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    Making Connections is an innovative, online learning tool designed to give mentors, teachers, counselors and volunteers the strategies and tools they need to build strong relationships with kids. For more information, click here.

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    Blogger, course developer, and instructor, Tobi Kibel Piatek, writes about education, designs curriculum, graphics and websites, and teaches teachers, online and in person. A long time mentor, parent and educator, her work combines a love for kids, learning and technology.


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    • Outdoor Education

    Gone Fishing: Ideas for Something to Do Outdoors

    By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Thursday, March 26th, 2009

    Last week’s post about outdoor resources for kids made it clear (as a healthy stream) that mentors and others who work with kids are often looking for active ideas for things to do, especially things to do outdoors. So (and keeping in mind the thought that not every kid has the chance to enjoy the outdoors), I’ve been angling for some good ideas to share. Then, my husband, who is itching to get out on the river, informs me that the spring salmon fishing season has started in Oregon.

    It was this fact that made me notice an email about a new resource designed to introduce kids to the pleasures of fishing, and the importance of protecting our environment.

    Trout Unlimited, whose mission is “Conserving, protecting and restoring North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds,” has just launched a new website … “just for kids.” Stream Explorers  is a nice site, friendly and accessible, filled with lots of information and activities that adults and kids can enjoy together, It can also inspire you, and the kids you work with, to go outdoors, go fishing, or simply explore our rivers and streams … together.

    The site includes sections such as”Go Fishing,” “Fish Facts” or “Get Active.” It also includes a contest, lots on information on everything from fishing gear to tying flies, as well as  ideas for exploring riparian areas, and “Things to Do with Your Class or Troop.”

    It is designed as a companion to a new quarterly magazine for kids, Stream Explorers, but the website on its own is a great way to introduce kids “to the world of clean water and wild fish, as well as the joy of fly fishing.”  Enjoy … and if you catch anything, send us a picture.

    P.S. I once caugt a fish … THIS BIG.

    Topics: Outdoor Education, Quality Time, RESOURCES | No Comments »

    Resources: Outward Bound for Adventure

    By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

    In the final lesson of the Making Connections course, students are asked to suggest some resources that they find valuable.

    Students have offered lots of great ideas that will be enhancing the resources available within the course, but with spring popping up all around, I think it is a good time to share some of the recommended resources specific to outdoor, adventure, and experiential education, though, (as it was pointed out) “the information and strategies could probably be applied to a lot of K-12 classrooms.”

    Outward Bound Goes to the Inner City
    This journal article describes a program at the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center in Boston (Massachusetts) that supplements the traditional program of ropes and rocks with community service, giving urban students opportunities to try out new leadership skills in local neighborhoods.
    Buchanan, D. (2000).Educational Leadership v 50 Dec 1992/Jan 1993 38-41.

    Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound

    (ELS) is a national, non-profit organization that opens new elementary, middle and college-oriented secondary schools, and partners with existing schools, to improve student achievement; build student character; enhance teacher practices; and instill a positive school culture. The ELS approach promotes rigorous and engaging curriculum; active, inquiry-based pedagogy; and a school culture that demands and teaches compassion and good citizenship.

    ELS Schools

    More Information


    Adventure Education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference

    This article examines the effects of adventure programs on a diverse array of outcomes such as self-concept, locus of control, and leadership.

    John A. Hattie, Herbert W. Marsh, James T. Neill, Garry E. Richards,  Review of Educational Research v 67 Spring 1997 43-87.

     

    Cowstails and Cobras II: A Guide to Games, Initiatives, Ropes Courses, and Adventure Curriculum. Karl Rohnke, Project Adventure, Inc. in cooperation with Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, Iowa, 1989.4.  ISBN 0840354347, 9780840354341

     

     

    Topics: Outdoor Education, RESOURCES, Resources for Mentor, Resources for Teacher | 1 Comment »