Articles

Nature in Autumn Project

Project Booklet (PDF)

During September and October of 2005, the Chicago Grammar School Preschool and Kindergarten classes made numerous trips to North Pond, the prairie around the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center, Lake Michigan, the Chicago Green (organic) Market, the Farm at Lincoln Park, the Vegetable Garden at Lincoln Park and Lincoln Park Zoo. These excursions provided an authentic experience for the exploration of nature and the creation of knowledge.

Project Components

• Worked with the "Farm in the Zoo" gardener at Lincoln Park Zoo
• They returned several times to view growth and assist with harvesting
• Explored the organic farmer's market
• The children became adept at quietly oberving nature and reporting what they saw and heard
• The beach and the lake, a living laboratory, became a giant sand and water table for the children's sensory development
• Identified the gathered "treasures" and learned their attributes
• Created books and collages from their collected natural materials
• The exploration of ants led to the creation of an ant farm and ant traps