In September, the kindergarten students at BrightPath Active Learning in Westerville, OH, worked with Education Director Coral Owdom and Naturalist Colleen Sharkey on a beautification project near the school’s entrance.
Owdom, who taught a traditional elementary school class before accepting her position at BrightPath, describes the experience as multi-faceted, combining elements of math, science and physical activity, all in a wholesome outdoor setting.
“As a teacher, you’re not going to be planting mums at the average school,” Owdom said. At BrightPath, teachers have the flexibility with time and a staff-to-student ratio that allows them to follow the lead of students, delving into their questions and ideas.
BrightPath students, all 5- and 6-year-olds, led the process of planning where the plants should go, sorting the colors, and dividing them so each student would have an equal number to plant.
The students envisioned how the flower bed area would look, designing where the plants would go, and how many of each color should be placed together.
The act of gardening also reinforced the concepts of taking care of a shared space, and working as a team.
As they were digging, they discovered grubs and worms in the soil. Sharkey informed the students that grubs eat roots. The students didn’t want to grubs to eat the roots of the mums, so they all worked together to transport the grubs to another area of the school grounds. The earthworms they found were dried out, so students looked for a wetter area and moved the earthworms there. Teachers reported that they grouped the creatures into families and learned about geology and biology in the process.
The students helped dig the holes and carry the plants, working on large motor skills.
“We keep the kids moving whenever possible,” Owdom said. “There will be quiet times and focused learning moments, but they will be supplemented on a daily basis with movement activities, songs with motions, acting out/charade behaviors, physical games outside, hiking and exploring with our feet whether inside or outside.”
“Frequent nature lessons as well as exploratory walks and free play time in the outdoors lead to teachable moments on a regular basis,” Owdom said. “We have noticed that all children find enjoyment outside while some learn better or find more interest whenever we go into the outdoors.”
“These children come alive in a different way in the natural setting and it is exciting to see the wonder and adventure in their eyes.”
Owdom says all teachers recognize teachable moments, but because BrightPath doesn’t have the same time constraints and has a smaller class size than traditional schools, BrightPath teachers are able to follow up on most or all of student’s questions and curiosities.
BrightPath uses nature as a forum for learning. We harness the interest and fascination children have in nature and integrate literacy, science, math and social studies into these experiences.
