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Science for Young Explorers “Nature” is Wherever You Are! by William Ritz When we think about nature, the images that arise are often of places like Yellowstone <strong>National</strong> Park or the Grand Canyon. And while these are without a doubt extraordinary examples of nature — perhaps even nature in its grandest form — they just aren’t easily accessible to most of us. So I invite you to start seeing the world around you — wherever that may be — as yet another remarkable place in which you and the children in your classroom can explore nature in wonderful new ways. After all, every school or home is within walking distance of interesting living and nonliving things: pets, birds, plants, colors, and shapes. The kind of nature walks you take is limited only by your imagination. The power of observation Young children need plenty of opportunities to practice and develop basic observational skills. Whether they grow up to be scientists, writers, artisans, or technophiles, all children will bene t from the ability to observe their surroundings, to make comparisons, and to reason. In addition to being a good introduction to science and nature, going on regular nature walks is also a fun, engaging way to alert children to the many interesting things in their everyday world that they might otherwise never have noticed. To get you and the children in your class started, try going on a few “sensory walks” around the neighborhood. You won’t need many tools or instruments for these journeys. Since they are “scienti c eld trips,” you and the children should make sure that all of your “sensors” are ready before you head out. Let the children know that the most important tools they’ll need on the nature walk are their “built in tools” — their eyes, ears, nose, hands, and perhaps even their taste buds (although warn children carefully that this last tool must be used very carefully and sparingly and only when an adult says it’s OK). You’ll also want to take along something to keep track of the children’s observations: paper for writing or drawing, a few pencils, and maybe a digital camera or tape recorder. Remind the children that when we engage in science or nature activities, it’s important to keep track of the things we observe! Sensory neighborhood walks e rst of your sensory walks around the neighborhood could be one that focuses on the sense of sight — in this case, the eyes have it! Select a common shape — perhaps a square, triangle, or circle — and tell the children that you want to see how many things they can nd that match that shape. To remind children of what the shape looks like, give them each a small construction paper cutout of the shape you selected. As you walk around the neighborhood, ask children to nd things that are the same shape. Remember to record their observations (or have them record their observations using drawings). And when the children point out matching shapes, ask IDEAS THAT NURTURE CURIOSITY AND DISCOVERY them to talk about what they’ve found. If someone has trouble “seeing” the shape for which you’re looking, ask the children who have spotted items to describe how they did it. Shape walks are a nice way to reinforce children’s understanding of what shapes look like while simultaneously encouraging children to look much more carefully at features of their neighborhood that may too o en be seen but not truly observed. More ideas for sensory walks On another outing, ask the children to focus on colors. Review some basic colors, and then ask the children to help you pick a color to hunt for on your nature walk. You might also want to discuss shades of color, so be prepared to show them a variety of di erent shades of green if that’s the color your class selected. Before going on your walk, also have the children suggest some items you’re likely to come across that match the color. And remember to record your ndings. Another interesting type of sensory walk is one that focuses on the sounds in a child’s everyday world. As the children 60 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES Back-to-School 2008 THE MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL HEAD START ASSOCIATION
walk, ask them to stay alert for di erent sounds. Let them know that the tools they’ll need to rely on to make their observations are their ears and their listening skills. en discuss the sounds you encounter. What sounds do the children like? Which ones do they dislike and why? Which ones are natural or organic and which ones are man-made? What do the sounds tell you about the people, animals, and activities of the neighborhood? Neighborhoods o en have changing patterns of sounds as the day progresses. What di erences you can detect between “morning sounds” and “a ernoon sounds” as you walk around? What words can be used to describe speci c sounds? Again, ask them to keep track of their “sound observations” with drawings, scribbles, photos, audio recordings, or dictation. Small portable recording devices are wonderful for keeping track of the children’s observations and they also make it possible to review the sound observations when you return to the classroom. For a more challenging sound walk, have some of the children take turns walking around blindfolded (with careful supervision and in an area that is far from cars and other hazards, of course). Are your listening skills sharper when the “distractions” of the neighborhood sights are removed? Another type of sensory walk that can be enhanced by blindfolding is one that focuses on smell. What odors do the children detect? Which ones do they nd pleasing? What comments do they make when passing a bakery, for instance? Encourage them to describe the odors — and don’t be satis- ed with vague descriptions like “it smell’s good” or “it smell’s bad.” By encouraging more speci c descriptions, you’ll help the children expand their descriptive vocabulary. You can even challenge them to draw pictures that illustrate the odors! Still another sensory walk might focus on textures. Observing the textures of pavements, walls, tree trunks, and owers is an excellent way of helping children sharpen their “touch observations” as well as their descriptive language skills. Data collection during this walk can include rubbings. Rubbings are simple to make. All the child needs to do is place a sheet of paper over an object (a leaf, for example) and drag the length of a crayon over the item. For some objects, you might need the children to work in teams of two: one to hold the paper and the other to do the rubbing. Display the rubbings or share them with families. A critter safari Critters (or small animals of one kind or another, such as worms, beetles, pill bugs, butter ies, or snails) can be found on almost any neighborhood walk. Of course, grassy areas and places littered with leaves or other plant debris are o en the best hunting grounds. Look for di erent kinds of critters in weeds, dirt, trees, cracks in the sidewalk, under rocks, and even near trash cans. Invite the children to talk about how the critters look, smell, move, and feel. To help enhance their observations, give them hand-held magni ers. If your center has some bug containers or “bug houses,” be sure to bring them on your critter walk. Of course, use good judgment when touching small insects or animals. Here are a few questions you can ask to encourage the children’s explorations: What can you tell me about this critter? Where is its head? Does it appear to have eyes? How many legs does it have? Tell me about how it moves from place to place. What color is it? How well does its color blend in with the place in which you found it? If you were that critter, how would you try to blend in with your surroundings? Science for Young Explorers Nature bracelets Nature bracelets provide young nature explorers with an enjoyable way of keeping track of the interesting things they nd and collect. All you need to do is to place a strip of wide masking tape, sticky side out, around the child’s wrist and you’re on your way. As the children nd interesting things on the walk — ower petals, leaves, seeds, pebbles, twigs, and so forth — they can attach the items to their bracelet and let the collection grow as they walk and explore. Bring the tape along with you in case you have an eager scientist who wants to amass a large collection. Along the way, ask a variety of questions to prompt more careful exploration and collection. Can you nd something that is bigger? Longer? Shorter? A di erent color? So er? When you’re back in the classroom, have show-and-tell conversations about the children’s bracelets. Encourage children to bring home their bracelets and to ask their families to take them on nature walks around their homes to see what they nd. Adopting a tree Choose a tree near the school that changes during the year — one that loses its leaves (that is, a deciduous tree) is best. Invite the children to “adopt” the tree and let them know that the class will visit and carefully observe it from time to time. On your rst visit, encourage the children to look carefully at the trunk, leaves, and any exposed roots, and have them record their observations in simple drawings. If you have a camera available, take pictures of these structures and keep (and date) the resulting photographs for use in later comparisons. You can also collect and preserved some of the leaves. Rubbings can be made to record THE MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL HEAD START ASSOCIATION Back-to-School 2008 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES 61
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