Stepping Into Nature: Teacher Stories

Our Walking Wednesday Program at Rouge Valley was recently featured in an article on Outdoor Education. The article was written by our very own, Mr. Daffern and published in an online journal titled: "Stepping into Nature: Teacher Stories Volume 1".

A copy of Mr. Daffern's article can be read here:

"Walking Wednesdays at Rouge Valley" by Mr. Daffern

The journal can be downloaded here:

http://www.back2nature.ca/stepping-into-nature-teacher-stories

Ontario Children's Outdoor Charter

From the Home page of the Ontario Children's Outdoor Charter:

"Children have the right to explore and play in the outdoors. Research shows that kids who spend regular time in nature are happier and healthier."

"The Ontario Children's Outdoor Charter aims to get children outside to discover the wonders of nature. Spending time outdoors is essential to every child's development, health and well-being. It builds a connection to our rich natural and cultural heritage. Kids connected to nature grow up caring for the Earth and helping to conserve biodiversity."

"People, organizations, governments and communities that support the Charter recognize that time outdoors is important for children's health and wellness. Supporters of the Charter can promote it in their communities and improve opportunities for children of all abilities and backgrounds to play and learn outdoors."

For more information, please visit the Ontario Children's Outdoor Charter website:

http://www.childrensoutdoorcharter.ca/

Studying Habitats and the Transition Zone

The Grade 4 class has been studying habitats in Science. They've visited the forest, the meadow, and the river habitats in Rouge Park. Today the class visited the transition zone, the micro-habitat between the forest and the meadow. They explored the area, made observations and then wrote about their insights and experience in their Journals.

We are BACK!

This blog hasn't been updated in a while.

Mostly this has been due to changing teacher roles and responsibilities. However, our commitment to place-based education and experiential learning hasn't changed. What better way is there to make learning 'real' to students, than to take them out into the real world?

Through the dedication and commitment of Mr. Daffern, Walking Wednesdays at Rouge Valley has continued in various forms through the last few years. It hasn't always been on Wednesdays and it hasn't always been with the same grades, but it has been happening. In fact, the idea has been growing and spreading to other teachers and other classes. With 'Walks' happening on various days and by various classes, we really should be calling it Walking Rouge Valley (or Walking RV for short)!

We hope to share some of the photos that have been taken over the last while. These will be posted along with some current happenings on our Walks.

Just to get us started, here are a few photos taken earlier this year.

Into the Forest

Tiyalize, Rm 209

Today our class went through the meadow, through the forest, over the Rouge River and into a new area of the Rouge Valley. My favourite part was when we closed our eyes and listened for different sounds. We heard different kinds of birds and pointed in their direction. It was awesome.

Water Art

The following graphic artwork was created by Mitchell from Rm 208. Each "word cloud" was generated using the software found on Wordle (www.wordle.net). He brainstormed the topic "water" (How is it used? Why is it important? How do we conserve it?) and typed out all his ideas into the program. The program generates a word cloud based upon the words that are typed. The more times a word is typed the larger it appears.

Memories of Walking Wednesday

By Kristof, Rm 208

Every Walking Wednesday we explore our community in different ways. We go to the park, meadow, forest, river and neighbourhood. One time we observed scat, animal bones and fur. I think the scat was from a fox. One time Rachael discovered a snake under the grass. I found a slug in the grass. We went to the meadow and collected soil samples. My favourite memory is when I collected a caterpillar to observe. Then, I released it back in the wild.

By Ardijana, Rm 208
We went on exciting adventures in the meadow and the forest. We investigated many animals and plants: caterpillars, praying mantis, snakes, snails, grass hoppers, rabbits, ants, birds, field mice, white trilliums, magnolia trees. We observed animal bones, fur and scat. I think it was a squirrel that got eaten by a fox or coyote. We investigated growing soil and compacted soil samples. We learned that growing soil has more insects and worms living in it. We learned about the butterfly life cycle. We looked for parallel lines and multiplication patterns on houses. We looked for examples of simple machines in our community. We mapped important places in the community. My favorite memory was when I observed the white trilliums in the forest. I liked them because white was my favorite color.

By Mitchell, Rm 208
We watched changes to the meadow and forest as the seasons changed. We collected soil samples and learned about growing soil and compacted soil. We learned about the butterfly life cycle. We looked for patterns and shapes on the houses in the neighbourhood.

By Parwez, Rm 208

On Walking Wednesdays we look for different kinds of insects, plants, animals and features in our environment. We drew maps of a park and the meadow. In winter we looked for Simple Machines in the community. We also looked for parallel lines and multiplication patterns in the neighborhood. We investigated growing soil and compacted soil by using an auger to take soil samples. I learned that good growing soil has lots of worms and humus. We investigated a gall that grew around a fly egg on the stem of a plant. My favorite memory was investigating the “wooly bear moth” caterpillar. Back at school I looked it up on the internet and a library book.

By Rachael, Rm 208

Every Wednesday we investigate our environment in the forest, meadow and community. One time, I observed the grass moving and I found out it was a snake. I learned that a caterpillar is a butterfly when it hatches from the chryslis. We investigated compacted soil and learned that plants will not grow on it because its surface is too hard. We observed animal bones and fur. I think it was a squirrel that was eaten by a coyote. My favourite part was when Shenell and Mr. Daffern’s class saw a rabbit.

By Timothy, Rm 208

On our Walking Wednesdays, we looked for parallel lines and patterns on the buildings. We observed changes to the meadow and forest as the seasons changed. While hiking through the forest, we saw white trilliums and birds in the Spring. We learned about compacted soil and growing soil. We saw snails on plants. We got to do mapping in our community.

By AJ, Rm 208

This year we did many amazing things on walking Wednesdays. We learned how the magnolia tree changed through the seasons. We searched for simple machines in the community. We learned about the life cycle of a butterfly. We investigated animal bones, fur and scat. We think it was a fox that ate a rabbit. We saw a snake lying down under the grass. We went hiking through the forest. We saw a gall growing around a fly egg on the stem of a plant. My favorite part was when Mr. Daffern released the painted lady butterfly that we had hatched in the class.