Less is More: Teaching Children About Nature

"What is THIS?" Luke yelled. Kids gathered around. Heads bent to peer into his cupped hand. "What is it? What are these cool things?"

Children's voices blended, their curiosity and questions rising into the treetops. I peered into the nest made by their pressed-together heads. Indeed, two small, green objects lay in Luke's hand. They were oval, less than an inch long, scaly, and motionless.

I knew exactly what they were.

Children poked at the green objects that rolled around on Luke's palm. They took turns holding them.

"What do you notice?" I asked. "What do they feel like? What do they smell like?"

Comments and guesses flew. They wondered if it was an animal. Some children thought it might be part of a plant.

The night before, a spring storm had raged through the neighborhood. A pine branch lay on the forest floor a few steps away. Shiny green pine needles grew in whorls, and from the center of each needle bouquet rested a cluster of the same mysterious green ovals.

Male pinecones. They were shut tight, small and young, but over the next week or so, cones in the treetops would grow, fill with yellow pollen, and turn rusty brown.

It was tempting to pick up the little pine branch, show the children where their mystery objects came from, and give them a lesson on tree function. But I resisted.

The children moved on to other discoveries..

The next Monday, Luke's shout rang out once more. This time, he held a male pinecone like a candle over his head. "It IS part of a plant!" he shouted. "Look at this thing! How cool! It's got yellow powder on it!"

Over the next couple of weeks, the children took notice as male pinecones littered our forest floor. The small objects were increasingly rusty brown, and they left yellow smears on inquisitive fingers. The children's interest remained high, so I brought books about trees and flowers into the classroom. Soon, they knew quite a lot about pine trees and pollen.

But consider how it could have turned out. Had I bombarded them with facts at the beginning, they would have lost interest. But because learning was along a path of discovery, and because it was their own chosen path, they were curious and engaged.

Should we ever inform students about the organisms around us? Certainly! At times, we give them information and teach them facts. However, we also need to know when to withhold our teaching and let the learning happen over time. There is no right or wrong approach, exactly, just something to keep in mind as we practice our forest school facilitator skills.

When, someone might wonder, do we share facts? I usually consider the likelihood of children encountering the same organism again.

A salamander, for instance, may not show up the next day, and when it does appear, should not be handled for long. If I know some salamander facts, I might share a few. The next day, I might bring in a book about salamanders for our read-aloud time. We might even do a salamander craft project at some point in the classroom.

When we find eastern box turtles, the children learn a few facts: how to tell if the turtle is a boy or a girl. Why it is called a box turtle. What it eats. How long a box turtle can live.

These facts--given sparingly--increase interest only a little. But the next time they happen to find a box turtle lumbering by, their interest will skyrocket. They will want to see if it has a red or yellow eye. They will feel competent as they carefully pick it up to check if the bottom shell is flat or concave. They will enjoy sharing their knowledge about box turtles!

Children need to be taught facts about animals and plants. Sometimes, giving them a few interesting facts is a great thing to do. But we also keep in mind that whenever children can possibly uncover answers over time, we respect such a journey. We encourage their curiosity, hold back, and allow them the joy of discovery.