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The school year has just ended here in the United States. The No. 2 pencils have been put away and the teachers have finished filling out report cards. All the standardized tests have been taken, and children and entire schools have either passed or failed. Things have been learned. Or not. Children have be taught to love learning. Or not. Regardless of what happened this year, a school year has passed and we can’t get it back.

I came across this video of a 3rd and 4th grade class at a public school that focuses on educating the whole child. I was dazzled by what I saw. Laughter. Cooperation. Learning. Excitement. Joy. Engaged and active students. A colorful, spirit-filled classroom. Lots of time outdoors.  Music. PLAY. A school garden — complete with chickens! CHICKENS!

Messy — gloriously messy. Electric. These children were engaged in their own education — active participants. They made choices and decisions. They worked together and independently. They were present and valued.

My hat is off to the teachers, administrators, and parents involved in this exploration and celebration of hands-on learning — a school dedicated to educating the whole child and not merely teaching to a test. I only wish that more children had the opportunity to learn in such a rich, supportive — and yes, even messy — environment. After all, childhood was meant to be messy. Haven’t you heard?

See ya outside! – The Grass Stain Guru

TGSG Note: The following interview was conducted by Tracy Stevens, an educator and blogger I follow on her great blog — A Better Education. Her interview with Neal Ritter and Gelsey Malferrari of the Laughing Coyote Project is reprinted here with permission. I love their tag line: Where human nature meets mother nature. Big thanks to Tracy for letting me share her engaging interviews with the TGSG community.

See ya outside! – The Grass Stain Guru

Recently I interviewed Neal Ritter and Gelsey Malferrari of the Laughing Coyote Project, which is a nature immersion experience for students from 5-14. The acres for learning, exploration, play, animals and plants are based in Lafayette, Colorado. They have programs for home-schooled children, an after school program, as well as summer day camps.

1. How did you come up with the idea for Laughing Coyote?

Immersion in nature is something we have both been interested in, and a part of our own individual studies, including time in Central and South America. It is very much inspired by Tom Brown Jr.’s work, teaching ancestral skills, and building a stronger connection with nature.

2. What is the goal of the project?

The goal here is to make kids comfortable in nature and to give them a sense of intimacy with the outside world. We also want to involve parents and the community to make a cultural change. We want to provide unstructured time for exploration, providing an opportunity to get fully immersed and dirty in the outdoors, and to teach skills we used to have, like animal tracking, identifying wild edible plants, animal husbandry, and gardening, among other things.

3. You both are Waldorf graduates – how does your educational background inform your work here and how does it help you in life in general?

We try to look at the world with a broader prospective and to question things. Not rebel, but to ask and ponder, rather than accept without curiosity or examination. We have a strong sense of reverence for nature, respect for others, and good imaginations. We value experiences and foster that value in the students that come here – and they love it.

4. Rudolf Steiner, who created the Waldorf School model, also started the biodynamic gardening movement. You have a biodynamic farm. What is the difference between organic and biodynamic?

It actually takes four years for a farm or garden to go through a biodynamic cycle. There is a biodynamic certification, but we are not focused on that. Organic means that there are no artificial inputs, but it can still be a monoculture (a single plant on the whole property), industrial in size and scope, and fertilizers and pesticides can be used as long as they are organic and not petroleum-based. With biodynamic farming, the aim is sustainability and a complete eco-system. It is a closed circle in that you do not need anything from outside, everything you need is part of your farm. The manure from your animals is the fertilizer. The seeds you use to plant come from your garden. There is emphasis on observation and awareness to correct any problems on the farm, rather than external additions. It is what people have done for thousands of years. They knew from experience and awareness when to plant and how.

5. How is this different from the Outward Bound programs?

Those programs tend to be about survival with the right kind of gear and they are every goal-oriented. Our program is indigenous in its approach. It’s not about the gear; it is about identification of plants and animals, awareness, and ability to survive without so much gear but with applying knowledge. Our program is purposefully much less structured and the satisfaction is found in the process, not the end product. Kids have so much structure in their day and they really do well with unstructured time for exploration.

6. What can families do with their children to encourage a love and knowledge of nature?

Be unstructured and skip the goal. If you are planning on going for a hike, think of it more as a long, deep exploration rather than about distance and time. Let the kids lead you in exploring – you may only cover 100 yards in three hours but they will be utterly engrossed in the experience and you can be too. Go off trail when it is possible and not harmful. That is where you see and experience interesting things.

7. How does gardening or nature provide a balance to children and adults alike?

It is only in the last several decades that we have become so divorced from nature, and now we take it for granted that it has always been this way. Nature is part of our blue print. We wanted to bring that awareness and connection back. There is something deeply satisfying about being comfortable in nature. There is an initiation of sorts at first, because TV and video is hard to compete with. It takes awhile to get quiet and immersed before you begin to feel that satisfaction that no amount of media can provide.

8. Your summer camp programs offer weekly programs for 8-14 year old children. Describe a day in the life of a summer camper at Laughing Coyote.

We begin the day in an intentional way by sitting in the circle together and giving thanks. There is a rhythm to the day, but not so much structure. They learn tracking, and how to forage for wild edibles, we have creek time where we go tubing, playing in the mud and swinging into the water from the tree swing. We have a tree fort and lots of fields to explore. We play outdoor games, take care of the animals, and do nature-based art projects, like pine needle baskets, medicine sticks, and creating and painting with our own pigments. The students walk away with a breadth of new skills and understanding about nature.

Click here to  learn more about the Laughing Coyote Project and their programs.

For those who follow me on Twitter, you will not be surprised to see me dedicate this post to Sir Ken Robinson, who is one of my heroes. I figure it is less painful, expensive, and borderline obsessive than getting the Ken Robinson tattoo I have been contemplating. Although, I haven’t totally ruled it out yet.

Robinson is one of the leading authorities on creativity and innovation, and is passionate about education reform. His latest book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, is a great read. He has written numerous articles and books, and his capacity for divergent thinking is perhaps only surpassed by his ability to inspire it in others. Now THAT my friends, is an educator!

The notion of creativity has come up several times since I started this blog two short weeks ago — either in the writings themselves, or in the thoughtful comments of TGSG readers. It is a theme that cannot be separated from discussions on play, education, and learning. Frankly, it should be an underlying theme in whatever topics are being discussed — economics, health care, or sustainability. Regardless of what the issue or problem, creativity is key to thoroughly engaging people in the process of understanding and discussing it, as well as bringing about the most effective solutions.

In yesterday’s post on kindergarten we talked about how that, in spite of the call for creativity as the future of our workforce, the current education system is designed to limit creativity, and has sadly put the once-untouched Kindergarten classroom in peril. Now, it is a secret to nobody that the United States in in desperate need of K-12 education reform. No Child Left Behind, while well-intentioned, has left an already-cumbersome and flawed system basically on life support. Schools are failing, teachers are over-burdened and bogged down with paperwork, children are learning to take tests, but what they are retaining, including their love of learning and their ability to actually apply that knowledge, is in question.

As the new administration looks at education reform, I sincerely hope that they do so with creative minds and divergent thinking. I hope that they realize that this is not a race. That the testing madness that is the current model is not the answer, and that raising the bar without changing the methodologies will get them nowhere. I hope that they recognize that the way children are educated in the early years has a lasting affect, and that every child is creative and special and has something to offer society. If we help them love to learn and nurture their inherent abilities now, that every aspect of society will be better off in the future, including the much sought after STEM Race (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

Sir Ken Robinson calls for education reform to take place at three levels: Curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy — and for all three to be rooted in creativity. I couldn’t agree with him more.

Below is the TED speech given by Robinson on the topic of education and creativity. Regardless of your interest area, I think you will benefit from spending some time in the creative world of Sir Ken Robinson. Even if you have heard him speak before, it is always a treat. He is as charming and funny as he is intelligent and thought-provoking. I hope that Education Secretary Arne Duncan and friends are taking notes. Just sayin’.

So, enjoy a little screen-time and then go outside and play.

See ya outside! – The Grass Stain Guru