Early education workshop a blast

Learning how to incorporate nature into early childhood education in a fun and interesting way is something about 30 workshop attendees learned how to do.

On Friday, participants from Evanston, Jackson Big Piney, Afton, Rock Springs and Green River attended the Wyoming Project WILD and Wyoming Project Learning Tree hands-on workshop. The workshop focused on nature education curriculum for formal and non-formal early childhood educators and daycare providers.

Leading the workshop was Lucy Wold, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Green River Information and Education Specialist. She has taught similar classes for the past 35 years.

Wold lead the class through various activities including playing the role of a deer to making healthy snacks that resemble trees.

During a morning activity, those class participants were asked by Wold what their favorite tree was and why. She received various answers from redwoods and aspens to crabapple and cotton-less cottonwoods.

Wold then told the group they were going to be the tree. She would need a volunteer for the trunk and others to play the rolls of the branches, leaves, roots and bark. The group went to the gym for this activity. One volunteer stood in the middle to act as the trunk, she was then surrounded by ladies who laid down on the ground to act as the roots. Then, volunteers who acted as branches with leaves on them took their places next to the trunk. Finally, the remainder of the class played the roll of the bark.

At first, those playing the bark roll stood side-by-side. They quickly changed their position to more defensive when wold said she was going to act as a woodpecker or another predator and try to break through the bark to get to the rest of the tree. The bark volunteers locked arms and pushed their feet together when necessary to keep Wold out. The group laughed as Wold and her helper Steve Scharosch tried to get through the bark. Wold and Scharosch finally gave up.

The lesson was every part of the tree is important and Wold said she hopes the class never looks at a tree the same again after today.

Once this activity was over, the group remained on the tree theme and made trees out of paint or snack items. They were then encouraged to eat the snacks.

While getting their hand and arms ready to make the tree base and branches, some ladies gently painted the brown paint on their hand and arms, however others just put a big glob of paint on it and got their arm covered quickly.

It was amazing to see the different colors and techniques used to make the trees. Every tree was unique in its own way. This was just one way to show how math science or technology can easily be incorporated into a fun activity. Wold said this tree activity could expand into a week or more if each item of the tree were related to a different part of the body. For example: the bark is like skin and the trunk is like bones. She said teachers could also use the tree as a way to teach children about habitats by explaining how different animals use trees as their homes.

“When you’re a teacher, if you’re having fun, your kids will too,” Wold said.

Project WILD and Project Learning Tree early childhood programs provide an introduction to nature education with emphasis on wildlife and trees, encouraging children to explore, discover and communicate in expressive ways,” Wold said. WILD and PLT offers a wide range of activities and experiences to provide an early foundation for developing positive impressions about the natural world and lifelong social and academic skills.

The early childhood education workshop was sponsored by Southwest Wyoming Chapter Muley Fanatics Foundation, EXXON Mobile and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The workshops were free thanks to MFF and EXXON Mobile covering the costs of the two curriculum guides, activity materials and snacks. Participants received seven credits towards STARS certification and 0.5 credits towards Professional Teaching Standards Board certification.