At the beginning of every year, I ask my students to choose a special spot in our school gardens in which they take time to observe changes, sit quietly and notice sounds, sights, smells and textures. It is an opportunity for my students to get right into the garden, to become fascinated with all that nature has to offer and to make connections with their environment. Each time I ask students to reflect in their journal in different ways by drawing, writing or perhaps collecting special teasures from their "spot".
Although they can choose a new spot, some students often choose to return to their spot from previous years which I feel indicates the strong connection they have made.
I love how respectful each student is of their space and how peaceful this part of my lesson is. Afterwards we shared with each other why we chose this space. I loved hearing how these 7 and 8 year olds felt about their spot.
Jacob's (Level 2) journal entry....Why I love my Spot
1 Because there's lovely birds there
2 Because there's thousands of trees that give us oxygen
3 Because there's a bird house for birds to come in.
4 Because there's food you can eat that is healthy.
and finally 5..Because the bird sings loud and lovely........sigh......I love it!
2 comments:
I used to get my grade to do this...well it was a bit different. We'd find a spare few minutes everyday and would go out into the grounds and find a place that is inspiring. Then we would sit and listen or watch or smell and then we would write for five minutes. I'd always get them to start with a theme (what can I hear), but invite them to write whatever entered their head. I'd always end up with the most amazing stories with detail and engagement. Best writing task I ever did.
Chantal
So wonderful to be able to connect with nature like this! We are so lucky to have some great gardens which we can work in whether it's maths, literacy, art, drama, music, science.....etc. etc.
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