Topic – The role of Risky Play and Nature Play on empathy and community building. This week I did some research into the literature on Risky Play and Nature Play, and found some fascinating links with empathy and community building. Risky Play is defined by Ellen Sandseter (a Norwegian academic …
This week we were considering what opportunities children have to care for their environments. I took a moment to really learn the benefits of children caring for your environment. Often times, gardening is pitched as a hobby for adults but through reading an article on the blog “Montessori Nature” I …
“A community garden not only provides harvest but is able to create a relational and learning space for children, youth, and parents”, is the epitaph that bookends Datta’s work. Providing children an educational opportunity to practice gardening and growing consistently can reap benefits that far exceed any single outdoor lesson. …
This week as a group we were reflecting on the idea of what opportunities do children have to care for their environments? I connected this question to a reading “infusing Caring for the Environment with Our Children, Leaders of the Future” by Kathryn Jackman Murphy. This reading is important as …
This week we all chose to explore the question “What opportunities do children have to care for their environments/community?” through reading different relevant resources. I read the book “Seeds of Change: planting a path to peace” by Jen Cullerton Johnson, published in 2010 (https://www.amazon.ca/Seeds-Change-Wangaris-Gift-World/dp/160060367X). This is an amazing, and beautifully …
To answer last week’s critical question, I found a web resource teaching children to care about the environment. The website is hosted by EcoParent, a magazine funded by the Government of Canada to promote “healthier and greener lifestyle choices” for families. The article I read was “How to Teach Children …
This week I was reflecting on the importance of place and changes in place over time. The location that we are focusing on in front of the Irving K Barber Library is an important location at UBC which cannot be separated from the past communities which have shaped and inhabited …
One thing that is very important to me as a future educator, and as a person, is valuing diversity. I believe that valuing diversity is directly linked to caring for others/our community, and that caring for our community is linked to caring for our environment. I have always felt that …
As I walked around my community garden I thought about the question “Think about the concept of knowledge. What does it mean? What knowledge is important? Who decides what knowledge is important?”. To me knowledge is freedom. I truly believe in that old saying that “knowledge is power”, and this …
The Queen Mary community garden sits on the edge of West Keith Road very close to my home. The walk is a short one, lined with trees on either side and provides ample opportunities to people-watch. Once at the garden, you’re welcomed by sounds of bees buzzing, shovels scraping, and …
