Nature mandala. Photo by Miriam Westervelt
The Peterson Young Naturalist Program held its K-12 Outdoor Classroom Training: Healthy Connections teacher training workshop at Sugarland Elementary School in Sterling, Virginia on November 5. Fifteen K-12 educators gathered to share the creative ways they get students outdoors using the Peterson nature journaling program. The lesson plans aimed to meet curriculum objectives while making connections with the natural world that can improve student health and wellbeing. Teachers also benefited from presentations by Virginia Cooperative Extension, Loudoun Environmental Education Alliance and GREENetwork that support outdoor classrooms.
After the workshop, teachers said they learned new ways to use “nature to calm the mind” and “so many resources that can be stress busters for my students.” They also learned about “the Dulles Bald Eagle cam to teach collaboration and math.”
Peterson program lesson plans will be added soon to the Peterson Young Naturalist Program page on the website.