Month: May 2013

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Pirate Song

musicIn case you haven’t heard, we love pirates at our school. We search for pirates, we search for their treasures, and we sing about them! Here’s our favorite pirate song. We love it because it uses so many great skills: counting, rhyming, and repetition, and to top it all off, a nice reference to a real-world event–going to kindergarten!

Pirate Song

When I was one I sucked my thumb on the day I went to sea
I jumped aboard the Pirate ship and the captain said to me
You go this way and that way
Forward and backward on the day I went to sea

When I was two I tripped on my shoe on the day I went to sea
I jumped aboard the Pirate ship and the captain said to me
You go this way and that way
Forward and backward on the day I went to sea

When I was three I skinned my knee on the day I went to sea
I jumped aboard the Pirate ship and the captain said to me
You go this way and that way
Forward and backward on the day I went to sea

When I was four I shut the door on the day I went to sea
I jumped aboard the Pirate ship and the captain said to me
You go this way and that way
Forward and backward on the day I went to sea

When I was five
(YELL) I went to kindergarten!!!!!!!!!

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Creating a New Nature Movement

booksWhen Richard Louv wrote Last Child in the Woods, he never knew that it would create a movement focused on natural learning. In The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Nature in a Virtual Age, Louv examines the challenges faced by adults who also suffer from nature deficit disorder. He believes that if adults reconnect with nature, it could be the answer to many of their physical and emotional ailments.

In an interview with Ames Tribune, Louv answers five questions about the effects of nature deficit disorder. He recommends a number of habits that adults can embrace to cultivate an appreciation for nature and natural resource preservation:

  • Unplug
  • Get outside
  • Walk
  • Play
  • Observe
  • Look for and appreciate the nearby nature that already exists where you live
  • Plant more of it
  • Perceive and recreate your home and garden in a new way
  • Encourage biodiversity exactly where you are
  • Change your workplace to incorporate nature
  • Get to know your own bioregion
  • Get involved with groups that experience nature or ones that connect children to nature
  • Be forgiving of yourself if you can’t always follow through. There will be no quiz.
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Uncle Jesse

musicAt our school, we love to sing Uncle Jesse. It’s a great song to sing around the circle to get the kids energy up before we run around in outdoor play.

Uncle Jesse

Here comes Uncle Jesse
Riding down the lane
With his horse and buggy
And he knows just what to say

He’s hollering (child’s name),
Come on down (child’s name),
Come on down (child’s name),
Touch your head (child’s name),
Jump really high (child’s name)
Sit down (child’s name)

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Last Child in the Woods

booksLast Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder is a book that will change the way you think about the relationship between education and nature. In it, Richard Louv talks about how direct exposure to the natural environment is necessary for healthy development in children and for the physical and emotional health of both children and adults.

Our Philosophy

At In a Child’s Path, we fully embrace the philosophy that healthy kids learn outside. At our farm preschool, children interact with animals, play in the fields, plant gardens, and taste the food they grow.

In our forest school, children really embrace the outdoors by tromping through the woods and interacting with the naturally occurring flora and fauna. We build forest out of the sticks we find on the ground. We catch frogs in our pond and watch the development of frog eggs in the streams. We jump in the rain puddles and thoroughly enjoy every inch of our forested campus.

If you’d like to learn more about how our children need nature to grow, grab a copy of The Last Child in the Woods.