Connecting to nature through gardens

The image below is of a garden created by Steven Wells. This garden is in the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre in Melbourne, VIC. The beautiful, natural space created by Steven is an environment where patients can heal their body and their soul. To read more about this inspiring project, please click here.

(Image retrieved from http://www.cultivatensw.org.au)

Children’s learning environments should reflect places where their minds and soul can be nurtured. Inspiring spaces to grow. An environment that reflects their sense of agency, curiosity and autonomy. Places they can learn. In a real context and environment. What do we really want to teach our children? Did we ever learn about the beauty of the world through books, or did we walk, with our bare feet in the grass and mud, and smell the flowers in the garden. Or the freshly cut grass of the field just before running on with our friends. Sensory experiences create rich memories that we have for the rest of our lives. What greater gift can we give than to create the most beautiful memories for our children, in a way that also teaches them about their natural environment and place in the world. Sensory, natural experiences don’t have to be hard. Take a magnifying glass to a patch of green grass..

One of my favourite memories as a child is of watching the grassy space under the trampoline. So many little creatures of the world going about their lives. So much to be found. We just need to learn to look and see.

Horticulture therapy is about nurturing your body, mind, and spirit through gardening. The peak body for this in NSW is called ‘Cultivate NSW’. For more information and direct links to the site, please click here.

The importance of free play

(Directly from the MindShift Blog..)

“..children who experienced more undirected free play showed signs of stronger executive function, a strong predictor of success in school. “The more time that children spent in less-structured activities,” wrote researchers, “the better their self-directed executive functioning.”

To read this article in full, please click here.

Research

Research studies highlighting the importance of outdoor education and links to health and wellbeing are available here.

 

For publications by the Children and Nature Network including guides for communities, teachers and families please click here.

Inspiring individuals: Ken Robinson

“The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn’t need to be reformed — it needs to be transformed. The key to this transformation is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.”

– Sir Ken Robinson, The Element: How finding your passion changes everything

 

Develop your talents

“Develop your talents. Too many people spend more time focusing on their weaknesses than developing their strengths“.

– Robin Sharma from ‘Life lessons from the monk who sold his ferrari’ (p.94).

Developing individual talents and supporting strengths can also be implemented in an early childhood context. Providing opportunities for children to learn using their interests and strengths as guides will support meaningful learning and understanding and foster a sense of value, identity and belonging.

– Jodie

Inspiring places

Ningaloo Reef: Photography by Breeze Zammit