Silverwood Park - Samantha Longley - residency - 2.5 hours
I had a great day at Silverwood this week! I was with a school program. River Tree School brought 14 kindergartners to learn about oak trees. Sam was the lead teacher and we also had an accompanying naturalist - Chelsea. We did a quick story time with a book about oak trees, made and decorated a paper bag book, and then went out on a hike in the park to look at trees and play games.
I really liked this structure of reading then making then getting out in nature. The kids seemed to really love it. Watching Chelsea and Sam work was really helpful. They got them to focus, be quiet when needed and used fun sounds and hand gestures to help them remember what they were learning. The craft was great, I love bookmaking and this was a great, simple task for them. They all really loved their books and were excited to take them home. The art focus was texture. We took rubbings of bark and leaves both in the classroom and out in the park.
We asked questions to establish what knowledge they came in with. We let them share some stories as kids that age tend to really want to. After the nature lesson and story, we asked what they learned. There were several moments where instead of asking them to raise their hands and share with the group, we had them share with a partner which for this age group seemed to work really well. Kids this age tend to feel like they never get to talk or share and get upset or sad about it. Having them share with a partner gave them all a chance to talk.
I’m really looking forward to working with Sam and Chelsea again soon! April will have me at Silverwood a lot - it’s going to be a good month at the park.
lesson outline, example journal, and stamps used to decorate