Posts tagged ‘Pheasant Branch Nature Preserve’
Bubble bubble toil and trouble: Dealing with fear
To see this spring in action go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ySNSemVYs8. Visit www.pheasantbranch.org to learn more about this amazing place.
With Halloween right around the corner, it’s important to remember that nature can be scary for kids.
The heart of the Pheasant Branch Creek Nature Preserve in Middleton is a huge spring. Water boils up from the ground and looks like a cauldron of boiling water and sand. The spring intrigued the K-5th grade kids we took there on September 25th and even scared some.
“It looks like quick sand.”
“What would happen if I fell in?”
“How is it doing that?”
To Sue, it was all too much.
“I’m scared,” she quietly said to me.
This was her first trip with us. I explained that we were safe on the overlook platform and that the water wasn’t going to hurt us. In fact, the water helps us by feeding the creek and providing water to animals and plants. Still, she wasn’t so sure. We stayed on the platform for a bit longer, ate some snack, and then moved on.
This scene reminded of a trip two years ago where two different girls covered their heads when I pointed out a red-tailed hawk.
“It’s going to eat me,” they cried.
I realized then that kids need teachers to help them understand both the beauty and power of nature. Nature can be scary, but it’s also amazing and awe-inspiring. Yes, hawk talons can kill, but not people. And yes, a person could drown in the spring, but not if you stay on the platform. Teaching kids to respect nature while at the same time enjoying nature is simply part of life. There are risks with everything and too often kids are sheltered from life’s real risks.
That’s why these trips are so important for kids. They may get scared, but then they learn. Fear can be transf0rmed into awe.
Kids who experience fear and overcome it are better equipped to handle what life has to throw at them. And that’s a good thing. Everybody gets scared, but that doesn’t keep us from doing the things we want to do.
What are you doing today to help kids overcome their fears?
Diane Schwartz is the Outdoor Education Specialist at the Goodman Community Center in Madison, Wisconsin. You can contact her at getkidsoutside@gmail.com. To get a free 11 page bubble activity guide, just register for this blog on the home page. The guide is full of indoor and outdoor activities that you can do with kids.
Zero Voice: Making it quiet on the trail
Kids are loud.
I don’t always want to hush them up, especially when outside. On the other had, if they miss the sounds of the outdoors altogether then I don’t think I’m doing my job as a teacher.
Yes, kids are loud, but teaching kids the value of being quiet is a gift.
On Saturday, April 24th, I took 6 Kindergarten and first graders and two third graders on a hike to Pheasant Branch Nature Preserve in Middleton. For the first part of the trip, I didn’t set any volume boundaries. We simply walked the trail. The kids saw red-winged black-birds and heard their cry. The sounds of other birds filled the air. It was a cool, wet and beautiful morning. We walked to an overlook where a huge spring was gurgling below us.
“Hey Miss Diane we found quick sand,” shouted John.
John and his good pal Paul were my shouters today. Shouting is normal for these kids, especially when excited. In small doses this is fine. It makes no sense to stop their exuberance. Or does it?
We continued our hike, which included geocaching. We hiked up a hill following our GPS devices through a freshly burned oak savannah to another overlook. We could see the spring and Pheasant Branch Creek in front of us plus a sliver of Lake Mendota. On a clear day, the state capitol would be visible.
“I don’t want to leave,” said Joe.
“Yes, it’s pretty nice, we’ll have to come back,” I responded.
The platform made a perfect spot for a snack and a break from our treasure hunt. But after we found the treasure and were walking back to the van several kids insisted on walking way ahead of the group.
So, I decided to try something new.
I stopped the kids and reinforced the expectation that everyone had to walk behind me. I added that we’d be walking back using “zero voice” so that we could hear the Sandhill Cranes. I enforced this by using hand signals only. I held up my hand and made a “zero” with my index finger and thumb. I kept this up for the rest of the hike. As we walked, John and Paul thought this was all very funny and reacted by laughing excessively. Zero voice was not happening. I turned around and silently directed them to each hold another adult’s hand.
This seemed to jog them back into the present. The rest of the hike was quiet enough to hear the birds.
I can’t say that Zero voice was an entire success, but I do think it’s important to have a”quiet” policy on future hikes. I want boisterous kids on these outings, but I also don’t want them to miss the wonder of listening. Most of the kids heard the sandhill cranes bugling, but I’m not sure that John and Paul did. This saddens me. Perhaps it’s enough today to get them outside, but I do want more for them.
On the way home in the van, all the kids were pooped. Quiet came easy. For future trips, I will have a plan to better teach silence in the outdoors. I’ll keep you posted.
For maps and more information go to www.pheasantbranch.org. Also, subscribe to my blog and receive a free Bubble Activity Guide. Just type in your email on the home pate.
