youth education

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Tell Me a Story!

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Tell Me a Story!

Swapping nature stories with kids is one of my favorite parts of each education program lesson. It’s a fun, loose, easy part of class that can be silly or serious. But the real reason I love it so much is because it gives me a little window into each kid’s relationship with nature. I can learn about what they’re noticing, what’s important enough to them to remember, and what they think is interesting enough to tell me. We learn how they feel about a sighting based on how they tell it: was the snake they saw scary or cool? Did they feel bad for the mouse, or happy that the hawk got to eat? Maybe both.

This article is part of Madison Audubon’s Spring/Summer 2022 Newsletter. Read the full newsletter here!

Photo by Carolyn Byers / Madison Audubon

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Teacher, Teacher, Teach Me Love

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Teacher, Teacher, Teach Me Love

One of the underestimated joys of human existence is watching great teachers at work and today I saw two of the best: Josie Guiney, a 4th grade teacher at Madison's Lincoln School and MAS's very own Carolyn Byers. The occasion was "the-worst-of-COVID-might-be-beyond-us" renewal of the annual field trip for those 4th graders to Dane County's Basco Unit of the Sugar River Wildlife Area. The kids spend a couple of hours learning about prairies and rivers and then accomplished some good conservation deeds.

Photo by Carolyn Byers / Madison Audubon

Visitors from 9 to 99 at Otsego Marsh and Goose Pond

Dorothy Haines, a Madison Audubon member for over 50 years (recently featured in our Meet a Birder series), and eight residents of Oakwood Village East visited Goose Pond today and were greeted by thousands of waterfowl and ring-billed gulls and mid-October weather. Dorothy enjoyed stopping at the Browne Prairie and at the Kiosk.

Columbus Grade School has been frequent visitors to Goose Pond and Otsego Marsh this fall. A class visited Otsego Marsh today and as they hiked up the trail a teacher said, "We are going to see what has changed since we were here last."

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Bird Names for Birds

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Birds are awesome. They come in all different shapes, sizes, sounds, colors, and habitats. Some are bold and loud, some are elusive and quiet. Some perform, build dozens of nests, or sing beautiful melodies to attract a mate. Some eat fish, others seed, others insects, others nectar. Some are striped, some speckled, some solid colors. Some migrate, some overwinter. Birds are AMAZING.

Some of the people they’re named for, however, are not amazing. These people lived lives that do not uphold the morals and standards the bird community should memorialize. Birds should have bird names, and these honorifics should be changed. Instead of naming a bird after a person, why not give birds names that describe the bird?

Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar

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Teaching Outside: Outdoor Routines

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Teaching Outside: Outdoor Routines

In our last blog post, we discussed some tips for getting ready to take your students and lessons outside this coming school year. Now it’s time to think about the importance of creating routines for your students in your outdoor classroom, and we will leave you with some of our favorite ideas for routine-building activities.

Establishing outdoor routines with your students can help them engage in the natural world and provide structure for outdoor lessons. Providing consistent structure helps ease the transition out of and back into your indoor environment. Students will know what to expect from their time outside, and they will learn how to guide themselves from one activity to the next.

We will also include some ideas for transferring these routines to an online learning format as many schools are starting the school year virtually. Nature is a great way to connect with kids even when you cannot all be outside together, and you can set up outdoor learning routines for your students to do as they are able off-screen and at their own homes.

Madison Audubon photo