Workshops-Making and Using Field Journals with Children

In this workshop participants will learn to make simple field journals and will have the chance to try out a variety of student-tested activities that have worked very well for my students and me.  Coming away from this workshop, I hope that participants will feel that a field journal is a simple and effective tool they can use in their journey to connect students with nature.  I would also like teachers to realize that a field journal can be linked to curriculum and integrated very effectively into a classroom setting.  Ideally, this workshop would take place over two days.  I would introduce the idea of field journaling and we would make covers for our field journals out of recycled paper, leaves and cardboard.  The next day, after the handmade paper had dried, we would assemble our journals and try out a variety of activities for different ages including micro-hike, sound map, leaf/berry rubbings, nature poetry/sketching, insect tracks and more.

Biography:

Maddi is an educator with a passion for taking students outdoors.  She is currently a fourth grade teacher at Riverbend Community School (Seven Oaks School Division), and has also worked in the U.S. and Canada as a park ranger, park interpreter, naturalist teacher and nature camp coordinator.  She believes that outdoor education can be effectively used across the curriculum at every grade level.