Sharing Web Resources

This week, I entered the link on The Word Forum Foundation titled War and Peace or War and Peas. This forum asked the critical question to young children: What is Peace? Initiated by Betsy Evans, she inquired about the children’s understanding on war and peace. Poling 50 girls and 50 boys, they ask specific questions such as: Do you what war is? While some of the girls were unsure about the meaning of war, all of the boys gave answers that described war as being violent.

                Researching the site further, I entered a link titled Nature Action Collaborative for Children. The mission of this collaboration is to reconnect developmentally appropriate aspects of nature back into education through real life learning experiences. Its mission is to reconnect children to their surrounding environment of nature and natural resources. The initiative lists developmental benefits of this approach: increases intellectual and physical achievements, emotional regulations, and a sense of belonging in their community. All advocates in field of education are encouraged to engage in this initiative. This initiative engages hundreds of projects globally that range from professional development in the field of early childhood care and education, utilizing tools such as online pre-trainings to college courses to curriculums such as Growing Up Wild which is aligned with Head Start. The site is equipped with all of the resources need to become involved in the Nature Action Collaborative for children. The Environmental Action Kit is donated by numerous funders and organizations in partnership with The World Forum Foundation to encourage children to learn and appreciate their environments.

                This initiative adds to equity and excellence through the many voices of advocates that contribute to this collaboration. These individuals have taken a stance to enhance children’s access to nature and the experiences that contribute to learning through play. This has added an extended insight by provoking inquiry and reflection. I remember enjoying much of my childhood being spent outside playing. It hasn’t dawned on me until researching this site that children have lose much of their outside time by recess being taking away. But even less of their developmental experience does not focus much on discovery and exploration of the environment. It has led me to think about possible ways to integrate experiences with nature in the curriculum more. We could grow gardens of fresh fruits and vegetables, which would overlap domains of cognitive, physical, and social developments. International Mud Day is on June 29^th….. Let’s take part!

Reference: http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/news/world-forum-in-action-nature-action-collaborative-for-children/