Knee High Nature
KNEE HIGH NATURE: professional development workshops for early childhood educators
Knee High Nature helps improve learning opportunities for very young children by providing science-focused professional development for early childhood educators and child care providers. In each of the different workshops offered by Four Winds Nature Institute's professional staff, participants are presented with natural science curriculum appropriate for children ages 3-6.
Knee High Nature is a nature study curriculum designed to increase children's awareness of, curiosity about, and appreciation of the natural world through investigation, creative and interactive play, and direct outdoor experiences. The units draw from children's own experiences outdoors with plenty of hands-on opportunities that encourage children to raise questions, explore objects and materials, spend time outside, make careful observations, share and discuss ideas.
Each professional development workshop includes:
- Seasonally Related Topics
- Natural Science Background Information
- Modeling and Active Participation In Hands-On Age-Appropriate Activities with attention to Early Learning Standards and Core Competencies
- Printed Guidelines and Teaching Materials
Knee High Nature workshops are offered in communities across Vermont and New Hampshire.
Topics for this season include Insect Hide & Seek and Sensational Spiders. In Insect Hide & Seek, we'll hunt for insects in the wild and learn how protective coloration helps them to survive. In Sensational Spiders we'll investigate the amazing life of spiders through song, interactive play, and outdoor observation of spiders and webs. Honeybees and Wonders of Water (see Spring & Summer Workshop descriptions) are also good topics for late summer or early fall workshops.
Winter Workshops
Winter workshop topics are Winter World, Track Detectives,
and Owls. In Winter World we'll explore the winter world of
plants and animals through a puppet show, games, imaginative play, and nature
discovery walks. In Track Detectives we'll use
tracks, patterns, and traces as clues to discover animal habits and activity in
winter. In Owls we'll discover the
unique adaptations of owls by investigating what and how they
eat, and how they communicate and hunt under the cover of darkness.
Spring and Summer Workshops
Our themes for Spring and Summer workshops include Honeybees, Wonders of Water, Frolicking Frogs, and our newest unit Feathered Friends. In Honeybees, we'll examine the unique adaptations of these remarkable insects with a look at their life cycle, how they communicate, and their role as pollinators. Frolicking Frogs let's us look at frogs from eggs to adults through role playing, observation, a puppet show, and imitating frog calls. Wonders of Water encourages children to investigate properties of water through hands-on explorations, games, songs and outdoor discovery.
trainings.
Winter Workshops
Winter workshop topics are Winter World, Track Detectives,
and Owls. In Winter World we'll explore the winter world of
plants and animals through a puppet show, games, imaginative play, and nature
discovery walks. In Track Detectives we'll use
tracks, patterns, and traces as clues to discover animal habits and activity in
winter. In Owls we'll discover the
unique adaptations of owls by investigating what and how they
eat, and how they communicate and hunt under the cover of darkness.