Fall in Madison brings blue skies, golden leaves, and now, smiling eyes. We’re back to teaching in person again! This means we’re taking kids out into nature, instead of building that relationship through screens. All of our lessons at schools and community centers take place outside and masked—and it is so good to be together again!
Let us paint a few pictures:
We’re out walking the wellness path at Lincoln Elementary when some kids find a “daddy longlegs.” Lots of them jump back and say “eeew” while some step forward and ask questions. I pick the spider up to give kids a closer look. One wide-eyed child asks a flurry of questions followed by, “Can I hold it?” Their teacher later whispers, “That was huge for them! They smushed a spider earlier this week."
One of our educators, Milcah, is leading kids from Vera Court through the woods at Cherokee Marsh North. Kids are running around picking up acorns while we walk down to the water. They all compare the beautiful shades of brown produced by our oak trees. We look for acorns with and without hats, ones with holes nibbled in them, and special black acorns (the trees produce these when they’re really stressed). Their pockets and minds are full at the end of the walk!
The Lincoln kids are practicing observing like scientists in their nature journals. We move through the class, handing each child something special—a cicada exoskeleton. Some kids won’t touch it at first, but all of them are curious. Alexus, another of our educators, wanders around giving each child what they need: a prompt like, “What do you notice? What do you wonder?” She offers help sounding out a tricky word or encouragement while they try to draw the cicada in two different positions. After a few hesitant minutes, their questions flow faster than we can answer.
Last year during virtual learning, huge smiles and excited nature stories kept our hearts light. This year, we’re excited for muddy boots, surprise wildlife sightings, and feeling the breeze on our faces—together. And of course, all of those smiling eyes!
Written by Carolyn Byers, director of education.
Cover image: an educator holds a tiny hummingbird skull to show a group of awe-struck kiddos (photo by Carolyn Byers).
