Nature Walks - The BEarth Institute

Nature Walks in The Upper Grades

Posted on July 30, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in Animals, High School, Nature Walks, Science, Sunii, Wildlife Education

Nature walks are a much talked about feature of early childhood programs in Waldorf inspired schools. They are also an important part of the educational day for children. However, nature walks can and should continue into the upper grades and even high school. This essay by my student Sunii, illustrates...

Stages in Waldorf Education

Posted on March 4, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in Nature Walks, Rhythm, Waldorf Earthschooling, Waldorf Philosophy

Sofi is ten*. She is in that age where she is exploring her individuality and her place in the world. She still sees the world as a place to create and looks at everything through this point of view. Mosi, my eldest, is 14. She is at the stage where...

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Cabin Fever Cures

Posted on January 19, 2015 by thebearthinstitute in Carschooling, Field Trips, Fifth Grade, Nature Walks, Winter

The kids and I have been getting a bit of “Cabin Fever” with all this miserable weather we’ve had in Iowa.** Nature walks have become shorter and we miss the sunshine and greenery and we needed a change! Sofi came up with the perfect solution! She decided that now was the...

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Simplifying Homeschooling & Health

Posted on December 20, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Monday Meditation, Nature Walks, Naturopathic Healing, Reflexology

The word “simplify” has become a buzzword in society the past few years. There is even a magazine called “Simple Living” that will sell you things (including a magazine) to help you simplify your life! I often write editorials on simplifying things. However, despite all these wonderful reminders it seems...

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Be a Citizen Scientist

Posted on December 1, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Animals, December, February, January, Nature Walks, Science, Winter

There are so many ways to be a citizen scientist in our area. As an adult I love participating as a way to be outdoors, give back to the community, further my education in the sciences, and meet other people who are interested in nature. When my children were younger they...

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Out of the Classroom

Posted on October 1, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Field Trips, Fourth Grade, Multiple Grades, Nature Walks, Science, Sixth Grade

I love Earthschooling because we spend so much time out of the “traditional classroom”. I adore books and have shelves filled with them. However, what always amazes me is how easily and effortlessly we learn outside of the traditional “textbook and classroom” methods. Today was a perfect example of getting...

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How Do You Know if You Are Qualified to Homeschool?

Posted on May 12, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Inner Work, Inner Work, Inner Work, Monday Meditation, Nature Walks, Wildlife Education

Monday Meditation After 19 years of taking nature walks with my children, self and friends I felt like I was a bit of an expert. I had learned how to forage and find herbs and had even taken two years of tracking classes so I could see animal signs. We...

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Earth Day Celebrations!

Posted on April 3, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Arts, Crafts & Handwork, Earth Day, Nature Walks, Spring, Watercolor

reprinted from old BLOG (we are transferring all entries from the old BLOG before we delete it on the old website) – Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22nd this year (2014)! What a wonderful Earth Day! It is our second “real” day of spring this year – so we brought...

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Spring “Egg” Hunt

Posted on April 3, 2014 by thebearthinstitute in Easter, Nature Walks, Science, Spring

As a healer I always try to find that “perfect herb” that fits the needs of my client’s emotions, my clients physical body and my client’s spirit. As a teacher I am always trying to find that “perfect task” or “perfect lesson” that fits the needs of the day, the...

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Watercolor & Meditation with The Middle Grades

Posted on November 13, 2013 by thebearthinstitute in Arts, Crafts & Handwork, Autumn, Nature Walks

(originally posted on old BLOG 10/10/08) As winter approaches the kids (mine and the ones who come for Waldorf Enrichment) have been both more meditative in many ways but also more physically energetic! So we have been outdoors a lot but when we come in their favorite activities seem...

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Why Waldorf-inspired Education Creates Great Scientists

Posted on October 25, 2013 by thebearthinstitute in Curriculum, Eighth Grade, Farming, Field Trips, Fifth Grade, High School, Housebuilding, Lesson Blocks, Math, Middle Grades, Nature Walks, Ninth Grade, Science, Seventh Grade, Sixth Grade, Third Grade, Toys, Uncategorized, Waldorf Philosophy, Woodworking

One of the many reasons we decided to base Earthschooling on Waldorf-inspired principles was because of the strong science base Waldorf-inspired education provides. When I share this thought with parents and teachers the first questions they ask is (something like), “How can Waldorf-inspired education create great scientists? And what do...

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Wildlife Rescue and Education

Posted on March 30, 2012 by thebearthinstitute in Animals, Nature Walks, Science, Wildlife Education

Springtime is here and at the wildlife center we have baby opossums! They are so adorable! The even better news is that all of our baby animals come from captive breeding facilities (these facilities are set up around the country to support a diverse population of wild animals in captivity...

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Mulberry Ink with Sofi

Posted on June 26, 2009 by thebearthinstitute in Arts, Crafts & Handwork, Natural Dying, Nature Walks, Sofi

After our walk today I asked my mom if she had any ink. I bought a really cool feather pen at the farmer’s market yesterday and wanted to use it. She said that we could make some from the mulberries. I wrote a card to my dad with the mulberry...

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Photographing Fairies with Sofi

Posted on June 1, 2009 by thebearthinstitute in Nature Walks, Sofi

Today we went to photograph the fairies. We wanted to take pictures of them by the really nice mushrooms we saw last week but someone took all the mushrooms away so we took pictures of them in different places. I set the fairies up and my mom took the pictures....

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Category Archives: Nature Walks