This is a website for children that contains an animated "show" and a blog. The characters, "The Greens" are a family living somewhere in America, who care about the environment. They teach children about how to conserve resources, and value the outdoors. The site also includes activity guides for teachers and games for children to play. One game has children turn lights on and off as characters leave room, another has children upcycle the characters' clothes by adding new decorations to what they already have. There is also a carbon calculator for kids.
In this editorial from the October 2010 volume of "Science," Bruce Alberts suggests a system of STEM (science, technology, mathematics, and engineering) merit badges for children ages 5-18 to earn awards in schools. He compares this system both to the system used by the Boy and Girl Scouts, and to the system of AP (Advanced Placement) courses currently used in high schools today. It is suggested that this will help students maintain the curiosity they feel towards science in the early years into their high school careers, by when children have often lost interest.
I've recently come to the term STEAM which ads "art" into the traditional STEM equation. I also found this link while doing this quick research - http://ilandsymposium.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/art-science-activism-and-bicycles/. This combined with Rhoda's post about Digital Storytelling makes me wonder what role creativity (from stories to visualizations) play in this equation.
Not being familiar at all with STEM, I am interested in seeing what connections might be found with further inquiry into how stories and the way they are shared can have an effect on positive change, education and personal connections to issues that often seem too big.
This is a compilation of resources for teaching kids about the environment. It contains links aimed a kids of all different ages, organized by the following topics...
* Global Warming
* Energy
* Air
* Oceans
* Water
* Wildlands
* Wildlife
* Health
* Environmental Justice
* U.S. Law & Policy
* Nuclear
* Smart Growth
* Recycling
* International Issues
* Green Living
look what i found...npr is awesome! remember i told you about the Nature Deficit Disorder braodcast on BBC..
Lisa Bingham Book Review: What are we Escaping From?: Richard Louv Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2005. 334 pp
Bulletin of Science, Technology &
Richard Louv is a well renowned author, best known for his book "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder"
In this page, Louv presents a field guide based on his more recent work, "The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age". The guide is meant for citizens to help apply his principle to their daily lives in areas such as "Resources and Ideas for Creating a Restorative Home & Garden", "Creat(ing) a Natural Health Care System for Your Family and Community" and "Know(ing) Who You Are by Knowing Where You Are".
Those lunch pictures look great! But the real reason I responded here is that the Scott Arboretum and other public horticulture organizations across the country have assisted with many school gardens. The problems always fall back to maintenance when the children are not in school over the summer months and then they lay dormant most of the winter in colder climates.
Rhoda, those are good points. This might open up opportunities for small groups. Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, Youth Center groups, and Community Service could handle the summer months and vacation days and weeks. I am not sure if there is much that could be done in the winter in New England. I will try to have something on this for my PowerPoint.