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As 70 Nature Action Teams around the world are preparing to attend the Connecting Children with Nature Action Forum in October, many groups are already moving ahead with vigor. For example, Zvia Dover, provides this report from the Tribeca CommunitySchool:
"Like many preschools in NYC, the preschool does not have an outdoor space. However, dedicated parents, teachers, and the Park Department of New York City, collaborated and made it possible for children to care (long term!) for a small natural area that is located about 5 minutes' walk from the preschool. Once the City gave us permission to care for the small space (FREE!!!) we asked all our parents what they wanted to see growing there. It was overwhelming to read the parents' responses, tapping into their own childhood memories; my inbox filled with so many intimate details of parents (then children) spending time with the natural world. No one suggested giving children worksheets on the life cycle of butterflies, nor memorizing 'stem', 'petals', 'roots', 'leaves'. Instead, parents suggested real-life practice with digging, planting, harvesting, etc. One child suggested giving the cucumbers we will grow to the old man with the cart who lives on the bench by the park....
"Two very dedicated 'can do' parents took it upon themselves to contact experts and propose to our faculty the 'best' planting for that area. Faculty looked at contrasts (height, color, texture, smell, speed of growth, taste, and more), and we are committed to assist other preschools in making similar gains in additional locations in NYC! This was not done overnight. The Nature Committee (which is also designing a Nature Room inside the preschool) met regularly to make this project happen from the beginning of this year; we finally ended up executing this project at the last week of the school year. Also, it should be noted that all the children of the school (93 of them!), and many parents took part in this small, but significant experience.
Check the project out on YouTube.
Understand what is safe, environmentally friendly, and healthy when it comes to products and practices used in your program. Help make the world a safer, healthier place for young children. The Go Green Rating Scale for Early Childhood Settings is a comprehensive, research-based tool to help you measure the greenness of your setting, evaluate your practices, and take steps toward environmental improvement that will contribute to children's potential for long, healthy lives. Categories evaluated in the rating scale include:
For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.
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