In her book "The Sense Of Wonder," Rachel Carson writes: "It was hardly a conventional way to entertain one so young, I suppose, but now, with Roger a little past his fourth birthday, we are continuing that sharing of adventures in the world of nature that we began in his babyhood, and I think the results are good.  The sharing includes nature in storm as well as calm, by night as well as day, and is based on having fun together rather than on teaching." (Photographs in the book are by Charles Pratt & Others)

From Stormie:
I once read somewhere that the only way children can know the importance of taking care of the planet is to first learn of its value.  I agree totally, and that is my goal in providing "Mini-Environmental Ed" themes for my website -- providing ideas for introducing children to the beauty of the natural world so that they can begin to appreciate it, and then want to take care of it.

After reading Ms. Carson's book a few years back, I realized that she was right in suggesting that allowing children to experience my own love of nature is really the best way to "teach" a love for our earth.  And I've discovered over the years (even though I didn't have environmental themes on my curriculums per say) that when I, myself, am in tune with the outdoors, the children follow my lead.  So if you get nothing else from these sections of my website, I trust that you will at least be inspired to get in touch with nature yourself and then bring it into the classroom.  No, I'm not talking about big major lessons -- but rather, just letting the children witness our appreciating nature through our senses, like smelling the fragrance of a flower, listening to the wind in a tree, touching the softness of a pussy willow, or watching the clouds.  As Ms. Carson said, "It is more important to pave the way for the child to want to know than to put him on a diet of facts he is not ready to assimilate."

So, I have tried to choose a "simple pleasure" from nature for each of my monthly curriculums, but please keep in mind that these are just options based on my own favorite natural things.  Let me encourage you to share nature in your own way.
    
In September (or whenever school starts), we can begin to plant seeds of love for the environment into the minds of our classroom students:
*When we introduce children to a globe, we can talk about how important it is that all the people in this great big world take care of the earth on which they live.  Tell them why.  Name natural features of earth and point them out on the globe. 
*Show pictures of natural things found on this big earth: Trees, mountains, wild animals, rivers, etc.
*Go outdoors and look for natural things.  Listen for them.  Touch and smell them.

Thought Questions For Discussion:
*How would you feel if there were no trees?
*What if there were no birds?
*What if the blue sky looked dirty?
......................And so on........................

I hope to add more suggestions here over time.  If you have ideas for how to introduce our beautiful earth to children, please e-mail them to me for posting on this page.  E-mail: stormie@preschoolbystormie.com

*My good friend, Debbie Reynolds (in Missouri) wrote me about the neat things she does with her granddaughter, Jayde:
Jayde and I go outdoors and look for fairies snacking on buttercups and the tiny people who live under the toadstools.  I am trying to teach her to be respectful of things that "live," so if we catch a ladybug we put it in the bugwatcher and look at it then let it go so it can go back to its mama and dada' bug.  I tell her it has a mama and dada just like she does.  She usually starts feeling sorry for it when I tell her it's crying to go home.  (It's my way of helping her to understand that we don't play with things that are alive.)

*From Linda Goad, Covenant Nursery School, Evanston, Illinois:
Hi Stormie, I too think it is of upmost importance to teach our children about nature and our place in it.  I would like to recommend a favorite book: The Earth and I Are Friends, by Frank Asch

Making a Multi-Cultural Connection Through Books:
To provide a frame of reference, show children where countries are located on your classroom globe or map, and if possible, provide related pictures and books:

*Book suggestion from Linda Goad, Covenant Nursery School, Evanston, Illinois:
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message (Reading Rainbow Book), by Chief Jake Swamp

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Note from Stormie: Environmental Education activities will be included in my "Stormie's Activity Cards."  If you would like to begin collecting all my classroom ideas (each on a 4 x 6" index card), click here to check them out.