tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5019334992708019533.post455311927318254824..comments2024-02-16T02:16:22.724-08:00Comments on Connecting Children to Nature Through American Literature 1890 - Today: Your Encounters with Sharing Nature with ChildrenJan Hummerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03370279743573068372noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5019334992708019533.post-1075141170546842742011-08-21T08:23:26.421-07:002011-08-21T08:23:26.421-07:00I would like to share my experience teaching a chi...I would like to share my experience teaching a child with special needs with an activity from Sharing Nature with Children.<br /><br />The Art of Micro Investigations: <br /><br />From Joseph Cornell’s (1979), Sharing Nature with Children, I have taken the micro-hike activity and its basic idea of seeing things in different way to encounter nature’s tiniest gifts that make a large impact on the environment. I wasn’t sure how he was going to react to this activity, because it required him to get on his belly on the ground so to be fully enveloped by smells and sensations the ground has to offer.<br /><br />We started off the activity slowly. He chose a magnifying glass from a box that I placed on the table. He took the biggest magnifying glass in his hand and twirled it around. He looked at the magnifying glass from every angle, similar to a careful scientist who may be doing an experiment with a beaker. We started the activity with a small mediation by placing our hands to the earth and gently stroking the fine tips of grass with our fingers. He smiled at this small physical contact with the earth, rubbed his hands together, and said, “Let’s go use the magnifying glass now.”<br /> <br />We walked near the creek bed, and he investigated the area carefully. I instructed him to lie on his belly and look through his tool with one eye. This took awhile, and I let go my expectations for the activity. If he wanted to look through the magnifying glass with both eyes maybe he knew something I didn’t. He moved along the ground clumsily at first but then he started to slither like a snake. He carefully muttered to himself in low tone only the insects and dirt could hear. He didn’t want to stop and each time we do this activity it is the same thing over and over again: he wants to continue investigating and playing with the new friends he encounters in this new and magical world.<br /><br />We made many attempts at this activity; he has requested it at least twice a month since we started our activities in nature. He takes this activity slowly so he doesn’t hurt the creatures on the ground. He commented recently, “I did it. I didn’t hurt anything I like in the grass today. They were there and I kept them safe” (Personal Journal Entry, March 18, 2011). Doing an activity like this illuminates his child–like wonder and cultivates a sense of stewardship. The meditative qualities of the micro-hike are revealed, because the activity engages all of the senses on a universal level. The activity allows children living with special needs to find a world in which he or she can be “king of the small things” as he likes to put it. Personally, I wanted to engage in this activity with him, to invite myself to be side-by-side and encounter his magical world as well. I have let this idea go, because this is something he needs to do on his own; he needs to feel the grandeur of the beauty of this planet we all call home.Jan Hummerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03370279743573068372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5019334992708019533.post-46063392396463551572011-08-13T23:40:53.022-07:002011-08-13T23:40:53.022-07:00Hi luxiii! Joseph said that Sharing Nature with Ch...Hi luxiii! Joseph said that Sharing Nature with Children was secretly written to to awaken the child in adults! It really is a great for all age groups...old and young<br /><br />The Sounds exercise is one of my favorite activities as well because it is so simple and helps to calm me down. As Thoreau said, "one cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind." <br /><br />Have you done a blindfold walk with them?Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15563111710873703226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5019334992708019533.post-58328843509562278102011-08-12T17:57:43.070-07:002011-08-12T17:57:43.070-07:00Our local library has a well-loved copy of "S...Our local library has a well-loved copy of "Sharing Nature with Children" and we love it! So many books have cutsy crafts or toddler nature games, but thisone is excellent for older chiildren. We especially like the ones that encourage us to listen to the sounds of nature - it is one of the few times my chatty boys will listen intently to the world around them.How the Sun Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00044626939210641623noreply@blogger.com