Integrating Natural Materials in the Classroom
I’m happiest when I am outside in nature. I’ve noticed my students seem to be happiest outside too. Inspired by my summers at Seedlings, visits to Common Ground Environmental Education Center, and Seedlings facilitator Winnie Naclerio’s natural classroom at Calvin Hill, I was determined to further integrate the natural world into my classroom. -Julie Peterman
Viewing My Classroom from a Child's Perspective
Using Windows to Let in Nature
Change Up Classroom Learning Centers
Trade Colored Plastic Toys for Natural Materials
Your Passion and Curiosity are Contagious
As the school year goes on I continue my quest to help children become explorers in the world of natural materials. I could not be happier that most of my students share my love for and fascination with all that the natural world offers us. I am even more excited for each passing season to find things we can learn about and explore together.
The words of natural artist Andy Goldsworthy helped me understand the draw that natural materials have for my students and me: “We often forget that we are nature. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.”
Bringing nature inside for our children to explore and engage with is one step toward regaining that connection.
Julie Peterman was one of our inaugural Seedlings Fellows and is now a K/1 Seedlings Facilitator. She brings the wisdom that comes with nearly four decades of teaching to Seedlings teachers to help them grow in their profession.
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