Getting Outside, Learning Outside

          “Ooo! That is SO scary!”

“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere near those woods!”

“Looks haunted to me…”

Although we had just crossed a four-lane, busy street, my kindergartners’ eyes grew big. “What?” I looked around to see what in the world they were talking about.

There we were, right next to a stand of pine trees. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing aloud. “These aren’t haunted! I’m not sure I’d classify them as real woods at all. It’s just some trees growing by this busy street.”

As we continued our shortcut along a parking lot and behind some offices, I mulled over their comments. My students were mostly from neighborhoods with homes close together and plenty of sidewalks. Other than mountain trips and the occasional visit to their neighborhood or national parks, they probably didn’t have many opportunities to delve into woods. Real woods.

• We passed a retention pond. I beckoned them to walk closer to it. PLOP! We all jumped and giggled to see that a frog had heard us approach and leapt out of our way.

• We meandered around a pine tree in the grass between the doctors’ offices. It was then we heard a mother bird fussing at us. We had come too close to her babies, nesting in the branches.

• Stepping away quickly, we looked down to discover ants furiously patching up the mess we had made of their homes.

As we entered the quiet coolness of the library, my mind drifted to a myriad of thought-provoking nonfiction texts on habitats I knew I would find there. Classics by Jean Craighead George and Lynne Cherry awaited us as well as newer ones by Jason Chin. Paintings by Wendell Minor were a must as well. How delightful to discover Cindy Jenson-Elliott’s Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, a Life in Nature! It would definitely bring a new flavor to our photography study as well.

         

On our return trip, I noticed an awed hush from the children zig-zagging around the ant hills, craning their necks to see if Mother Bird noticed us or if the pond were teeming with life again. As we came to the busy intersection, others looked over into the stand of trees, shrugged their shoulders, and smiled.

Noting their eager eyes, I’m reminded again of their exuberance for learning. Another mission took shape - one that would provide even more opportunities for my kindergartners to interact with the world around us in meaningful, new ways.

And we would begin it that very week with powerful books and more walks in our backyard.