Teaching in the Outdoors - My Bag of Tricks

My Environmental Education Bag of Tricks Includes....

• ambulators to make a long walk seem shorter or more fun
• how to relate common games to environmental issues
• the developmental appropriateness of certain games
• knowing how to use all 5 senses
• being able to encourage thoughtful reflection
• nature journaling
• colors of nature game
• onion trail game
• call and responses
• animal allies role playing games
  
• hunter gatherer searches, games, scavenger hunts
• fantasy and map-making placed based education activities
• allowing kids to make up names for the plants that they're seeing
• comfort in leading a group of kids
• when to do an active vs. a quieter program
• how to be aware of potential safety issues
• how to inject a sense of adventure into nature exploration
• how to get parents and mixed age groups going
• ways of getting the attention of a group that isn't listening

I think I've got a lot more that I haven't written down, and I think I'll continue to add to this list whenever I learn new things. I love the fact that a lot of my classmates shared their experiences, too, so I can also approach them for advice if I need it.