Springtime, Phenology, and Lifelong Learning

This is what I love about learning alongside children: I’m brimming with excitement over learning something new. While thinking about our Spring study of the “life science” of plants and animals, my interest was tempered by a feeling of “been there, done that.” At first, all I could think of were the typical science experiments with sad plants in cups in the classroom window and lifeless drawings of the anatomy of a plant. I also felt like it would be overwhelming to fit together a study of plants, insects, and animals because each is such a huge topic area. I knew I needed some fresh inspiration for a holistic study of this wondrous process.

During an internet search, I stumbled upon the term phenology on a wonderful site for “nature detectives” in the UK. This may be a common term in Great Britain or among climatologists, but I had never heard it, and it’s such a great concept! Bingo! We’ll study the relationship between climate and living things and nothing could be more relevant to these precious kids who will be part of the solution in an era of climate change.

Once the kids and I got going, following our interests in this area and getting dirty with some good hands-on measuring, planning, digging, planting, watering, and observing, we sure covered a lot of intellectual territory in a few short weeks.

As always, a variety of great literature inspired us on our journey. We read a great picture books like “Growing Wild: Inviting Wildlife into Your Yard” by Constance Perenyi and “Sunflower House” by Eve Bunting, both of which inspired us to plant flowers and trees that attract, feed and shelter birds, bees, and butterflies and to hang up seed and nectar bird feeders. We also measured and plotted a bean-pole teepee and planted peas, nasturtium, and passion vines around it. The kids crowded inside to see how many can fit and look forward to being shaded in their home-grown garden retreat once the vines grow big. After reading the hilarious story “Tops & Bottoms” by Janet Stevens, the kids were even more interested in the carrots, broccoli, and corn growing in our kitchen garden. I also used several good reference books [Sunflower Houses by Sharon Lovejoy, Seeds of Change: Learning from the Garden by Mannes & Rehns, and Gardening Wizardry for Kids by L. Patricia Kite] to guide us in experimenting with seedlings and watching how plants respond to temperature, light, soil, wind, and also practical gardening outdoors.

Of course the kids needed no encouragement to dive into learning about a variety of animals too. We read some fun poetry about animals and a great chapter book, “Funny Frank,” by Dick King-Smith (author of Babe: The Gallant Pig). The kids delighted in hearing the story of a chick who wants to swim with the ducks and the inventive way his human family helps him to follow this seemingly absurd dream. We also read several Aesop’s Fables about animals that each kid had identified an interest in, and it was fun to hear some of the “morals” being brought up later to resolve conflict during outdoor play.

Our month ended with fabulous presentations of the projects each child pursued at home and during Circle Days. We had a poster teaching all about wild mustangs, a diorama with facts about the endangered Pacific Pocket Mouse, a fan book and diorama about the life cycle and habitat of frogs, a beautiful diorama and lapbook about dolphins, and a creative picture book about a pet bunny with accompanying poster featuring cottontail rabbits. The kids presented their projects individually and loved sharing all that they had learned together with the group.

And all of this enriched with songs, rhymes, music & movement renditions, paintings, drawings, and poetry writing. The colors of Spring, along with scientific exploration and discovery, reflected in a colorful array of learning and celebrating together. I'm so glad to be learning along with these children for my own lifelong learning adventure!