It’s been a busy time, with some late school year enrollments. The hills are just now turning brown, having been green for months despite the severe drought. These are unusual times, for sure! Let’s get through them together.

Nature News

Many years ago, when I was starting Teach Outside as my resource for outdoor educators and those interested in beginning outdoor education, I needed a logo. With his and UC Press’ blessings, I selected Robert C. Stebbins’ illustration of a child reaching toward a frog, to honor my love of amphibians and herpetology, the beautiful illustration itself, and the child’s neutral gender expression. My husband’s an artist, so he did the lettering and layout.

Sometimes during my days of teaching, I am honored to be able to spend time in reflection. Such as it was on a day when we went on yet another trip to the vernal pools. This time they were nearly completely empty, and we found the froglets we hoped to find. One was even still sporting its stubby tail, having not yet completely absorbed it. Observing one of my students crouching down, searching for baby frogs, and learning how to deftly handle them, I appreciated being able to tie multiple generations of naturalists together. Here we were, having been observing adult frogs and newts, witnessing mating, finding egg sacs, then tadpoles, and finally the little froglets, all within one school year, all within a time period of about four months. This is one of the reasons I love to document our days, because we can go back in time and check how long these things take, comparing them over the course of years. 

Later, when we read about the various species we’d been finding in Amphibians and Reptiles of the San Francisco Bay Region, by Robert C. Stebbins (the source of my logo illustration), the children gasped when they heard the words, “Wildcat Creek.” Here we were, observing the very same species in the very same places that were put in print 62 years ago. We feel this thread coming through space and time between us and some of the great natural historians. The ones I know personally actively care about teaching others about our world, and give me encouragement in my teaching. What an honor it is, connecting children in space and time, carrying on a culture of study and respect in the urban wildlands at our doorsteps.

Enrollment

At Outside School, we’re breaking new ground into what school can look like.

After years of teaching in traditional environments, I created a program that discards what’s wrong in eduction, instead concentrating on what can go RIGHT:

-Small class sizes,

-Outdoor environment,

-Developmentally appropriate education that focuses on individual and group interests,

-A schedule that’s enough to be challenging but not overwhelming.

If you’re in need of something outside the box for your own child(ren), please visit www.outside.school for more information and an application. I’m currently enrolling elementary, middle, and high school children for the 2022 - 2023 school year, Tuesdays through Thursdays, 9:00 - 3:00, so you can focus on the degree of academics that works for your own family the rest of the week. Each day you’ll receive an email with photos and documentation of the learning that’s taking place in the great outdoors!

We’re learning at the pace of nature. Go play in the dirt!

*Most questions can be answered by a thorough review of the website. Please share with anyone you think would benefit from this type of education.*

Resources

“A Top Researcher Says It’s Time to Rethink Our Entire Approach to Preschool” by Anya Kamenetz for NPR

Of course, there’s a paywall for the actual paper 😞, which is available here:

A facebook friend of mine has a daughter who’s undergoing cancer treatment. She started a lovely blog, “How to Hospital.” If you want to check it out, or you or a loved one finds yourself in a similar situation, here’s the link:

May is National Wildfire Awareness Month, and here’s a publication put out by East Bay Regional Parks, which is where Outside School is located:

Finally, check out “A Widow, a Warehouse, an Urban Farm: Questions of Justice Flare in Bay Area Land Dispute,” by Jessica Garrison for the Los Angeles Times. You ought to know about Urban Tilth, their work, and hardships! What a great community effort and farm, right here in Richmond, California. We regularly find them in Alvarado Park, working on soil restoration and invasive species remediation.

*”…To the world of The Mighty Boosh.” Did you not know about, say, elbow patches in an aggressive muffin, what to do when trapped on an ice floe with nowhere to go, or “enjoying” some Bailey’s in the deep with Old Gregg? It’s time for you to enjoy a break from reality and know about The Mighty Boosh!

Take care,

Heather

Heather Taylor, EMT

Founder/Director/Teacher, Outside School (www.outside.school)

Founder, Teach Outside (www.teachoutside.org)

California Master Teacher

Connect

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