Summer Educator Institutes

Below are the two educator training institutes The Nature Museum is offering for the summer of 2011. Please read our newsletter article about similar summer teaching institutes in 2009 to get a better idea of the two courses and what teachers thought of them. Please call 603-835-2430 or e-mail betsystacey@gmail.com for more information or a registration form.

Download the 2011 program brochure and registration form.

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Nature Writing for the Classroom

Dates: 9 AM June 29 to 4 PM July 1, 2011

Location: Loch Lyme Lodge, Lyme, NH. Loch Lyme Website

Instructors: Betsy Bennett Stacey, former Director of Education for The Nature Museum at Grafton, and Michael Caduto, award-winning author, storyteller, educator, and musician

Register: Call Betsy Stacey at 603-835-2430 or email betsystacey@gmail.com or Download Registration Form

Credit: Graduate Credit Available; 30 credit hours, two (2) credits from Castleton State College.

Description: The Nature Writing Institute is designed to give educators tools and inspiration to create nature writing curriculum for their own classroom. Participants will also have time and space to work on their own writing and journaling through writing prompts and exploration of the natural world. During the course we will create a community of educators and museum staff that will provide support and inspiration. Michael Caduto, award-winning author, storyteller, educator, and musician, will also lead us through exercises that will inspire us to help students use storytelling in the classroom.

Nature writing easily lends itself to cross-curricular activities, and different interdisciplinary approaches to nature writing will be discussed. We will use nature writing as a way to explore teaching science, literature, and writing skills while encouraging a sense of place in students.

Loch Lyme Lodge will be the base from which teachers will explore and draw inspiration from the surrounding 120 acres of woods, wetlands, and lake. Participants will enjoy healthy and delicious meals, comfortable accommodations, and wonderful water views as we delve into the writing process and connect it to the natural beauty around us. Loch Lyme Lodge and cabins overlook Post Pond in Lyme, NH. To find out more about Loch Lyme Lodge and to see photos of the site, visit www.lochlymelodge.com.

The Nature Writing and Nature Journaling Institutes offered by The Nature Museum have recently been evaluated by PEER Associates. Download a TNM-Select-Findings.pdf (PDF) that may help teachers to secure funding for the trainings. Please contact us for additional information on the survey results.

Highlights from the Summer Educator Nature Writing Institute Schedule

Wednesday

• Nature Poetry Introduction and Exercises
• Scientific Writing and Inquiry Science
• Introduction to Nature Writing Resources

Thursday

• Storytelling and Writing for the Classroom with Michael Caduto


• Integrating Art, Nature, and Writing


• Lake and Wetland Exploration and Additional Writing Prompts


• Curriculum Design Time

Friday

• More Examples of Journaling Activities


• Curriculum Design and Final Project


• Final Project Presentations

Course Goals

The main goals of this Summer Institute are these:

• To provide a foundation in what nature writing is and the benefits of using nature writing in a classroom setting using examples from well-know authors, children's books, writing prompts, activities and curriculum;


• To personally inspire teachers in their own writing so that they can lead their students by example;


• To provide practical applications on how to extend nature writing in many academic disciplines;


• To engage educators in first hand natural history opportunities and accurate natural science information;


• To create a community of educators who are using nature writing and nature journaling to provide to provide support and inspiration;


• To provide an opportunity for collaboration between educators and to provide the time and space for personal and professional reflection.

Course Objectives

Upon the completion of this institute, participants will be able to do the following:

• Have concrete plans of how to integrate nature writing into their academic applications,


• Draw upon a wide variety of resources - including books, websites, and curriculum guides - to assist with the development or implementation of nature writing activities.


• Creatively use nature writing as a tool for meeting state and local curriculum standards and grade level expectations.


• Draw upon a community of educators who are using nature journals as a curriculum tool.


• Experience opportunities to reconnect with the natural world.

Fees: Nature Writing Institute

3 days of workshops, 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts, 2 nights double occupancy at the Loch Lyme Lodge Cabins

Double occupancy cabins - $ 570
Ask about our non-residential rates

Two (2) Optional Graduate Credits: $230 (to be paid to Castleton College)

Special Offer for Educators in the Upper Valley of VT/NH

Please email the course instructor at betsystacey@gmail.com to see if there are discounts available off the base price of the Institute. Funding for these scholarships may be made available through the Wellborn Ecology Fund, a component of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

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Integrating Nature Journals Across the Curriculum

Date: 9 AM July 27 to 4 PM July 29, 2011

Location: The Nature Museum & The Old Tavern, Grafton, VT

Instructors: Betsy Bennett Stacey, former Director of Education at The Nature Museum and Book Artist Susan Bonthron of Otter Pond Bindary


Register: Call Betsy Stacey at 603-835-2430 or email betsystacey@gmail.com or Download Registration Form

Credit: Graduate Credit Available; 30 credit hours, two (2) credits from Castleton State College.

Description: Spend three days and two nights exploring and experiencing the hills and valleys of Grafton, VT, while learning how to use Nature Journaling to bring hands-on science into the classroom and how to integrate nature journals across the curriculum. By the end of this multi-day workshop all participants will have developed individual curriculum units that suit the needs and resources of their own school.

This Institute will take us throughout the quaint village of Grafton and its surrounding natural areas where we will meet up with expert speakers, and participate in hand-on activities. Educators will receive their own journal that we will work with throughout the course. We will use aquatic environments as the focus of our own journals, as we visit local ponds, streams, and wetlands for observation, inspiration, and reflection.

After a day of concentrated learning and activity, participants will be happy to experience the accommodations and wonderful meals at the historic and beautiful Old Tavern. Check The Old Tavern website for more information about accommodations.

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Highlights from the Summer Educator Nature Journaling Institute Schedule

Monday

• Journaling and Drawing Exercises
• Journals in the Classroom: Evaluation
• Pond Exploration and Scientific Drawing

Tuesday

• Beaver Ponds: History/Ecology Study
• Stimulating Writing Activities
• Curriculum Design Time
• Bookbinding Workshop

Wednesday

• More examples of Journaling Activities
• Curriculum Design and Final Project
• Final Project Presentations

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Course Goals

The main goals of this summer institute are these:

• To provide a foundation in the fundamentals of nature journals and demonstrate the benefits of using them in a classroom setting;
• To learn how to use nature journaling to bring hands-on science into classrooms;
• To provide practical applications on how to integrate nature journals across the curriculum;
• To engage educators in first-hand natural history opportunities.

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Course Objectives

Upon the completion of this institute, participants will be able to do the following:

• Create a lesson plan integrating nature journals into their academic applications;
• Have a foundation based on first-hand experience in creating and using nature journals to touch on different aspects of the academic disciplines;
• Draw upon a wide variety of resources to assist with the development or implementation of nature journaling activities;
• Creatively use nature journals and nature journaling activities as a tool for meeting state and local curriculum guidelines;
• Have a better understanding of the diversity and complexity of aquatic ecosystems;
• Draw upon a community of educators who are using nature journals as a curriculum tool.

The Nature Writing and Nature Journaling Institutes offered by The Nature Museum have recently been evaluated by PEER Associates. Download a TNM-Select-Findings.pdf (PDF) that may help teachers to secure funding for the trainings. Please contact us for additional information on the survey results.

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Fees: Nature Journaling Institute

3 days of workshops, all meals and snacks, 2 nights at The Old Tavern

Double occupancy - $575
Single occupancy - $670
Ask about our non-residential rates.

Two (2) Optional Graduate Credits: $230 (to be paid to Castleton College)

Special Offer for Educators in the Upper Valley of VT/NH
Please email the course instructor at betsystacey@gmail.com to see if there are discounts available off the base price of the Institute. Funding for these scholarships may be made available through the Wellborn Ecology Fund, a component of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.