Here a a few comments from parents who attended the workshop:

• “The way [the instructors] used stories to drive a point home made the impact of the lesson more real.”
• “The hands on and demonstrations, the way the guys took turns telling us important things and the marker board were great teaching tools.  Thumbs Up!!!!!!!!!!”
• “I thought it was very well done, the stories were excellent teaching tools for the kids and adults. All the information was very useful, easy to apply and easy for kids to understand and hopefully remember.”
• “My kids talked about it the whole rest of the day.”

You can find more comments on our website as soon as our tech person plugs them in.

The weather was sometimes “iffy”, but it never dampened the wonder and enthusiasm of the children.  They learned to walk like a fox, to hear like an owl, to increase their awarness, and to respect everything they encountered in the Natural World.  Some “adopted” their own tree for close study during all three seasons.  Others sat in a meadow in October, January, and May and reveled in the simple things they observed and the changes they saw.

One class had an eight-point, whitetail buck walk within 30 feet of  the forest preserve pavilion we were using as an outdoor classroom.  Another class was gifted with a chance to examine a deer day-bed melted into the winter snow.  And a third class found fox tracks in a suburban park.

The older classes studied the skills necessary to survive in a natural environment.  The younger ones during one session explored the simple wonder of playing with a stick (much less expensive than a video game).  All finished the year with a renewed appreciation of and respect for the Natural World.

We instructors enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and we are told the children did as well.

In recent months we specifically designed and presented a program for a northside home-school book club to coincide with lessons  learned from their reading of Gary Paulsen’s “Hatchet”.

On each of three days in May and early June at a local forest preserve in DuPage County, Illinois we are presenting our 2 1/2-hour “What 2 Know B/4 You Go!” program to another Chicago area home-school group–children and parents.  The initial registration response was so overwhelming that our contact person had to expand the presentation from one class to three; and we are told there is still a waiting list.

After teaching the Scout leaders the benefits of reconnectiong with the Natural World, Ron & Tim “connected” in a more realistic way when a whitetail deer broadsided Ron’s Prius on the drive home; damage to the Prius–about $2,100; damage to the deer–”lifeless”.

These classes will take place during the three seasons of the 2009-2010 school year–fall, winter, and spring.  Each class wil have an age appropriate curriculum–K-1; 2-3; 4-5–and each will build upon the preceding year’s experiences.

Having been an elementary school teacher for a short time in his early adult years, Ron is particularly excited about this opportunity.  As he often says to adult students as the close of a workshop–”Take what you have learned and pass it on to the children, for it is they who hold the fate of our Earth in their hands.”