Discovery was the connecting tissue of the first official gathering of passionate people interested in sharing their love of the natural world with children in the Kids On The Land program at Holistic Management International’s David West Ranch. Six women from diverse fields came together Friday afternoon, April 27 to begin a journey in creating curriculum for informal (out of the classroom) education, outdoors, that can present a day of wonder and discovery for elementary school children.

For the past four years Peggy Maddox has been creating activities to support general themes for the various grades she has invited out from Ozona schools. She began with third grade and added the next grade each year. Word got around and now Eldorado wants to bring those 4 grades (third through sixth) and Ozona wants to bring kindergarten as well as those grades. Peggy and HMI devised this training to get the help she so badly needs for this important mission. To create the curriculum, HMI and the West Ranch are hosting these two seven-day workshops of training and implementing the school field days this spring.

Kelly White from Albuquerque; Dr. Pat Richardson from UT Austin; HRM ED Peggy Cole from Wimberley; Certified Educator, Christina Allday-Bondy from Austin; Kathy Dickson from Maryneal, TX; and Jeanne Rides-Alone from Dulce, New Mexico joined Peggy Maddox in the newly upgraded learning quarters for opening activities. Peggy Maddox uses teaching stories to great advantage and our 3 days of orientation were liberally spiced with great stories and poignant quotes about education and the natural world. We were presented with looseleaf notebooks stuffed with information about how people learn.

Opening with a story about a generous peddler following a dream, it was no surprise that our first group activity was to create a holisticgoal for our week together. We chose to create a fun, energizing, peaceful, restful experience where kids can have an a-ha with some meaningful learning in a participatory, experiential way with stories and connectedness for all. We wanted to produce organization, consistency of content, clarity, practice sessions and a workable schedule that includes rest and some hot tub moments. We want to exhibit passion for what we do, promote a sense of wonder and motivation and to listen to the kids with interest and respect. To sustain this program into the future the people must be perceived as motivated, passionate, knowledgeable and memorable; kids have a sense of connectedness to self and their world. The community is aware, supportive, excited, trusting, committed and involved. The West Ranch land is noticeably different: lush and green with healthy land, livestock, and wildlife, great energy and abundant water with facilities that meet the needs of the educational program.

LINKs in the class-roof: L to R Christina Allday-Bondy, Jeanne Rides-Alone, Pat Richardson, Kelly White, Peggy Maddox and Kathy Dickson

“The sun shines not on us, but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us”.
—John Muir

Back in the classroom, the story was The Animal School, by George Revis, a hilarious look at the way schools can crush the innate talents of individuals as they struggle to equalize and standardize. We did some discovery activities about how each of us learns in left brain-right brain exercises and the “Multiple Intelligences theory” of Howard Gardner. Some learn best through words, some by logic and math, others by pictures or movement or music. Some are “self-smart” while others are “people-smart.” “Nature-smart” is the newest intelligence identified. The best curriculum might include as many different types of learning as possible so that in a group, each child might find his best approach is available.

So we went off in groups of 3 to try our collective hand at designing a learning activity that would teach the mineral cycle to 7th graders (12-13 years old) in as many ways as we could. Our group of Christina, Pat and Peggy C, opened the HM textbook to the mineral cycle chapter and took our objective from the chapter title, “circulation of the nutrient cycle.” We would start with a teaching story about a dead skunk in the middle of the road, then send students out on the land in pairs to choose anything at all. Each little team would create a story about their object that would include the circulation of the nutrient cycle. The teams return to the group and each presents his story, which the Link uses as an opportunity for positive feedback and for extrapolating examples of the connectedness of all.

The other team wrote a play where kids could act out the mineral cycle. The combination of these activities would allow students to use language, movement, imagination, all the senses, and naturalist intelligences as they discovered for themselves how the nutrient cycle works.

After lunch we became third graders and made kites from paper grocery sacks. This activity put us in touch with the fun of creating as we learned to teach one of the activities for third grade day about the wind. It also provided samples for the children to see when they began their own kite project.

Joe Maddox arrived in the Bad Boy Buggy to take us on a tour of the ranch that included the usual activity of fossil hunting. Fifth graders hunt fossils in the draw near the house and we constantly need to replenish their supply from elsewhere on the ranch. There was private time for a nap or a walk before supper and yoga. The evening learning session was devoted to preparation of activity materials such as kite strings and tails, and soil food web game badges. The hot tub was ready so we sat and soaked awhile before bed. Peggy assigned us to think about the way we best learn and to create for the morning a blessing for the sun, using song or poetry or dance or whatever to communicate.

The sunrise came early and colorful Sunday morning as we did our 7 am yoga on the porch. But by the time we’d climbed to the class-roof, clouds hid the focus of our blessing. Peggy read the delightful story, The Way to Start the Day by Byrd Baylor and we each shared our blessing. Kelly had a gift for each of us—a leather bookmark with the words, Wonder is the beginning of Wisdom.

After breakfast we gathered in the classroom to plan our day—what to prepare in the way of activities and materials for third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade.

Third graders learn about the wind and how it can help people. On their way to the ranch headquarters, they stop at one of the 4 West Ranch windmills. Peggy helps them discover the many ways wind can be used by people. The children have fun thinking of obscure and clever responses. Peggy tells them the parts of the windmill and the function of each part. Joe demonstrates with real windmill parts how the check valves and leathers lift water up from the aquifer. The class divides into three groups of about 20 each, who accompany two LINKS to experience: 1) hand pumping water with the actual windmill parts, 2) climbing up to look into the big water tank where the water went from the windmill, and 3) walking down to the livestock watering troughs to learn about floats and the uses of the water brought up by the windmill.

Back on the bus and ready for apple juice and a cookie on arrival at the learning porch. This covered porch wraps around the row of kitchen, bedrooms and classroom and is no small space. Once they have visited the wonderful new bathrooms and are settled on their carpet squares, Peggy calls their attention with a singing bowl and discusses with them the history of their county and how the invention of the windmill made settlement in their area possible. Now she selects students one by one to come to the stage area (an altitude shift in the concrete porch) and sets up a physical enactment of a windmill in action. The rancher kid turns on the windmill kid up on his ladder tower by releasing the tail and letting the wheel begin to turn. The sucker-rod kid moves up and down with the check-valve kid to pump the water, which the whole chain of kids transfer down the lead pipe by pouring it from one kid’s tin cup to the next and finally into the water bucket for the livestock.

Peggy turns the discussion to wind turbines and shows how an anemometer works to keep the windmills from turning when the wind speed is too great.

Lunch! And careful recycling of food and trash. LINKS stay with their group and help the process. Now for the kites. This is so much fun for the LINKS and even more fun for the kids. They listen, they cut and fold and tape and design a wonderful flying decoration unique to each. Add string and a tail and off they go to run into the wind and delight in the flight of their creation. The sheer joy of running outside is evident in the excited squeals and happy faces.

Finally it is time to settle again with their groups in a circle on the carpet squares for a fun evaluation for the kids, their teachers and the program. A beach ball with questions written on each colored section is tossed to a student who answers the question and tosses the ball to another student, calling a color. That student reads the question on that colored section. The ball asks such things as, “What was your favorite activity today?” or “What is something new you learned today?” or “How do you feel about your day at the West Ranch?” The answers are thrilling to hear as we realize the children are happy and have learned new things.

The small groups merge to hear a final story about “Jack and the North Wind,” dramatically told by Peggy Maddox. All faces are wide with interest as Jack has adventures with the rich gifts of the north wind. A group photograph and they head for the bus, receiving a sticker and a cookie as they go and leaving lots of thank-you’s and big smiles.

Fourth grade is all about plants, so they arrive to a snack of sunflower seeds and apple juice. After welcoming the students and introducing the Links as she does every day, Peggy Maddox shows some special plants and talks about the Englemann daisy being named for the naturalist who first described that species. She builds an admiration for naturalists and their primary tools of curiosity and observation—using all your senses to explore the world around you in detail. She introduces the work of Carl Linnaeus, who created taxonomy. Now she demonstrates the types of classification by having everyone in the 4th grade stand up (45 students stand); then if you have tennis shoes on stay standing (half the class sits down); if you have tennis shoes on and black hair, stay standing (10 remain); if you have tennis shoes, black hair and no undershirt on stay standing (three remain); if you have tennis shoes, black hair, no undershirt and a grey t-shirt stay standing—one single boy—a unique species in this group.

Back at the learning porch they rotate to the plant journal activity. A Link teaches the parts of a plant, how plants work and what plants do for us. She engages the students’ curiosity by taking them into the field with a jeweler’s loupe to look closely at plants and eventually choose one to bring back to the porch and study in detail, with the aid of field guide books. The kids each receive a plant journal where they record their findings, draw and/or describe the parts of the plant, write poetry or a story about it, and attach actual plant parts.

Lunch happens.

The third activity is about the growing of plants from their seeds. The Dandelion Seed story is read. Kinesthetic learning is enjoyed with yoga moves that take the child from a seed through sun and rain and growth to a tall plant being grazed or visited by a variety of animals whose motions have the kids engaged and laughing. They learn to mix compost and clay with wildflower seeds and water to roll into their own collection of seed-balls. There is a plant cycle pinwheel and a bubble blowing game if there is time.

Student materials from each of the activities are sent back with the teachers, along with reference materials so the experience can be remembered and reviewed. Evaluation is again by beach ball and the closing group story is The Story of the Indian Blanket. A group photo is taken. These fourth graders leave with a Wildflowers of Texas poster and a cookie for the long bus ride home.

The three smaller groups are formed to:1) watch the groundwater flow model where aquifers, wells, clean and polluted waters can be seen in action, then perhaps build and eat the edible aquifer. 2) learn from the rainfall simulator how rain creates either runoff or groundwater, depending on the soil surface conditions; and make a water cycle wheel; 3) go fossil hunting and hear the story, If I Were a Hunter of Fossils, by Byrd Baylor.

Lunch is between the second and third rotations. Evaluation by beach ball, vocabulary loop or talking stick and the ending story is Woman who Outshone the Sun. The group picture is taken and the students get a comic book called Rio Bravo about the river’s life.

Sixth Grade day is called Healthy Soil – Healthy Land: Soil Critters and more. These kids are learning more and more complex concepts, so the opening large group discussion is on the formation of soil, including its parent materials and the different kinds of rock, components and life of healthy soil, the importance of covered soil and the critters who live beneath the surface.

The Links take each of the three out on the ranch for land monitoring, where students judge percentages of bare ground and different classes of soil cover and take the soil’s temperature in each. They return to the learning porch to make and eat a soil food sundae.

The groups come together in the big barn for Dr. Pat’s unique soil microorganism video—live action video of amazing soil mesofauna. Then break into 3 small groups again to play the soil food web game in which each student wears an identification badge that says which soil critter he is and what he needs to survive. Each finds students who wear the badge of those needs and connect to them by rainbow ribbons. In the end it is obvious to the students that all is connected under the soil surface as it is above.

After lunch the groups hear a story about the buffalo days and go out again on the ranch to experience as grazing animals or predators how herd effect and animal impact changes the soil surface and how the effect has changed with the advent of fencing and the reduction in predators. Leading questions will get the students to discover ways today’s ranchers might imitate the herd effect of old.

Evaluation and review are via the vocabulary loop. Each student gets a card with an answer and a question. When he hears someone read the question that his card answers, he reads that answer and the question that follows it, which prompts another student to answer and so on. We take the group picture, then board the busses with Range of Wonders, a comic book about soil by USDA.

Finally, though, we felt like we had the time for a curriculum discussion. We identified the target audience as K-6th grade (initially, anyway) groups who are interested in out-of-the-classroom, outdoors education with the theme and possible title,
LIFE…on the land
Get the connection
to include understanding how the parts of the natural world work together and possibly add later simple goal setting and decision-making toward that goal. Audience includes public schools, private schools, home schoolers and others. We want to produce sets of activities that help children learn according to all the intelligences and that, where practical, address the state and national testing requirements.

Sunday night saw big storms dancing on our roof. Overnight we had 3 inches of rain in the gauge with a promise of more storms throughout the day. By 7am yoga, Peggy had contacted the sheriff in Eldorado to find the right people who needed to know the draws into the West Ranch were not passable. After all that angst about the school canceling, now we were having to cancel third grade day. We started right back in on the planning for the animal impact activity, but were too excited about the rain to concentrate, so we toured the ranch in the 4-wheel-drive ranch truck, marveling at the clarity of the water coursing through the draws, photographing the waterfalls and marveling at prickly pear standing tuna-deep in flowing water.

After lunch were lulled to sleep by the instructional video that accompanies the groundwater flow model – useless! So we decided to wake up with some candy. We constructed the edible aquifer – a horrible feast of gummy bears and M&M’s as rocks below the aquifer, 7-up as clear water, ice cream as the confining layer of clay, more candies as topsoil and orange soda as pollution. Sampling this creation probably has nixed it from the potential fifth grade activities as it was really pretty gak to consume, but maybe not so for a 6th grader.

The rest of the afternoon and on into the evening was spent practicing and preparing for the teachings to come. Since Ozona Kindergarten coming on such short notice was a longshot and Peggy had not heard from them, she cancelled that invitation and rescheduled Eldorado third grade for Wednesday, since we were well prepared for them.

The delicate vibration of the Tingsha called us to yoga at 7 Tuesday morning. We were excited to finally have students on the way. We made our breakfasts and our lunches as we went over the day’s plan once again. The day unfolded exactly as anticipated. Peggy C had the luxury of being the loose Link to roam among the small groups and photograph the day. Hot and humid with gnats to annoy us, everyone was tired by the time the busses pulled out with waving hands at every window. We debriefed in the kitchen, excited, tired and very satisfied. Kathy treated all who chose it to a back massage with an electric massager and Kelly, not feeling well, headed back to Albuquerque. The following hours found everyone at a computer, downloading brains and cameras and gearing up for the future while Joe Maddox fired up the grill and the hot tub for a cookout and relaxing evening.

Wednesday followed suit, but was cool and misty at the Windmill as third graders began their day. Waiting for their arrival we discovered fossils by the dozens and named the location fossil hill. We worried a little about the kite flying as the forecast was for rain, but by kite flying time, the day was beautiful and breezy enough to loft the kites. We all felt high as well, seeing the fun the third graders had. We were far less tired this day and again hit the computers to keep up to the moment and plan for the next Links workshop and the Ozona school days (May 11-17). Peggy had some closing activities for us to do. Somewhat brain dead and physically tired, we stumbled through the origami lessons to produce a beautiful circle of parts, each of which then received a question, with the answer on a secret sliding section of the whole. The questions explored our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the past week and on into the future.

Since Thursday had been cancelled by 6th grade, we spent that morning completing our recaps and preparations for the future, since most of these Links will not be returning for the May session. A whole new set of Links will be at the West Ranch with returning Jeanne Rides-Alone and Peggy Maddox to relay to them our brave beginnings and to carry on the curriculum work and the scheduled Ozona school days. We drove home writing this story and re-experiencing all the fun we had in the magical domain of the West Ranch.