On Sunday, April 2oth, nearly 30 kids (and their parents) visited the Arboretum to celebrate Earth Day.
This year I decided that there had been enough Earth day speeches, displays and lessons. So I planned a day of smiles and fun - a play day.
We flew kites, searched for tadpoles, ran through the grass and built prairie grass houses. It was one of the best days of the season so far and everyone enjoyed being outside in the warm sun.
Nine teachers participated in the Arboretums first Nature Play: How to Lead Children into Nature workshop. During the two-Saturday workshops, the class learned how to plan, prepare and lead successful trips outdoors with children. The course focuses on providing children with positive experiences in nature - not environmental education.
One of the things I will remember from the class is the time we spent using binoculars. After learning to adjust and focus, we counted how many "black" birds were in the tree, discovered robins have yellow beaks, counted the stripes on a couple of ground squirrels and watched the robins eat worms. At the end of the session I noted that we had spent the time not learning the names of birds or their specialized behaviors, we had just enjoyed exploring nature close up.
Heartland AEA offers one license renewal credit for this course and the 15 hour class is worth one graduate credit through Drake University.