children's built environments

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Comment by John Thielbahr on August 25, 2011 at 10:18am

Regarding kids outside in winter, Margaret Rietano in DC is in her third year of working with schools to get kids outside in winter.  That is all she does and it is successful.  Here are three ways to contact Margaret and her company The Elements:    www.theelementsdc.blogspot.com ;
www.theelementsdc.com ; and mrietano@theelementsdc.com

Comment by Marilyn Wyzga on August 25, 2011 at 7:35am

Project WILD also has a wonderful supplementary curriculum, created by their Canadian affiliate, called "Below Zero."  The activities focus around winter wildlife and adaptations.

Comment by Juliet Robertson on August 25, 2011 at 7:29am

Hi - I work al year round as a class teacher and take classes outside in winter. Here's a link to my Winter Wonderland pack which is a starting point for working in the snow. Scroll down the resource page til you find it.

 

Next I blog twice a week on I'm a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here! If you go to "Help Blog Index" there are lots of activities which work well outside in winter - for example "Kids measure in desperate weather" I also comment on clothing and other issues around getting children outside

 

Here in Scotland we are expected to ensure that children have access to frequent and regular opportunities for learning outdoors. This can only happen if teachers take children outside all year round. I'm hoping that an outdoor learning pack will soon be published online which links outdoor learning to many curriculum and national initiatives.

Comment by Marilyn Wyzga on August 25, 2011 at 7:21am

Agree!  We made sure to include winter pics on our NH Children in Nature website and Facebook page.  And I definitely address that in our schoolyard habitat program.  In fact, the very first school pd workshop I held was in January -- you should have seen those intrepid teachers climbing over snowbanks to do inventory!

Comment by Laura Duffey on August 25, 2011 at 6:44am

I'd love to see photos and strategies for children learning outdoors in WINTER. Gardens are great, but in many northern states snow is on the ground 5 months of the school year or more. Showing only photos of lovely spring/summer/fall scenes may give the unconscious message to teachers that winter (and therefore 5 months) is off-limits for outdoor learning.

Comment by Suz Lipman on August 17, 2011 at 12:37pm

The Cincinnati Nature Center just opened its new PlayScape. It sounds fantastic!

 

Kids can climb on logs and boulders, dig in dirt, play in a stream and explore natural spaces.

 

gratulations to Bill Hopple and all involved, many of whom are leaders in OH's Leave No Child Inside grassroots collaborative.

 

You can read more here:

http://www.childrenandnature.org/news/detail/cincinnati_nature_cent...

 

and here:

 

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20110815/EDIT02/108150332/Gues...

 

Comment by Suz Lipman on August 15, 2011 at 10:21am

Here's a story of possible interest to this group:

 

Central VA Parents Look High and Low for Shaded Playgrounds.

 

Lorenzo Parker has spent this summer looking for the perfect playground for his 10-year-old daughter, LaTavia. He isn't trying to locate the spot with the most jungle gyms or the highest swing or the tallest slide. He's simply searching for shade. "I plan my day around the shade," he said. A visit to the playground is an essential element of the perfect summer day. But finding a shaded playground in the Richmond area on those sultry Southern days can be a challenge.

Read more:

http://www.childrenandnature.org/news/detail/central_va._parents_lo...

Comment by Suz Lipman on August 12, 2011 at 9:33am

Hi All -- Thought you might be interested in this:

Singapore Aims to Become a City in a Garden.

In Singapore's next "green road map," its 10-year development plan, the country aims to go from being "a garden city" to "a city in a garden." "The difference might sound very small," says Poon Hong Yuen, the chief executive of the country's National Parks Board, "but it's a bit like saying my house has a garden and my house is in the middle of a garden. What it means is having pervasive greenery, as well as biodiversity, including wildlife, all around you." ...

Here's the complete story:

http://www.childrenandnature.org/news/detail/singapore_aims_to_beco...

Comment by Cynthia Gentry on June 20, 2011 at 12:01pm

If you haven't read Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard run, don't walk, to get it! I just got it and devoured it. I learned so much and it has such great ideas. It really is a fantastic, fantastic book. I know I sound like I'm gushing, and I mean to. It is that good.  Congratulations, Sharon, on a wonderful resource. Next month I am joining the board of directors of the International Play Assn. as the Communications Officer and Editor of Play Rights Magazine. I would love to do a review of your book as soon as I figure out what the heck I am doing.

Comment by Sharon Danks on June 20, 2011 at 11:55am

Thanks so much, Suz!  I'm so glad you like the book and the piece mentioned below. :-)

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