Bog Cranberries, Team-Teaching, Tiny Horses and Thanksgiving!

The last couple weeks have held many exciting activities!

For Cohort B's Super Monday session (a bi-weekly 2-hour supplemental training), we got to explore IslandWood's bog for the first time! A bog is a very delicate ecosystem, so we only teach our students about it from the edges, but for our Super Monday session, we were led through it by two of our prime naturalist instructors, Karen and Greg. We donned our rubber boots and rain gear, and braved the pouring skies to learn more about this rare and exciting ecosystem! In pairs, we became experts on different bog plant species then took turns teaching other pairs about our plant in Each One Teach One style, a teaching method we use often with students since it empowers them to share their knowledge with others.
My partner, Minna, and I became experts on the bog cranberry, a species of wild cranberry that grows in bogs throughout the Pacific Northwest. It was interesting to learn about the cultural uses of the bog cranberry in native tribes and how to distinguish it from the mountain cranberry.
We had a blast snacking on juicy, and sometimes sour, little cranberries as we taught our peers about their unique characteristics and helped them pick prime berries to taste. We then continued our trek through the soggy bog to learn about other plant species from our fellow grads, sometimes sinking up to our knees in the wet sphagnum moss. The whole bog experience was certainly a memorable one spent learning, laughing, and absolutely loving our job as outdoor educators.


Last week was supposed to be another solo-teaching week for Cohort B, but one of the schools that was scheduled to come had to drop out because their administration decided to cancel all field trips this fall to limit any potential exposure to swine flu, so most of us ended up team-teaching since there were fewer kids than expected. I had the opportunity to teach with my friend Jenn who was a middle school science teacher for two years before coming to IslandWood. We were  the leaders of Team Ravine, and boy did we have a blast! Our kids were excited about everything we did and always had interesting and thoughtful comments to add to group discussions. I was able to try out a new approach for facilitating the Community Agreement (a set of guidelines for the week that the kids come up with for themselves) at the beginning of the week and had much success. I also led a really thought-provoking discussion and exploration at the Blakely cemetery, focusing on how much the people who are no longer with us can teach us about the history of the place where they lived. I'm always impressed with how respectful and pensive the children are when exploring the cemetery. They don't hesitate to delve into questions of how the people died, how old they were when they died, who they are buried with, and what kinds of lives they led when they were alive. Those are just a couple highlights of what turned out to be a very enjoyable week. Even though Jenn and I had different teaching styles, we learned a lot from each other, and were kept laughing the whole time by our enthusiastic and humorous kiddos.

Team Ravine having a W.A.M.!

(Water Appreciation Moment)

On the last day of every teaching week, it is tradition for all the instructors to dress up with some kind of theme. Past themes have included pajama day, sunglasses in the rain, awkward tuck day, and 80s hairdo day. Cohort A even did one where they all wore unicorn horns that they had individually decorated with ribbons, glitter, and paint since their cohort's mascot is the unicorn.

Not to be outdone, this week Cohort B decided to show off the extreme pride we have for our mascot, the Tiny Horse (lonnng story involving deer tracks resembling tiny horse hoof prints...), so I made everyone "Tiny Horse Bling" using my childhood collection of My Little Ponies and horse figurines. Each team-teaching pair picked out their own tiny horse necklace, then we sported our tiny horse bling with prideful grins the whole day!

Cohort A doing our Tiny Horse gallop!

(we're obviously the coolest people you know...) 

At the end of the short teaching week, I got bigs hugs from all of my Team Ravine kids as they boarded the bus, waved goodbye as they pulled out of the parking lot, had an interesting debrief lunch with the rest of Cohort B and our mentors, then jumped in the car with my fellow grad, Kelly to drive down to Portland for Thanksgiving!

It was my first Thanksgiving home since high school because I went to college in Ohio and could never fly back west just for the weekend, and a perfect Thanksgiving it was. I truly have so much to be grateful for in my life! Lots of delicious food, wonderful times with family, long talks with friends, contra dancing, hot tubbing, game-playing, and pet cuddling filled the long weekend. I even baked a gluten-free pecan pie and two gluten-free pumpkin pies from scratch! Now I'm rejuvenated for another three weeks of teaching, studying, and exploring before winter break!

My First Nighttime Sit Spot Experience

       As part of my Natural History and Ecology course, we had to pick a place anywhere on IslandWood’s land to be our Sit Spot.  We were told to return to our spot twice a week in September and once a week for the rest of the year to understand it intimately in all its seasonal changes.  Each time we go, we’re supposed to sit for at least a half hour, and simply be in that place, observing the goings on of the natural world around us.  We’re also encouraged to go at different times of day and in different weather so as to get to know our spot in all its diversity.

      My Sit Spot is against a large tree root along an open part of the marsh shoreline, with views over the cattail marsh on one side and into the shady hemlock forest on the other side.  In September and October, I went to my spot many times, in rain and in sun, but always in the daylight.  

      However, on November 4th, I did my first nighttime sit!  It was so thrilling and peaceful at the same time.  The moon was full, or maybe right on the verge of being full and the its light reflected off the water in the marsh, setting a peaceful, all-is-right-with-the-world mood to the scene.  The walk to my spot via the eastern side of the Marsh Loop was adventurous and stunning in its darkness.  The moonlight did not penetrate the forest in most places and no matter how long I stopped and waited, my eyes did not seem to adjust any further.  It seemed like there just wasn’t enough light for them to adjust to.  I had use my "fox feet" to sense what was ahead of me as I walked along the trail. I tested each step with my toes as there were many roots, fallen logs, and minor changes in elevation, many of which I don’t think I’ve consciously noticed before since I’ve taken my sense of sight for granted during the other hikes to my spot.  I made my way along the trail very slowly and just had to trust myself that I had taken that path enough times to know most of the twists and turns, although sometimes I stood in one place for a few seconds trying to distinguish any of the shapes and shadows ahead of me to figure out where to go next.  I finally made it to my spot after what felt like ages and was in awe of the moonlit world that glowed in front of my eyes. As I settled down, I noticed a star, or possibly a planet, was shining right at the tip of the tall skinny snag a ways out in the marsh, making it resemble a candlestick.  Over the course of the half hour I was there, the time of which I could just faintly make out by tilting my watch into the moonlight, the stars moved in a SE direction, so even just a few minutes after my arrival, the snag was no longer a candlestick glowing bravely in the dark marsh.

      Soon after I sat down, I heard a rustling in the branches to my right and a tiny movement in the water.  It seemed like the animals were stirring in their nighttime rest to make sure that I was not a threat, but then went back to being still or asleep, and I didn’t hear another sound of wildlife the rest of the time I was there.  I did, however, hear a very loud floater plane or helicopter that flew right overhead.  It was a shock after getting used to the calm and peacefully quiet night and so it probably seemed louder than it would have in the day since it was such a stark contrast.  Soon enough, it flew out of range and the soothing hush fell over the forest and marsh once again.  Since there was now more light for my pupils to take in, I noticed my eyes were adjusting and could make out more dimensions of the world around me.  I couldn’t see any insects or bats flying over the marsh and wondered why.  Dogs barked far away, and their voices sounded absurdly domestic compared to what I knew was roaming around me in the forest.  The moon rose higher, up to about 25° over the SE horizon, and my body temperature fell lower, prompting me to pull the flaps of my hat farther down over my ears and tie the cords tighter under my chin.  Since the sense I usually use the most, my sense of sight, was so much diminished, I noticed that some of my other senses had become heightened.  For instance, my nostrils were working overtime trying to take in as many scents as they could and I became aware that my hat smelled like pears—how peculiar.  Another sense that was heightened was my sense of hearing, as I desperately hoped I would hear any sort of animal that may be displeased with my presence before it stumbled upon me.  Because of this, I was also very aware my own sounds; my breathing, my feet rubbing against the dirt, and the scratching of my pencil as I blindly jotted notes in my “Rite in the Rain” all sounded monsturous in volume.  

     Before tucking my notebook back into my backpack, I took a moment to appreciate the glowing patches of light the moon made on the florest floor.  Then, trying not to let myself get too caught up in thought of the recent coyote spottings in the area, the howls that had been heard the night before on IslandWood’s land, the fatal coyote attack that had just occurred in Canada, and the fact that it was a full moon, I rose from my Sit Spot and made my way slowly but confidently around the rest of the Marsh Loop towards the cabins, singing “Baby Moon” softly the whole time in hopes that I would alert any coyote residents that a human was coming long before I happened to step on its den....

     The whole experience was transformational and I returned to my cabin that night feeling triumphant and at ease with life.

You can read all about my liaisoning experience and the grads' Halloween party at the official EEC blog that I'm contributing to here:

http://islandwoodeec.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Love to all,
Me

The First Two Months and All That Jazz: Installment II

The last week of September slipped into October when we weren't watching. The last apples were bought from the Farmers Market and a chilly bite began to lace the air.

The last weekend in September, a bunch of IslandWoodies went to the Harvest Fair. It was a beautifully sunny day and the farm hosting the event was full of hay rides, pie contests (the head IslandWood chef, Jim, was the head judge!), barbecue, sheep sheering, giant zucchinis, live folk and bluegrass music, pony rides, corn-on-the-cob sharing, fresh hot apple cider, and happiness.

 (Recession Pie, made with green tomatoes!)

The week that led from September into October was extremely overwhelming because even though we hadn't finished our two summer quarter courses (and still haven't), we started our three fall quarter courses and our year-long practicum course. Talk about a heavy courseload! So now, in addition to our Natural History & Ecology and Classroom Management courses, we also have Child Development, Science Methods, Environmental Education: History, Issues, and Methods, and our student teaching practicum. I'm starting to figure out how to balance it all, but it does get overwhelming at times trying to juggle all of my coursework in addition to teaching in the School Overnight Program and my two campus jobs. My two jobs are EEC Marketing Assistant and EEC Media Relations Blogger.  As the marketing assistant, I give tours to prospective grads and figure out good ways to publicize the EEC (Environment, Education, & Community) graduate program to potential  students all over the country. Plus, if someone else is giving the tour and wants to show a grad cabin to the prospective student, I get paid for a half hour of cleaning my room to keep it presentable for the tour. Sweet deal, huh? Not many people can say they get paid to clean their room! For my other job as one of the EEC bloggers, I will be contributing entries to the official IslandWood EEC blog that anyone who is interested in the program can read to get a better feel of what we do here and what we think of it. There are two other bloggers, Ally and Diana, so we're going to switch off weeks we write. I'll let you all know if I write anything on that blog that I think is noteworthy.

The first full week in October, we finally started teaching! That week was team-teaching week, so I was in a team with two other grads, E.J. and Lily. The week was exciting since we had been waiting so long to actually be working in the field with kids, but it was also challenging in many unforeseen ways. The kids we had were a handful, but trickier than that turned out to be the task of melding the instructors' three very different teaching styles into something the kids could rely on for the week. The kids never really got into a rhythm since we expected very different things from them, but I think they still had a good experience. I learned a lot from my team teachers and picked up a few things to try from their teaching styles, but for the most part, I was relieved when the week was over.  Thinking about not only how to teach the kids and have a successful week with them but also having to think about how to have a successful week with my team teachers was too much to handle and I eagerly awaited when I could have my own group.

That weekend, I had a handful of very special visitors! My mom came for the whole weekend, and my Gramma and Aunt Terri came for Sunday afternoon. I loved sharing my IslandWood world with all of them! My mom got to meet lots of my fellow grads that I've been talking so much about and sleep in my wonderful treetop loft. We had sweet mother daughter talks and cuddle times, thoroughly explored IslandWood, and spent a morning kayaking. 

(We found the Frog Rock, one of Bainbridge Island's quirks!)

When my Gramma and Aunt Terri came on Sunday, we went out to eat at The Public House (fondly referred to as the Pub), ate ice cream in the autumn sunshine in front of Mora, strolled through town a bit, and toured IslandWood on golfcart since my grandma couldn't hike the trails. It was fantastic having three generations of women here together! And Gramma and Aunt Terri brought me yummy homemade applesauce, strawberry-rhubarb preserves, and a bowlful of crisp apples from Terri's garden!

That week, I did a lot of studying and classes, but I also got to visit my liaison school, Roxhill Elementary, and teach them an IslandWood pre-lesson, something to whet their appetites for coming to IslandWood! I did a lesson in both 5th grade classes where the kids got to collage together their own mural of an ecosystem as they learned about the different abiotic, biotic, and cultural parts! It was a little chaotic at times, but all in all lots of fun!

The next weekend, I took advantage of an offer that one of IslandWood's board members had donated to anyone who wanted to go: a private tour of the Tacoma Glass Museum led by the museum's curator and the head artist of the featured exhibit, Preston Singletary. Preston Singletary is a renowned Native American glass artist and his pieces were very beautiful. I didn't take any photos inside the museum, but here are a few from outside.

That night, Greta, Susie, and I went to the Pumpkin Walk, an annual event put on by the Bainbridge Gardens where there are over 300 Jack-O-Lanterns lit up along a pathway through the gardens. Some were even in themed displays! So cool!

Three weeks ago, I finally began solo teaching, the core reason why I'm here! I had my very own group of nine 5th graders from Concord International School to teach and explore with for four days, and it was a blast! Concord is very ethnically diverse and seven of my nine kids were latino/a, which I loved! Our group had such a fantastic energy and zest and really bonded through the ups and downs of the week. 

Some days there were no discipline issues, while other days it felt like I was constantly having to address something. One of the days there were no issues was Harbor Day.  We had a great brainstorm session on what a watershed is, watched a short video about the cultural history of Blakely Harbor (it used to be the biggest mill in the world!), then trooped down the trails to the to see it for ourselves. We had fun exploring under rocks to find crabs, played detective to find evidence of the mill, and spotted a Great Blue heron on a rock a little ways away. 
The rest of the day we had a humorous lunch, hiked the Lower Loop trail, and did some very peaceful activities on the Suspension Bridge. On the bridge, all the kids laid down on their stomachs to observe the world around them and under the bridge then wrote about it in their journals and shared what they had written with the rest of the group in a relaxing gathering in the middle of the bridge. This was probably my favorite time with the kids all week and I really saw some of them come out of their shell. 

We also saw tons of banana slugs that day! It's an IslandWood tradition to kiss or lick a banana slug to feel the tingly sensation on your lips or tongue, so 6 of my kids, their teacher who was spending the day with us, and the chaperone all kissed banana slugs that day! I was so proud of them!

The rest of the week was somewhat of a roller coaster. We had a fine night hike, until I came back to the prep room that evening after dropping the kids off at their lodge to hear that one or two of them, unbeknownst to me, had been mischievously throwing gravel at another group who was gathered on a landing below while we were doing silent solo sits on the pond dam . The next day had to begin with a serious talk from the SOP coordinator, so that got us off on a little bumpy start plus many of the kids were coming down with colds, so the morning was a little more frustrating, but after a lunchtime discussion about how we had to turn things around, we had a fun afternoon on the Floating Classroom and examined marine invertebrates in the lab. We wrapped up the last day with an exciting garden exploration, dynamic People & Places mindmap, and a reflective letter to themselves activity in the Living Machine.  It finally felt like everyone really understood the rhythm of being in Team Rain and I wished that I could have had them for a couple more days.

I felt very close to all but one of my kids and thought I had built a good rapport with all but that one, since I kept having to address discipline issues with him. During the closing Friendship Circle, all the kids at IslandWood have a chance to give gratitude to someone or something that they are thankful for from that week.  That Thursday, many kids were thanking their instructors and I casually glanced around the circle to see if any of the kids I had become close with would thank me. Then I heard a voice from across the circle saying, "I'd like to thank my instructor, Zoë." I looked and it turned out to be the one kid I hadn't thought I had reached! The one kid I thought hadn't liked me! And lo and behold, he was the one thanking me! It really showed me that if you keep believing in a child and showing them that you value them as a person no matter what they do, they're going to understand and appreciate that. I saw that sometimes we impact our kids more than we realize. That moment really tied together my whole week beautifully, and my kids and I all gave each other big hugs before they got on the bus. I think I'll always remember them for what we went through together my first week of solo teaching and how much I learned from them. They're great kids and I was able to tell them individually on that last day how much I know they're going to change the world. I miss them already!

The weekend before Halloween was a long weekend for Cohort B. I went to the pumpkin patch with Minna, her daughter Anneli, and Ilya on Saturday, which was so much fun! How can you beat getting to go with a 2-year old on her first trip to the pumpkin patch? It was sunny and beautiful and we bought too many pumpkins and ate sweet corn right off the stalks. 

I decorated my porch with all the harvest bounty from the pumpkin patch too! How festive!

(The most beautiful Indian corn I've ever seen!)

Saturday night was Kate's 90's themed birthday party, which was supposed to be a dance party but ended up being a late night Taboo marathon complete with pages of hilarious memorable quotes. 

Sunday and Monday were spent finishing my species accounts, which are page-long reports and drawings of 15 IslandWood species, ranging from the Big Brown bat to Old Man's Beard lichen. Sunday was also Howl-O-Ween, the Halloween event IslandWood puts on every year. I took a quick study break to peek in on the end of the event.

 Especially impressive were the pumpkins that IslandWood's kitchen staff carved. They worked on them all week!

On Tuesday I gave my first tour to a prospective grad, which was a lot of fun. She kept saying the same sorts of things that I did when I first discovered IslandWood, like "If I designed my own graduate program I don't think it would be as perfect as this!" and I got to honestly say to her that I said the same things when I was a prospective student and I still think they're true. Then I took the ferry and the "Frog Car" (IslandWood's Prius) over to Seattle to lead an informational meeting for the parents of Roxhill, my liaison school, with Soren, the head of school partnerships. It went well and I got really excited for my Roxhill kids to come the following week! 

Last week they finally came, and I got to try on the liaison hat for the week, which was a new and exciting role for me! I had a great team of other liaisons, Charlie and Liz, since their schools were here this week too, and we rocked the liaison duties! I love those kids!

More to come on that later since there's so much to say about it and this entry is long enough. More to come on our pumpkin carving party, Halloween, and a brief weekend foray to Portland in the next entry too!

If you made it through both installments of these entries, you're a rockstar. Summarizing 2 whole months is a big task and I even feel guilty that I left some things out!

As always, I love hearing your thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to drop a quick comment.

Love to everyone,

Me