I recently attended a workshop in Seattle sponsored by REI. The title of the workshop was "Raising children with connections to Nature: The Battle against Nature Deficit Disorder." The workshop was designed to address concerns expressed in the book, "Last Child in the Woods", by Richard Louv.

 

The author's groundbreaking work is about the staggering divide between children and the outdoors. As a journalist and child advocate Richard Louv directly links the absence of nature in the lives of today's wired generation to some of the most disturbing childhood trends: the rise in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. He indicates that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. This provocative book is raising debate and tough questions nationwide. Louv offers solutions for a healthier, greener tomorrow.

 

Parents, educators, therapists and community officials can benefit from taking seriously a call for a 'drug free nature cure' and a 'nature-child reunion.' When our family decided to develop Hazel Creek in 1989, we felt there was a disconnect between what students learned in the classroom and the direct application of this knowledge to the world around them. We originally purchased the existing parcel of land to build our facility, because of the close proximity to the Meigs wetlands and the Grand Forest.

 

Our goal was to create a physically beautiful facility with nature trails, gardens and outdoor spaces that would naturally integrate into the total atmosphere of the learning environment. We built an equestrian center so that we could provide a way in which the children could have an opportunity to bond with animals while learning to ride and care for them. Riding horses teaches a person to activate and use various parts of the body, acquiring skills that in the course of time become an integral part of the child's life.

 

It has been worth investing in these exceptional learning resources, for the future of every child enrolled in our program. In tracking our students for the past 17 years, we find our students have evolved into responsible, caring and successful citizens who possess a zeal for life. They are willing to face life's challenges, and ready to achieve the goals they have set for themselves without fear or limitation. We are proud to have been such an important part of each child's life by helping to shape their future during their critical formative years. By nurturing each child and teaching them the skills for developing a positive outlook and attitude towards themselves, nature and their community, they will begin their journey with many of the necessary tools for creating a better world.

 

The Montessori education at Hazel Creek Montessori strives to link academic studies with direct outdoor experiences in nature. Since our inception, the children have participated in weekly 3 mile hikes, daily walks, animal husbandry, horseback riding, daily chores, dining outdoors year-round, gardening, harvesting/cooking, swimming and exploring the woods in our own back yard. Our swimming program gives each child the essential benefit of knowing how to swim and be comfortable in and around bodies of water. They will feel more confident and secure in outdoor settings. Our goal is to create future stewards of the environment by providing meaningful contact with the natural world. As we move into the 21st century, our hope is that the connections we have created during the sensitive periods of their life will result in healthier, well adjusted kids, who will be better equipped to care for their present and future environment.

 

Nature helps to develop a child's senses, stimulate their imagination and teaches them to take risks. Our method of combining outdoor education along with the indoor academic studies has time and again proven to be a powerful antidote to the many things that ail kids today. Nature has a calming effect on children. The active child that has difficulty sitting in a classroom setting will be the first to hear the bullfrog in the woods and is oftentimes the most excited to take a hike and make his/her own discovery in nature. Their ability to focus and concentrate in nature will often surpass his/her fellow students. By igniting a children's sense of curiosity and wonder in the natural world, they can approach the academic world with great joy and excitement. Our mission is to equalize the delicate balance of the "great outdoors" and the academic learning environment. Studies are proving our methods to be beneficial for young children, even crucial!

 

For years James Salis, the program director of the Active Living Research Program for the Robert Wood Foundation, has been studying why some children and adults are more active than others. "Based on previous studies, we can definitely say that the best predictor of preschool children's physical activity is simply being outdoors and that an indoor, sedentary child is linked to mental health problems." Studies over the past decade have shown that the participation in outdoor activities helps the child to gain in self esteem, leadership, academics, personality and interpersonal relations. The strong argument for outdoor education is based on the restorative power of nature and the direct connection to the individual's health.

 

Hazel Creek Montessori has created a beautiful childhood preserve on Bainbridge Island. We are committed to the natural history of our area. Our nature-education preserve has been at the fore front of a new kind of school reform. We introduce this important endeavor at a time in one's life when it truly matters. We believe that the future of our planet depends on the future of our children, and that the future of our children will depend, in great part, on their direct exposure to their surrounding environment.

 

It is difficult for many students to make meaningful connections from a text book or by sitting in a classroom. For this reason education is evolving worldwide into a more "hands on" approach and allowing children to learn through numerous mediums. Maria Montessori was a proponent of learning through direct experience. She recognized that self-motivation is the only valid impulse to learning. At Hazel Creek, the children move themselves towards learning. The child is free to learn because of having slowly acquired an inner discipline from exposure to both physical and mental order. By creating "a prepared environment," and allowing every child to explore "natureÕs environment," the child gradually creates order and learns to distinguish among the impressions which assail the senses, thus slowly gaining mastery of self and harmony with the environment.

 

The detachment from our food sources, the disappearance of the family farm and family gardens, the ambivalent relationship between humans and animals are some of the characteristics of our present day society. We shape our children's lives according to our own beliefs. The problem today is that many parents operate out of fear and BELIEVE that it is not safe for their children to be outdoors. For the past two decades the media has increased reports of the dangers facing our children by 90%. According to actual statistics, the dangers children face today are 20% less than what they faced 20 years ago. We invite every family to join with us in taking the necessary steps to change this phenomenon. Even with the present urgency, there can be a sense of encouragement and unification created, when we all take steps to make these positive changes.

 

Entering the year 2007, Hazel Creek invites every family enrolled at our school to address these important concerns facing all of us. In partnership with other educational facilities and organizations, we would like to join together to form a caring coalition in order to create a healthier, greener environment in our very own back yard. We have an opportunity to come together at every level to make Bainbridge Island a model community for our youth.

Please join in this effort to instill in our children, the value of nature.

 

We are providing a list of ideas along with our objective so you can do more with your child at home. Please let us know if there are suggestions you might have that our families can incorporate into their lives.

 

IDEAS

 

Objectives Hazel Creek Montessori's objective is to allow children to explore both "nature's prepared environment" and the prepared environment within the classroom. The child will learn directly from what nature has to offer and expand upon those experiences by studying the laws of nature in the academic setting. This complete cycle of learning will supply the opportunities for intimacy between the child and nature, thus allowing for their senses to broaden.

 

A Few Thoughts from Janice
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