Mindset and Mindfulness

My mind is constantly wandering. Focused on the next thing, the things I should be doing, finding something new and bigger or more inventive that I'm simply not in the moment. It's not lack of focus, it's lack of thinking that the task at hand is enough or worrying about all the other things. It's my constant need to find the new, cool thing or to not miss out. 

Except .. I am missing out. Missing out big time!

When I set off on my adventure to Costa Rica, followed by a trip to Puerto Rico I knew that I needed to focus on the moment whenever I could and be consciously mindful to make the most of the days spent in these spectacular places. I thought back to my previous experience in Belize on an Earth Expedition and to the various trips I have taken. I constantly want to be going and to fit in all the things, making sure I don't miss out on any of my extensive lists of things to see or do.

A few years ago I found out about a set of personality types called Enneagrams (Baron & Wagele, 1994). Although like any generalized personality types, I don't fit snugly into a type, what I did discover is how to help adjust my more negative or distracting personality traits and switch them to being positive more often. I've explored the facets of myself that might be more likely to hold me back or hold me hostage. One major piece is being more mindful and realizing that completing projects over finding new and better will keep me more grounded and happier in the long run (Baron & Wagele, 1994).

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According to Mindful.org (2021), being mindful is "the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us."

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Sitting in the twilight in an
open-air hostel as bats flew
 back and forth all around us.

Leading me to exploring Costa Rica and Puerto Rica with a mindful mind-set. It was eye-opening and at times exhausting keeping myself focused. Although I did not stick to it all the time, I know I made a difference and I am continuing to do my best now that I am home and back to teaching. 

In Costa Rica, I spent time listening to the ocean without a book to read or other mind-occupying pursuits.

When I walked through the new places I did my best to soak it in at the time and took few photos. Normally, I take pictures upon pictures and don't tend to notice sounds, smells and way things feel.

On lengthy bus rides I would catch myself thinking I should be doing something else or keeping busy. When I did so, I would take a few breaths and look out the window or strike up a conversation with a classmate.

The day after our Costa Rican Earth Expedition was over I went on a bus tour of San Jose, Costa Rica with 3 classmates. While it might have been a better tour before spending time in the country, we did get a chance to explore an art museum and craft market. 

Pura Vida!

Star-filled sky over
Rincon, Puerto Rico.

On a particularly beautiful night in Puerto Rico, I went up to the roof-top deck and sat for an hour looking at the stars. My mind would wander from time-to-time, so I would remind myself that it was wonderful and amazing to enjoy the stars and do nothing else. I did sneak in a few photos, which truly do not match the breath-taking site, however, they do bring me back to the memory and remind me to be mindful at the same time.

Sunset paddle boarding and kayaking near 
Rincón, Puerto Rico.

While in Puerto Rico, my family and I took a sunset paddle board and kayak trip. We didn't plan much and went with the flow for our days and nights in Rincón. As a planner and a do-all-the-things traveler this was extraordinarily difficult! It honestly took a great deal of mind-set work to accomplish the lack of to-do's and I found myself getting frustrated often. I had to step back and take stock of why I was frustrated and make sure that I wasn't taking it out on anyone else. I did compromise with the group and planned out what we would do for dinner to help ease some of my frustration and give the trip some structure.

The view from one of the 8 suspension bridges
at Selvatura Park.

I realize that allowing myself to be in the moment and think about what I was doing and experiencing gave me the push to try an adventure I normally would have not even considered - the tree-top suspension bridges near Monteverde. I conquered my nerves, took a ton of deep breaths and kept walking. Thankfully I was not the only one in the group working through a fear of the trek, so I didn't feel alone or as if I would hold everyone back if I needed extra time. 

Nerve-wracking as it was I am incredibly happy to have walked over all those terrifying bridges and can look back at the photos and videos I took. I gained a different appreciation of the cloud forest during that time.

Mindfulness will be something that may never come naturally to me; I will need to remind myself to be in the moment often. I am working on being happy with what I have rather than focusing on what I don't have (Baron & Wagele, 1994). I talk to my students about being mindful and take the time to carefully decide whether the new, interesting idea I found will benefit myself, my class and/or my family rather than taking it on because it is new and exciting (Baron & Wagele, 1994). I'm a work in progress and working on mindfulness.

View of a full Rio Barú in Dominical, Costa Rica.

Here's to a continued journey into mindfulness and keeping a more open, less frantic mind-set.

~Jamie 

References:

Baron, R. & Wagele, E. (1994). The Enneagram Made Easy: Discover the 9 Types of People. Harper Collins; New York, New York, USA.

Mindful Staff. (2020, July 8). What is mindfulness? Mindful.org.

Taking your Vitamin N?

Taking your vitamins? All of them, you say? 

Including Vitamin N for nature?

If you are not, or if you would like to add more Vitamin N to you and your child's life read on to find simple ways to get more nature and add a dash of inquiry to your life at the same time.

Step one: Wonder. What do you notice or wonder when you look at this photograph?
Are you curious why this tree hasn't fallen into the creek. Wonder how long it has
been there? What we notice and wonder leads to further inquiry.

For this post, we are going to dip our toes into The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life: Vitamin N by Richard Louv from an inquiry mindset.

I was first introduced to Louv's work Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder while earning my bachelor's degree at a small Native American college located in Northwest Montana. Louv expounds on the loss of connection with nature as technology takes a larger place in every day life. Living where we did, we had the luxuries of so much nature that playing outside, hiking, exploring, and gardening were things we did all the time. So, altough I agreed with the philosophy, I didn't truly appreciate the idea behind Louv's concept of nature-deficit disorder. I will take a brief stop here and say that nature-deficit disorder is not a diagnosable ailment, it is instead the concept of the possible outcomes of the loss or inability to connect with nature. I have since moved to the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio and have a renewed interest in Louv's research and writings. 

In Vitamin N, Louv breaks down ways for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, care-takers - anyone in a child's life to get them exploring nature. While some of us may be blessed with nature at our finger-tips, others have to seek out little spots in the vast urban sprawl of the cities. With a little time, ingenuity and the desire to give chldren in your life the joy of exploring nature you can make it happen. Every little bits of exploration count ... let's get started!

First thing, first --- What is one of the biggest barriers to connecting with nature?  Don't worry, I won't make you wait too long because that is the very thing ..... TIME! 
How do we fix that? Putting nature on the calendar is one way Louv reccommends. I'm being serious, write in down on the calendar of your busy, hectic, crazy life! Well, maybe now not so much, but maybe not ... we are all in different places with the current state of things and you might be busier than ever despite the global slow-downs from COVID-19, my family is. If you are blessed with extra time now then use that to get acquainted or reacquainted with nature. 

Take a short drive to a nearby park and go for a walk or find a great nearby hiking spot. Put that on the calendar for 3 times a week or for one morning. Start small or go big - it's up to you! Just make sure you get it scheduled. No idea where to go?

Americanhiking.org has a Hikes Near You feature on their website

In Southwest Ohio:

• GreatParks of Hamilton County trails feature on their website
• Warren County Parks park amenitites page has park locations along with what trails, water features and other features of the parks
• Clermont County Parks park information page have park and nature preserve maps 
• Check your local municipality's websites for information on their parks

Do you see the blackbrid perched on the cattail? 
Look closely in teh center on top of the cattails. While I
watched it call I noticed it's body bob up and down with the
each call. I wondered if that might help me figure out which
bird was calling with other types of birds, too. I could use that
question to develop an inquiry later. The lentgth of call can
help me identify the bird when I have a bird book or website.

While walking or hiking, take time to sit and listen to the natural sounds, point those sounds out to the children with you. Ask what they think it is and tell them what you think it might be. Resist the urge to look it up on your phone, though. Just listen! Be curious and use that wonder to come up with more questions as you start walking again. Adults DO NOT have to be the experts or have the answers. Find them together when you get home. For now, be in the moment with nature.

Is it raining? Oh, well - the park might not be so crowded; enjoy it! I took a walk in the drizzle just this morning and saw one jogger.

On my walk this morning in the rain I noticed ..

... robins hunting for worms in this culvert and wondered
if they had better luck finding worms here.

... these petals on
the ground and wondered
 which were knocked
down by the wind and
which had already fallen.

...that the leaves of these plants seemed to accumulate
large drops before they rolled down and plopped off.
I wondered if the leaves had wonething on the surface that
let the misty rain gather before rolling off the leaves.

Which way is this worm headed?
How can you tell?

Let inquiry lead the way and compare the same place at different times or in different weather. What animals did I notice in the rain? Which animals did I not see? Did the plants look different in the rain, in the mroning or evening? Were some leaves curled up? Did some plants gather water in the leaves? What sounds did you hear? Are there creatures or pollen in the puddles? 

No park nearby or not wanting to drive? Take a nature neighborhood walk. Look for signs of nature - birds chirping, weeds in sidewalk cracks, trees along the street, if it's raining you might even see a few earthworms moving across the sidewalk. Stop and see if your child can figure out which direction it's moving and notice the different parts of the worm. You might gently pick it up briefly to take a closer look. Place the worm back into the space it came from or into the grass where it was headed after a few moments.

Add a few more elements to your walk and let your child collect a few items. Although it is important for children to know that we should do our best to let nature be, part of the experience is touching and feeling nature. A single leaf from a tree a park, a fallen petal, blade of grass, acorn on the ground, a few pebbles or sticks are wonderful treasures. 

Ideas from Louv for collecting those items: 

Create a Wonder Bowl or Jar: find an unused bowl or flower pot, old food jar or even a bucket. Label with a fun name (Bonus: let your child decorate it with paints, markers or decorate a piece of paper and tape it to the Wonder Bowl) the allow your child to gather a few treasures and when they get home they place their treasures into their Wonder Bowl. There are two benefits to this - your child knows you value their explorations and curiosity and you aren't finding those treasures when you wash clothes. 

Create a nature bracelet: take a piece of duct tape, leaving the sticky side up, tape it together. Along the walk or hike have your child gather smal items and stick it to their bracelet. Challenge them to find different colored items or shapes for their bracelet.

Pressed flowers: Gather a few wildflowers, flowers from your garden or even grass (violets, dandelions, etc), put them between 2 paper towels, pieces of paper or wax paper. Then, put that into a book with heavy objects on top to press the flowers. After they are dried, use them for artwork by glueing them onto paper or glue onto card stock, decorate then cut into sizes for bookmarks and laminate. They would make wonderful gifts!

What I appreciate most about these adventures with your children, no matter their age are the memories. Thinking back to the Why Inquiry post, I started by reminiscing about those fond childhood memories of time spent outdoors. Give your child memories like those. They may not appreciate it at the time, but they will remember; even teenagers.

My last recommendation is to just sit and enjoy being in nature. Listen, feel the breeze or the grass, smell the freshness of all the green around you. I took this video at Home of the Brave Park, one of the Symmes Township parks. There was so much to see and listen do just at this small part of the park. What do you hear and notice? This is only 8 seconds of enjoying nature. I walk by this spot so often and each time I notice something different. 

If you found this toe-dip into Vitamin N intriguiging I recommend grabbing a copy of the book yourself. There are many ideas for adults to use from shadow drawings to helping your school become more nature-friendly. Along with Vitamin N, Louv authored Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder and several other nature-related titles. You can explore his writings and find out where to purchase any of Louv's work through his website http://richardlouv.com/.

Encourage inquiry.

As you begin or further your adventure into inquiry, it would be fantastic to see what you and your family are doing to become more curious. Take photos or notes, post them in the comments or on social media. On Instagram or Twitter tag @NatureInquiry and use the hashtags: #encouraginginquiry and #growinginquiry

Yours in curiosity,

Jamie

Resources:

Louv, R. (2016). The Essential guide to a nature-rich life: Vitamin N. Algonquin Books, New York, New York.

Louv, R. (2008). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Algonquin Books, New York, New York.

Nature-based Inquiry: Why?

Bare feet in the grass, hands in the dirt, muddy footprints on the pavement, evenings spent catching fireflies and lazy afternoons watching the clouds go by. Childhood memories many of us fondly recall as adults when we have a change to pause in our busy lives. These simple days taught us more than we think, too. They taught us to ask questions, the scratched arms and skinned knees taught us better balance and depth perception.

Now, be honest: have our children had the same experiences?

What is holding them and us back?

Time? Probably. Less nature? Maybe. Loss of curiosity? Doubtful.

What does inquiry have to do with skinned knees and fireflies?

Inquiry happens when your curiosity drives you. When you learn by doing and by questioning the world around you.

Take a few minutes to watch a brief introduction video about inquiry:

Science and the inquiry process give children a way to build upon their natural curiosity and develop critical thinking skills. Inquiry strengthens belief in our own abilities (Chawla, 2015; Molsher & Townsend, 2016). Inquiry is the process of making observations about our world, asking questions, gathering information and thinking about what that information tells us. Then, asking more questions and sharing what has been discovered.

A stream or small body of water is a wondrous place. Carefully, let a child
touch the water - Is it cold or warm? Watch bubbles form on rocks and stones:
Do they get trapped? How long until they pop?
Look for floating debris and follow it until it gets stuck or sinks.
Photographs taken in April 2020 by author.

Science knowledge, particularly inquiry-based, strengthens and builds skills necessary for a multitude of careers (Chung & Behan, 2010) in sciences, health care, technology and communication. By encouraging children to ask and discover their own answers you are:

• Encouraging creative thinking
• Promoting discovery and active learning
• Encouraging mistakes and perseverance
• Building confidence and empathy.
• Building the ultimate learner - a lifelong learner.

Although inquiry may seem daunting, it is grown and developed through many experiences. It does not require unlimited resources, expensive equipment or vast spaces. Inquiry can grow from watching a weed grow up through a crack in the sidewalk. Noticing that the pampered rose withers at the smallest change, then asking why. It does not require a scientist to teach or foster the desire for inquiry. It requires a little time, a little letting go, a little direction when requested, and heaps of curiosity and wonder.

Amazing natural spaces are just around the corner.
All of these photos were taken at different parks in the Symmes
Township Parks system, near Loveland, Ohio in 2020 by the author.

Current research suggests that science inquiry is essential to elementary-aged students; however, many teachers struggle implementing it in the classroom. Reasons include lack of time or resources, little or no training in the concept of inquiry science and a misconception as to the principles of inquiry science (Margunayasa, Dantes, Marhaeni, & Suastra, 2019; Salinitri, Palazzolo, Nahaiciuc, Iacobelli, Li, & Zhou, 2018; Fitzgerald, Danaia, & McKinnon, 2019). If during this slow-down in 2020 due to COVID-19, caretakers can start the process of developing curiosity, it can encourage educators to continue leading children further on the path of inquiry.

I encourage you to take a walk to a park or natural spot with your child with the intention to explore. Sit and listen. Look closely at the grass. Watch the birds, insects and small mammals. Write down the questions they ask. Here's the best (and hardest) part ... don't tell them the answer. Help them figure out how to answer the question. How can you both look further and answer without searching the internet? How can you find the answer through inquiry?

Encourage inquiry.

I'm encouraging you and your family to dip your toes into inquiry. Take some ideas from this post and find some questions to ask. Take photos or notes, post them in the blog comments or on social media. On Instagram or Twitter tag @NatureInquiry and use the hashtags: #encouraginginquiry and #growinginquiry

Yours in curiosity,

Jamie

Sources:

Chawla, L. (2015). Benefits of nature contact for children. Journal of Planning Literature, 30(4), 433-452.

Chung, H., and Behan, K. (2010). Peer sharing facilitates the effect of inquiry-based projects on science learning. The American Biology Teacher, (72) 1, 24-29. Fitzgerald, M., Danaia, L., and McKinnon, D. (2019). Barriers inhibiting inquiry-based science teaching and potential solutions: Perceptions of positively inclined early adopters. Research in Science Education (49) 543-566.

Flom, B., Johnson, C., Hubbard, J. and Reidt, D. (2011). The natural school counselor: Using Nature to promote mental health in schools. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 6, 118-131.

Margunayasa, I., Dantes, N, Marhaeni A., and Suastra, I. (2019). The effects of guided inquiry learning and cognitive style on science learning achievement. International Journal of Instruction, (12) 1, 737-750.
Molsher, R. & Townsend, M. (2016). Improving wellbeing and environmental stewardship through volunteering in nature. EcoHealth, 13, 151-155.
Mulyeni, T., Jamaris, M., and Supriyati, Y. (2019). Improving basic science process skills through inquiry-based approach in learning science for early elementary students. Journal of Turkish Science Education (16) 2, 187-201.

Myers, C., Smart, T., Haynes, C., Bercaw, J., Cummins, H., Born Myers, L., and Wolfe, C. (2019). Dragonfly QUEST: Leader’s guide. Dragonfly.

Salinitri, G., Palazzolo, S., Nahaiciuc, R., Emilia Iacobelli, E., Li, Y., Zhou, G. (2018). Analysis of Canadian inquiry-based science teaching practices and its implications for reciprocal learning. Universal Journal of Educational Research (6) 10, 2280-2293.

Becoming Curious ... again

Curiosity, Discovery, and Learning

Somewhere along the way, so many of us lose our curiosity. We become immune to the world around us because of its familiarity. We no longer feel the need to discover what is around the corner or try to understand why something works.
For the sake of argument, why does it matter if we lose our curiosity? Who does our lack of curiosity affect or harm? Possibly no one, possibly everyone.
Curiosity drives discovery and learning. A sense of curiosity has been shown to improve learning and effects areas in the brain where long-term memory is stored (Wade & Kidd, 2019).
I found curiosity to be an important part of my experience in Belize in June of 2019. Thinking back on the many adventures, those I remember the best and found the most exhilarating were those where my curiosity was piqued. Those times I immersed into the situation and wasn't bothered by my lack of knowledge, but instead to be thrilled by it.

Off the coast of Belize City

Spotting manatees at the confluence of the Belize River and the Caribbean Sea is the first stop on our adventure where  I noticed I was able to immerse myself into the experience. I wanted to learn all that I could about the Antillean manatee, Trichechus manatus manatus (ITIS, 2019), it's what role it plays in the environment and how the Antillean manatee are being affected by the myriad of changes to the earth. I wanted to spend all day looking at the manatee in the water and watching them to be able to know them even a little better. This curiosity has driven me to create a learning unit for the learners in my classroom to study biotic and abiotic interactions with the Antillean manatee as the focus species.

Emily and I with our home-stay host, Patricia.

As our trip continued, I felt myself letting go more and allowing myself to wonder and be amazed by what was happening.  Although it did not happen all the time, I found giving into my curiosity allowed me to relax and take in more information. My home-stay in Isabella Bank Village with Emily lead to a great amount of discovery. Our host taught us several of her go-to recipes, showed up how to make coconut oil from scratch and we tried many new foods. We had interesting conversations and found out much about the local culture. Our curiosity drove us to ask questions of our hosts and, I feel, allowed us to be slightly more at ease than might have been possible otherwise.

The final activity in Belize that illustrates how curiosity affected my experience is snorkeling off Tobacco Caye. When we first began snorkeling, I focused on what I might do incorrectly and worried a great deal about the possibility of something touching me in the water. In this way, I was creating a bad experience for myself and all I focused on was how I wanted to be out of the water. When I allowed myself to relax, look around and see what was around me the task became more joyful and the experience less stressful. I eventually allowed curiosity to take over and began to feel more at ease while snorkeling and I wanted to learn more about the ocean, ocean life and how it is being affected by global changes.

Photo taken by Liz Hoadley.

Reflecting on my experiences in Belize and on the course readings I feel that curiosity has been a large influence on what I have learned and whether I have wanted to further that knowledge. I'm working to use this knowledge and rediscovered sense of curiosity to fuel my teaching and further research into inquiry learning.

Children are natural scientists. They observe and they ask questions, they show innate curiosity (Ergul, Simsekli, Calis, Ozdilek, Gocmencelebi, & Sanli, 2011). My goal each day is to foster and develop the sense of curiosity in each learner who wanders into my path. To grow their confidence, their innate desire to discover new things and to become travelers in life rather than passengers.

Making outdoor observations with only their eyes.

Making outdoor observations using
magnifying lenses.

So far this school year, I have had the joy of listening to twenty 7 and 8-year-olds exclaim how amazing plants and insects look through a magnifying glass, pull faces of total disgust at agar plated filled with bacterial and mold growth after they tool swab samples from places in their school and laugh in delight as they use what they know about fore and motion to build and fly paper airplanes.  All seemingly simple activities, yet using the sparks of curiosity they are the crux of learning new and exciting information that will ignite further learning.

Through expanding of my use of science inquiry, it is my intent to further develop science skills and allow the learners in my classroom to have hands-on experiences in science along with other subjects which has the potential to increase science understanding and process skill at a greater rate than students who are taught through hands-on, inquiry-based science (Ergul, et al., 2011).

References:

Ergul, R., Simsekli, Y., Calis, S.,  Ozdilek, Z., Gocmencelebi, S.,  & Sanli, M. (2011, November The Effects of inquiry-based science teaching on elementary students' science process skills and science attitudes. Bulgarian Journal of Science and Education Policy, 5, 48-68.

ITIS Report. (2019, October 10). Trichechus manatus; Linnaeus, 1758. Retrieved from https://www.itis.gov/.

Wade, S., Kidd, C. (2019, May 11). The role of prior knowledge and curiosity in learning. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 26 (4), 1377-1387.