Kids Passionate about Nature, Naturally

In April we expanded our Life Science studies to an emphasis on ecology, with special events for Earth Day and National Wildlife Week. I knew we were venturing into passionate territory when we began to talk, read, and sing about endangered species and the rainforest. Once again kids pursued their individual interests within our overall theme with project-based activities. In collaboration with our new Young Naturalist Club, the kids each chose a special topic to work on for their individual projects. We had a beautiful display on litter such as styrofoam and plastic bags and its effects on wildlife, a hands-on display explaining how and why to choose earth-friendly toys with samples to pick up and play with, an anti-litter campaign DVD/habitat/poster exhibit, a poster plea on simple ways each person can save the rainforest, and a tri-fold poster on the relationship between cell phones and loss of gorilla habitat. Phew!!! Did we learn a lot about the interconnectedness of all life on earth! Please read the Earth Fair coverage (http://youngnaturalist.blogspot.com/) to learn about the wonderful community education event sponsored by our little group at the local public library.

In our music circle we were inspired by the book, “Where the Buffalo Roam” by Jacqueline Geis, to write our own song featuring the wildlife, plants, trees, and landforms of our local Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve. Sung to the tune of “Home on the Range,” the kids’ own poetic rendition of this one-of-a-kind ecosystem deserves its own post.

We also learned about fascinating symbiotic relationships through the beautiful book “Friendships in Nature” by James Gary Hines II with paintings by Jan Martin McGuire. We read the picture book “For the Love of Our Earth” by P.K. Hallinan along with “50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth” by The EarthWorks Group to inspire our Earth Day projects. Over the two weeks we read Jean Craighead George’s chapter book “One Day in the Tropical Rainforest” in which a young native boy saves his rainforest home by finding a nameless butterfly. Each time we read some chapters out of the book I’d have kids jumping up from their seats saying things like “We have to do something!” or “It’s just not fair that we have homes and the animals are losing their homes!” and then they’d proceed to draw or paint or work on their Earth Fair projects with renewed resolve and interest.