring the ladders for the groups to unload from the wagons near the bridge. We parked, walked a little ways then lined the outside edge, on both sides of the trail. We had a group jump, the other group made observations. We talked for a moment about what happened then switched roles and the other group jumped. It seemed that the adults enjoyed this as much as the students. We talked about the soil in that location compared to other places. A few students really had a good understanding of the soil color difference and root development of plants and trees in the bog area compared to the woods.

Even though it was Farmcraft, I am very glad it was different than many of the other days on the farmstead. We had to skip the option station, since the group was late. But, I think it was so much more meaningful for the students to get the bog time than the laundry station. The group arrived late, skipped one station and had an extra long hay ride with a purpose and still got out on time. It was a good Farmcraft Day, but I am very glad that this next week I get something a little different in the way of teaching experiences. This week I get Autumn Adventures and Rock Cycle. Autumn Adventures, I have not done much, but I like it. I hope the weather holds out for us! Same goes for the Rock Cycle. It is much better to do Rock Cycle on warm, not so windy day - We’ll See...

How do you teach a mixed audience?

I keep thinking back on this weekend's photo workshop and the teaching styles employed by the presenters. I had a few flashbacks to our trip to the Dunes and the presentation on the cattails, especially with Dave's presentation on photomacrography. A good deal of that was simply over my head. On the other hand, I know that there were much more advanced photographers there who may have been bored by the presentation.

This all got me to thinking how on earth I would teach to an audience of such mixed knowledge bases. I remember Marvin saying at the beginning of his first lecture on Friday that he would do his best to cater to our varying backgrounds, and I think he actually did a pretty good job. I imagine that the Daves were pretty bored, but I learned a good deal in that first lesson and it seemed like most of the crowd did, too. It probably helped that this was the second time I was hearing it, because a lot of the content was the same as what Dave Miller taught us in Natural History class. I also caught the pearl of wisdom he threw out about using positive language when you are teaching.

Interestingly, I thought he really struggled to teach a mixed audience how to use Photoshop. I was able to keep up pretty well, although I certainly got lost a couple of times. However, there were a handful of people who were not as familiar with computers and therefore appeared to be lost for most of the time. I wanted to stop and help them out, but I knew that would have resulted in me getting lost and then we'd both be in bad shape. It's hard for me to criticize, because again I just don't know how I would handle such a diverse crowd. Fortunately the groups we get for the programs are pretty much the same age and knowledge level, but it's definitely something to think about in case I end up in an informal setting where I'm trying to teach entire families.

The Good and the Tired

After another week of teaching I've been noticing a few things. It seems that with every group I take around to the stations of farm craft, there are one or two sweet and inquisitive children that make me smile and think, "I want a daughter/son just like you." It's a thought I've had more frequently as I approach 30: thinking about kids and how I would teach them and the sorts of activities and lessons I would take them through. I've also noticed that the few names I can remember often times are these - though I have been trying to learn more than a couple names. These also tend to be the kids that ask me a one-on-one question about something, or show me a little lady bug or flower they found. I think it's just those paternal feelings starting to appear from time to time.

Another thing I've noticed is how exhausted I am after the daily events. In the hours after a Farmcraft, all I want to do is sit back in a chair and rest in the serene silence. I never realized how draining it could be!

It's good though, and it's what I expected in the beginning: good but tiring - such is grad school and such is life.

comment to aaron's children of the wild

I really appreciate the honesty of these posts. with this group, do you think there would be anything that experiencee would have you do differently? I haven't had a group like this yet, but I get a twinge of apprehension every morning (pit of despair?) that it may be next. And the thing is, we want them to be excited and adventurous and enthusiastic (wild?), but we also want them to listen and line up. And in this setting we only get a couple of hours to get to know them. Like Tom said, way to put a positive light on a challenging day.

Calm after the storm

Boy, after teaching 8 out of 11 days, I have now had a 6 day weekend. What a shift! It's kind of interesting, I had really been looking forward to having this long stretch of time off, but I'm really missing teaching now. I just felt like I was getting on such a good roll, Amy even tells me that I was leading programs in my sleep!

It all started with an Autumn Adventures program with little Sam Ostergren, a challenging but very fun experience. Note to cohort: it takes A LOT longer to hike to Luckey's from the LC than you might think! We spent a lot of time just ambling along, looking at whatever we came across and playing a few games, and before I knew it we were quickly running out of time. So, we booked it for the last half+ of the hike, but were only 10 minutes late to lunch. Not bad, and I'm pretty sure the students had a great time.

After that, I had a whole mess of Farmcraft, including my first experience as the coordinator! What a fun change of pace that was. I really enjoyed giving the introduction. There had been a few of my own personal touches that I had been excited to add to the intro, and it was fun to have to opportunity to do so.

Of course, mixed into all that was our Rock Cycle observation day. I have taken (and enjoyed) a couple geology courses in undergrad, so I'm really excited to teach this program. I was a little discouraged by how disinterested some of the students seemed to be, but soon discovered that their interest just needed to be redirected. For example, Frances was talking about the esker, but all they were doing was looking for mushrooms and acorns and poison ivy. Although he didn't really seem willing to deviate from the topic, it was a good mental note for me to make for when I teach it. Plus I got to talk with the students about what they had been looking at as we walked back to the rock pit. I don't mean to fault Frances here, because I too have been in the position of trying to teach one topic while the students are totally interested in something else. It's a difficult balance to find, but I think I good thing to try is to acknowledge what they are interested in, and then ask them how it might tie into the topic they are supposed to be learning about.

It is a weird feeling now to be almost a week out of any teaching. I keep looking out my window to see Farmcraft groups and kind of wishing I was out there with them. I suppose I'll get my wish tomorrow. Hopefully I haven't gotten too rusty!

comment to carli

I haven't done rock cycle yet and am SO looking forward to it. I'm glad the little ribbon markers are down there somewhere to lead me to and fro. If you got lost, Carli, my chances are very good... The minute in the maple forest sounds awesome, too. I should ask Amy again for info on that.

The children of the wild

Yesterday, I didn't take my day off, instead I taught rock cycle to Chandler 4th graders. I taught the same school Friday but this was the second half of the 4th grade group. For the most part the group on Friday was amazing and wonderful and really listened and also the same for they group yesterday. However, there were more challenges present with this last group.
When it came time to split the groups up into the two hiking groups, I got the group with the student teacher. Who is a good friend and for the most part was a huge help in dealing with what I call "The Children of the wild". These students didn't want to have anything to do with me or their adult leaders or teacher for that matter. I tried all behavioral management statagies I knew of but nothing seemed to work. These students just ran all over the place and no matter what the adults did it wasn't working to get them from running all over the place. Needless to say I was frustrated and also it seemed that the student teacher told me that this is what she deals with everyday.
Talking with the Teacher later on I found out that I had the group were 3-4 had ADHD and a few trouble makers. She also said that she didn't mean for all of them to get put together and I replied it was a learning experience for me and that i need that. So really at the end of the day, and now, as I look back and reflect from the list of ADHD techniques we read. I realize I could of done somethings a little differently but for the most part, and from what I got from the teacher and student teacher, there was little to be done in the first place. Reassuring A

Flexability

Today, was a rather unique day. Since we had 37 students, and 3 leaders, we didn't have a coordinator ringing the bell. This gave the day a very different feel. I felt much more relaxed after the initial panic because my wind-up watch seemed to have stopped at the first station. I was able to reset it and wind it more to keep it running the rest of the day. At any rate, because we were spread out with an empty station between us, we could be more flexible. I could stay at the kitchen station longer, also cider could go longer. It felt much less rushed, relaxed. I could respond to their questions, move when their attention started to wander. Technically it wasn't any longer than a normal day, but it felt much more relaxed. I wonder if this is more what a day feels like at school, and that a teacher has the ability to stay on a topic or move as needed. I love the structure of farm craft, I love knowing what to move to next, how the activities tie into each other. This is different than walking out on a trail and never being quite sure what it is you might see or encounter. This also allows me the ability to let the students know what is coming next. To say that we have # of stations prior to lunch for instance seems to help some of the students focus. I am still amazed by the difference that each day brings, and the need to keep being flexible, because that allows us to enjoy the differences of each day.

learning the lesson

Did I say before that it is/would be valuable to post soon after the teaching on which I am reflecting? Didn't do it again.. And, I haven't been teaching a whole lot. This week I only have Friday to report. Friday was Farmcraft with Fort Wayne 2nd graders. It was lovely weather. My group was interested and mostly excited. My experience was that it was a great morning, worthwhile and interesting, and I would guess everyone in my group learned enough to make the field trip well worth the 45 minute drive. I was thinking about the children in my group being all African American. The chaperones were mostly African Americans. The teachers were white. We, at the farm, were white. I finished a Barbara Kingsolver book, Pigs in Heaven, this weekend (lots of free time). The book centers on a 7 year old Cherokee girl adopted by a white woman, and the concerns of some regarding her losses if she learns only white ways. It makes me think about what we provide to these urban children. I wonder if there is a part of environmental sensitivity, so critical to environmental literacy, that includes our sensitivity to human diversity. I am very aware that I don't have answers about this.

So, things are going well. The weather was sure nice this week. I hope the warmth hangs around for a little longer. I was on the farm craft crew working with the charter school from Fort Wayne on Friday. They were great. All the students were enthusiastic and excited. It made for a great day. I loved all there personalities. The students referred to a few things as "tight". Thing related to being tight were corncob jelly, shelling machine and the muffins.

Amy was coordinating on Friday. She did a great job. The group showed up twenty minutes late. She handled it well and maintained the bell very well.

Millersburg and Fort Wayne

This past week I had two very different groups for two different programs. Different in previous experiences, race and excitement level:. Millersburg and Fort Wayne.

For Rock Cycle, it was a group from Millersburg. The group was fairly homogeneous according to race. Almost all of the students were Caucasian and many of them were Amish children. Many of the students had pretty good natural history prior knowledge. During our hike out to the beach and bog, our discussion was lively. Most of the students had good answers for many of the questions I asked. Several of them could name many of the tree types we spotted as we walked through the woods. They participated well, we happy and clearly had spent a good deal of time outside during their childhood’s. Two of the boys, I believe both 8 year old Amish children, had already shot and killed their first deer. Boy hunters!

This group followed the leader very well and asked good questions. Their participation was evident, although the group I will mention next was far more enthusiastic about the trip out to Merry Lea.

For farmcraft I had a group of second graders from Fort Wayne. All of the students in my group were African American and I think all the children that came from the school were too. My group was very excited and their enthusiasm was quite obvious. They were loud and full of questions. Their behavior was not rowdy or bad. They were just so stimulated by the new experiences that it was obvious many of them had never been that close to farm animals before. They did a good job relating the animals to the types of food and goods they can supply. Many of them had limited prior knowledge about the garden and food canning, compared to most of the other groups I have led through Farmcarft. They were just as excited about the toys as other groups too. During our march from one station to the next, several were so excited that they kept running ahead, wanting to be first and told on others for cutting. I explained we would all get the chance to try things out after going over directions. I am so glad we give these young children the opportunity to try new things and be “hands on” and “actively involved” it makes their experience that much more enjoyable and memorable for them. This group reminded me a lot of teaching at my school in Elkhart. Full of excitement and the desire to be involved.

Oh... I loved that they all had colored hats, with their names on the bill. It made getting their names down so much easier, even if a few were difficult to pronounce. I liked that method better than name tags.

Lost in the Bog

That title, unfortunately, is not a metaphor for a lack of direction in my lesson planning, or not knowing what to say next. It is in fact what happened to me my first time doing the Rock-Cycle Beach and Bog hike. Luckily Matt has a more reliable internal compass than I. Instead of letting my audience on to the fact that I didn't know where the beach was I just stopped walking and looked around me. Some fern... some mushrooms... some sweet Sicily. If I knew anything about it I would divulge my insight. If I didn't I would ask rhetorical questions questions and secretly feel like an idiot. By the time we finished I could see Matt's group leaving the Bog. We followed him around and back out over the top of the esker.

Since then I have given 3 more of the same hike and now I know where I am going. I have also learned where some points of interest are. The puff-ball, the Silver-maple forest. Inspired by Amy's ecosystem tour, I have added a 1 min stop at the Sliver Maple forest to my walk. "Why are there lots of different types of trees all growing together right there, and right here there are only Silver Maples growing?" ... I guess I got cocky, because I decided to go for a walk in the silver maple forest on Sunday morning of the Hope Conference. Man o man let me tell you I have never been so lost in my life. Luckily I did not have 15 4th and 5th graders + their teachers and parents in tow. They probably would not have been too impressed to be following deer trails out to the road about 1/2 mile from the dome entrance.

So the big lesson I learned from these mishaps is to know your weaknesses. You and your students will benefit from your self awareness and humility.

comment to Jason

It is really nice to be relaxing into Farmcraft, able to notice things that weren't apparent when my biggest concern was saying the right thing or keeping children in line. I didn't think about my questions/questioning today. I'll look for that on Friday. The big change for me is managing my time. It felt easy and intentional today. Couldn't have done that before the familiarity.

comment to carli

Overcoming the fear of change... Familiarity is making farm craft pretty nice. I really look forward to rock cycle feeling that familiar, cause I think it looks like a really great class. It has some great components...lots of outdoor time, structure plus less structure, learning by discovery. I wonder if you're coordinating (a master already!) by the time I get over there...

The Worldview of Farmcraft

One thing that I've noticed in the repetitiveness of the program is that I'm beginning to contemplate and analyze little things a lot more. It's the same way in every learning environment: college students don't really start learning in their classes until they know where their classes are and they have the rhythm down; the first few days at work are spent figuring out the buildings, breakrooms, and workplace style. If your mind is too preoccupied with where to go and what to do, it doesn't have enough time to really consider the content. We are creatures of habit and creatures of ritual.

I'm comfortable with Farmcraft, and can therefore focus on content and interactions more than just trying to remember everything. I'm sure that when I teach my first Autumn Adventures I'm going to be spending a lot of time just trying to get it right, remember what to say, remember where to go.

Today, I started to think about what I was asking the students. For a number of stations I found myself asking, "what can we get from corn?" what can we get from chicken?" what can we get from apples?"

How utilitarian!

I tried catching myself a number of times and mentioning that we can also just get the pleasure of the thing itself, the intrinsic value.

During our class last semester we mentioned a number of worldviews/perspectives about the environment, including conservationist, utilitarian, preservationist, etc. My largest concern with teaching from such a utilitarian perspective is that it considers anything unusable as unimportant and leads to thinking that coal and oil are here only because "what can we get from it?".

Perhaps during the "what do we get from each animal" question-set I'll start asking it in a different way, perhaps "what would people on the farm keep/grow ______ for?" It asks the same thing without being quite as utilitarian.

A small break

So today I took on the role of coordinator for farmcraft. I must say its harder then it looks, especially when the teachers are expecting different things and you have to follow their every want and need. In spite of all of this the job was fun but tiring, so good luck to all of you who have yet to do it. However, even though I was the coordinator and not really teaching, I still found myself teaching and even learning.
I was amazed at the amount of stuff the kids took in today even with the safety introduction that is supposed to be done. So I count that as teaching. But for the most part I in many ways was the student today, not learning from my cohort but learning from my own doing in a way.
I learned that its hard to keep the time on track when your doing something else and not really paying attention to your timer. But all in all I think and also from what I was told it went smoothly. So all in all when your coordinator your more or less the student in learning on the fly.

another day another dollar

I have learned that I would not enjoy being an interpreter if it meant doing the same thing every day again and again. I would not be able to teach farm craft every single day. As it is I am already getting bored with it. This week was nice being able to switch things up with the high school group on Thursday and then observing geology on Friday. I look forward to when I get to teach Autumn Adventures. The thing about farm craft is that nothing really changes from day to day. Depending on the grade and the group some of what I say may change, but for the most part it is the same script each day.

One big difference between teaching in the class and doing this are the thank yous. Most of the time as a teacher you do not get much recognition for what you do until the end of the year. This gig provides daily thank yous and recognition. It feels good.

After reading the article on effective questioning I would like to add that I was recently in a teaching situation and I did not make use of divergent questioning. I asked very basic questions and even gave away answers at time. I would like to add that Matt did a very good job at asking good questions and not simply giving the answer away. Point is that when crunched for time I buckled and gave in to the fear of students not knowing or worse not wanting to know. Bummer.

Familiarity Breeds...Diversity?

I have now taught Farmcraft several times, but I must say that I am not feeling the monotony or restlessness that some of my fellow cohortmates are expressing. I continue to be struck by the dissimilarity between all the groups, even those that are at the same grade level. Sure, it's the same material for every program, but the way the students receive it, processes it, and interact with it really is quite different from group to group. It has been really fun for me to feel each group out and adjust my delivery accordingly.

I do however feel some displeasure in teaching the Farmcraft program; and that is simply because the students just seem to come and go so quickly. At the end of most programs I find myself wanting to spend more time with the students to get to know them better. I just feel like I could make a much bigger impact on their lives if I could have more time with them. Maybe this is my brain telling me that I should actually go into formal education. Then again, my daily renewed excitement with teaching the same program over and over makes me think that I would be well-suited to be an interpreter. I guess the big question is whether I would rather greatly impact a small group of students, or mildly impact a huge group of students. I suppose I have about 8 months to figure that out!

Overcoming the fear of change

On Friday we all observed the Rock Cycle lesson. I am teaching it 2x this upcoming week and I will admit to being bit nervous about it. So far I have only taught Farmcraft and it started to feel familar very quick. A large part of me would really love to teach something new, fresh, and challenging. I need a change before bordom sets in. However changing gears is never easy. Frankly I am nervous. What if I get lost? I dont really know what to talk to them about. I dont REALLY understand the geology of ML.

Things like this are always so hard for me. I know what I need to do and what is best for me, but there is something inside of me that resists. It is a bit disfunctional really. Want to go ahead and just start teachng it so the fear of the unknown goes away. The same things that excite me about teaching somthing new are also the same things that scare me a little bit. I will just play it cool and pretend to know what is going on like always and hope that people are fooled.

Comment on Amy

Hmmm. I have never thought about whether it is possible to “educate” someone with no short-term memory. I suspect that what you were doing was not EE. My question is who cares? Does it matter if we are doing EE every day? I think that it is great that you two had the opportunity to spend time with some folks who could really benefit from it. Perhaps they didn’t walk away better more informed citizens, but that is not the only thing that is important. You provided a great experience for some folks who really needed it. When I am old and have dementia I hope I get to do things like that even if I don’t remember them the next day.

memories for those without

After Wednesday's cider making experience with the elderly people with dementia, Laura posed the question to Sara and I of how this is environmental education. Obviously, for persons who retain long term memories but may not remember their Merry Lea experience even into the next day, it becomes difficult to define it as education. Where the education part comes in is when the adults working with this population see the positive affect these activities have on the attitudes and satisfaction of their group. Too often, elderly are isolated from nature as their physical or mental limitations decline. This is a population that really runs the risk of "nature deficit disorder". Additionally, I believe the elderly are an often overlooked resource. The "sustainable" practices that we strive to achieve were every day living for a generation of people who lived through the depression. Yes, they did this out of necessity. There is much we can learn from them.

The name game

Learning names is challenging. It seems to make such a huge difference, when you are able to use their names to get each persons attention. It is so difficult. I tried to use the animal name thing the other day, but it really didn't seem to help, in fact I think that I had done better the previous day at just trying to remember them. I can't decide if there are just days that I am more in tune or able to focus and so names go better. Sometimes it seems like it is just because the names are more familiar, or the group is 11 instead of 13, and those 2 extra names make a difference. At any rate, I hope that this gets easier, and will keep working at remembering names, simply because I do believe that it makes a huge difference.

Another thing that I have been learning this last week, is how often adults also need to be taught. I wonder how we could better communicate to parents their ability to make a difference in the day. I have to admit that previously I had not considered that part of my practicum learnings would be the adults on the field trip. I am not sure if part of the reason that I had a day with little parental support, is because of something that I did, and they didn't feel like they could step in. Since that day I have been less hesitant to ask parents to do something. On Wednesday, I had a great group of parents, with little prompting from me, they assisted in making sure that lines were enforced, that kids went into the line that they need to be in, and jumped in to makes sure that kids kept their hands safe. Some of the things that they did actually gave me ideas for ways to include parents in the future. (Asking a parent to stand on the other side of the cider press, asking them to assist with helping every child get a turn in the laundry, asking them to finish un-screwing the cider press to prep for the next group.) It is wonderful how every day is a new day with something new to learn.

a long week and a variety of teaching experiences

Laura asked me and Amy, after our cider making with 16 dementia sufferers, how this fits in environmental education (or something like that). Amy and I had a variety of responses, and I've thought about this since yesterday.
How much overlap is there between environmental education and environmental experience? How much education is possible with individuals with varying defecits? What is the difference between training and education? What were the metrics for environmental education? Lots of questions -- most without a clear answer.
I loved being part of this little customized Farmcraft. I was proud to be part of Merry Lea's team, thrilled to be healthy and strong (and young), aware of contribution all around the room, and certain that what we did for a few hours made a real difference. In an earlier blog, someone (me?) wrote about creating memories through the unique experience of Farmcraft. With our Wednesday cider crowd, the memory-creation machine is working in a different way. The children at Farmcraft are learning today about yesterday, and tomorrow will likely have fond and cool memories of what they saw and did. Our Wednesday folks minds are doing something different. Our cider making, and Amy's songs, definitely revived memories for some in the room. It was moving, and fulfilling. And they may not remember any of it today. My mom would say that for her it was like having the Lotto ping pong balls in your head, and they didn't line up and make sense anymore.
I was educated Wednesday. I learned new ways to connect with a diverse population. I saw the dedication, challenges and value of the attendants caring for our group. The attendants were educated, too, and some were obviously delighted, with the cider experience. Many participants learned (or re-learned) how to work the mill, and that the cider POURED from the mill when Arvenus worked the press. I hoped that they learned that many of us were very happy to be making memories with them on Wednesday.
I'm left thinking about how we care for individuals who can't take care of themselves. Are there lessons in nature for this?

Pretzels and Early Group

Pretzels - This extended, custom Farmcraft day was fun. I did not get to stay with one group all program. I got to stay at one station, in the Summer Kitchen and see all 100+ students for Pretzel making. This activity was a real treat. I loved it, the kids loved it.

Jason and I had a good system down for mixing/stirring, proofing and baking pretzels all in 15 minutes. WOW.

The kids liked to be involved, participated well in discussion and were happy to get one of the finished products. I knew what smart 5th graders they were, so they had to do some math, to figure out how to cut the dough into enough pieces for everyone in the group. This left us one short for a larger group in the rotation. We made extra and got it to the unlucky person. The students got to roll out their little dough balls into worm shapes, form them into knots and salt the pretzels. A few students really got carried away with the salt!

Early group - Our Kindergartners got to ML a little early today. The group from Shipshewana consisted of Amish and non-Amish students. It was neat to see their interactions. The Amish children were quieter than other groups we've worked with. But, they still participated very well. There was new and different things for them to see.

We had just sat down to meet before programming and in rolls the bus. I am glad everything was set up at that point. No major adjustments. We just rolled with it. The day went over well. We even had another group of preschoolers at Farmcraft.

Station rotations went well. Time was not adjusted, although we could always use just a little more time at each station. After lunch and straw ride, we got to hike the groups around the wetland. Good call Paul. The hikes were neat with such young kids. I wish we could have gotten just a little more time there too... At times I felt like I was rushing a few students to get back by 1. They were very inquisitive and make great animal sounds.

comments to Tom by example and Amy's spinning wheel

Still commenting thru new post....

On Tom, Teaching by Example.
Thank you for telling us about your grandfather's life and his impact on family and community. I watch you as you teach, and realize I'm not so much listening for what you say as watching how your saying it and how you are being with the children. You have a way about you that communicates clearly to others... maybe it is part of what you learned from your grandfather. You instill trust. I'm so glad that I get to learn from you this year.

On Amy, Spinning wheels...
How fun that you got to work with Julie on spinning! I bet you/it was great! The best partnership of my professional life was team teaching. I never figured out what it was that made it so effective and innovative and exciting. Jerry taught me to teach, took contribution and contributed, and became my dear friend. Knowing what was available with him, I still look for it and expect it again to really enrich my life.

Teaching By Example

Wow, what a weekend. I hope you'll forgive me for being a little nostalgic. It was truly amazing and humbling to see how many lives my Pappy touched. This isn't necessarily relevant to Merry Lea, but it certainly is to teaching. You see, Pappy was a teacher all his life. He came from a large family (10 siblings), so he was always teaching his brothers and sisters how to do their chores as well as how to have fun. He was a Boy Scout leader for 38 years, so he taught 100's of young boys how to be responsible citizens. He was a community leader, so he taught his neighbors how to make a positive impact. He was a father and a grandfather (and a great-grandfather, and a great-great-grandfather!), so he taught many of us kids how to work, how to play, how to be responsible, how to be respectful, how to be selfless, and how to be thankful. The amazing thing to me, is that he did so much of his teaching just through example. I realize of course, that none of you were lucky enough to meet him, but I think we all can learn a great deal about teaching from him in this respect.

We've talked about it in Principles as well as Practicum: one of our most important jobs as educators is to lead by example. One thing I picked up during my stint in AmeriCorps is that children pay A LOT more attention to what we do than what we say. I think it bears repeating that we all need to be very mindful of how we present ourselves and interact with all our visitors, because even when you might think no one is watching, a pair or two of little eyes probably are. I know I have been trying hard to keep this in mind, and I tried to be especially mindful with the Stanley Clark kids. This is purely hypothesis, but I imagine that the closer the students are in age to us, the more they may want to emulate us. No specific examples come to mind aside from just always being upbeat and excited about what we were doing; however, the theme is there.

This is a great area to be able to keep each other accountable, too. I would certainly hope that if I were unwittingly doing something that sets a bad example for the students, one of you would tell me about it. I vow to do the same for you.

The fun keeps coming.

I have now done farm craft five times. I have taught 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th graders. I have yet to have a bad experience and I do not expect to have one in the future. This is a great job, but I would not want to do it everyday. I am one of those people that cannot do the same thing again and again. Eventually I would go farm craft loony. I look forward to my days teaching Autumn Adventure and geology.

I definitely have a system down now. What I say and do at each station has been tuned nicely. Not to say it is perfect, because that would be a lie. We are always learning and with that improving. It is just in a good flow at the moment. I just love being with children again. It feels so good.

I have been thinking a lot about what I will do after this master's program. Part of me wants to try some new things, but a big part of me wants to return to the regular old elementary classroom. We will see.

My head is spinning like a spinning wheel

I loved helping Julie today with the spinning. It felt a little like a tour guide who is rushing people through an exhibit and trying to get everyone done and through as quickly as possible. I think we were both frustrated with the amount of time we had. She has some great stuff and was well prepared and could have taught so much more about the process. It is always interesting to team teach because you have to sort of divide tasks so that you are not both talking at the same time and decide who does what as you go along. We got into a groove after the first few groups and everyone successfully got a piece of yarn made before they left. I think the kids always like having a prop to go with the story they will tell their friends when they get back to school or to share with their families. I think the main thing we learn from doing these practicums is flexibility. Groups will be late or early, you don't know what behavior to expect from the kids and you pretty much have to go with the flow and hope for the best. I think we all did a pretty darn good job today.

Stanly Clark

I loved this group. I can only hope that the rest of my groups are eager to learn and have the drive also. Teaching this group was a challenge though. I found it hard to present things just because they were already so knowledgeable. Really for me the one thing that I got to work on because of this was my ability to learn names of the students a lot better. Because they knew a lot going in, I felt that I could take a little bit more time getting to know their names and that made a big difference. I noticed that because I knew their names they were more responsive. I had a girl named Nikita who was very shy and didn't like to talk but when I called on her a view time she responded better because I got to know her name and she wasn't just another on of the students.
Other then that I am excited that some of them might come back and do more wetland stuff with me.

150 5th Graders in 2+ hrs

I just stood in the animal barn for 2hrs or so while 150 5th graders flooded in and out so fast it made Hamlet's little pink head spin. It was fun no doubt and I am sure that it is important for kids who don't get spend time around animals. An amazing # of them told me that they had never touched a chicken or a farm animal before. Some of them refused to touch them because they were just not "animal people" and animals are gross. I also had one girl ask, " Are those real eggs or chicken eggs?" That one left me reeling for a second.

The things I heard showed me real and evident value in what is going on at ML. Still I feel like I am chomping at the bit sometimes to feel like I am doing real work. I don't know what it is about the teaching at ML that is failing to satiate me. Maybe it is that I don't get a chance to really engage with the kids because they are just zooming by me every 15 min. Somehow I still have this incredible urge to do more. I don't know what that would look or feel like, but I want it none the less.

Stanley Clark

These kids were phenomenal. I don't know if it is the small class sizes, the parent teacher involvement or just the kids, but something is certainly working for S.C. I must admit that it intimidated me a bit at first. "Oh my gosh! These kids are using vocabulary that I don't understand." Was my initial thought. Luckily it didn't take me long to realize that they are still 7th graders. That means that they come along with all of the insecurities of puberty and they still think that I know something they don't. Whether that is true or not is less important. As long as they think that I do I feel comfortable. They seemed to enjoy spending time with us all.

I loved just acting enthusiastic about looking for insects in the woods and mucking around in the wetlands. They seemed to find my reaction to the natural world as fascinating as the natural world itself. That really made an impact on me. These kids are really watching us! They notice if we are engaged, or if we are sneaking texts in the corner. Its worse than working for Santa Clause. We aren't going to get away with anything!

Stanley and the craft

Stanley Clark - It was great to work with a great group of students. This was like teaching my gifted class at my middle school. Same age group, same inquisitiveness. I loved it. I think we all a had a great day with them. The wildlife activity was fun, it was great to lead a nature hike at Merry Lea. The students were well involved, full of questions and answers for my questions of them. It was nice to have the art teacher walking with us, it provided nice conversation about the students, their learning and assignment during activity. The predator-prey game was fun. It was difficult with the rain, the marker marks kept disappearing. I hope we get to play, at least facilitate the game again. The night hike was so much fun, the students enjoyed it, few were apprehensive about the dark. The swamp gas demonstration was super. It flamed longer than I expected it to do. I wish I got to participate with Stanley Clark students on Friday too, but I was off to...

Farmcraft - At first, it was disconcerting to receive an email on the poor behavior of the group of students coming for the program. I did not notice any real bad situations. For the most part, it was a very positive experience for the students in attendance. It did not rain and that allowed most of the stations activities to be more used. I am especially glad we got to be outside for the animals, laundry and garden stations. The students love these and get direct experience with the content of the program. There was a good number of adult chaperons with each group. The moms I had with my group were well involved and that I appreciated. No mess ups in rotations. I got to drive the straw ride. I like doing that. I remember the rides as a child, so fondly. I am glad I get the opportunity to drive the tractor for many other little kid’s memories.

Teaching Parents?

On Friday, several of the behavior management techniques came into use. I tried the technique of just being quiet until the kids noticed, and started to pay attention again. Making eye contact with them, when they start looking around seemed to be helpful. The one thing that I was glad about, that despite the difficulty of always trying to work at getting their attention. I really enjoyed the day, I was energized by being with the children.

The one thing, that in retrospect made me ponder about the day and wonder what to do next time, was the way that one of the parents gave answers to their child. I am not sure how long the parent was doing this, I became aware of it about half way through the stations. I didn't address the issue, and I just moved on to the next thing. I am still not certain how I could of/should of addressed it. Laura, I am certain was referencing this incident in her e-mail to all of us. Her suggestion was to ask parents to not answer up front. This would certainly solve the problem, however, I do want parent involvement in behavior management. I don't want any of them to feel that they are not welcomed to participate, that their isn't anyway in which they can contribute to the learning process of the day. How then do we keep in mind, that while our focus is on the children, we are environmental educators. Perhaps I am an idealist, I believe that we can utilize tools to help to teach parents as well, I am just not sure that I have figured out what those tools exactly are yet.