Taking Your Students Outside

Now is the Time to Take Your Students Outside

As a former teacher, I know how busy this time of year is for you. Amidst all of the tests here in April, try to carve some time to take your students outside. You don’t need a big lesson planned. Just have them simply sit with their journal and observe.

By facilitating these opportunities, you instill the importance of truly observing their surroundings. You never know what you may see… as I took a short break from working on this blog to stare out my window, I saw a speck of orange flutter by my window. Was it a monarch? I quickly walked outside and into Monarch Waystation #1. Sure enough a female monarch was searching for milkweed on which to lay her eggs. I excitedly watched her search for a few minutes until she flew out of sight.

If I had not been taking a minute away from the computer screen simply stare into the outside world, I may have missed seeing the first monarch of the 2017 migration here at the Monarch Watch office. We all miss so much when we are plugged into technology, inside, too busy, multi-tasking, or simply not truly mindful of what our eyes may witness.

Taking your students outside to simply observe nature can truly bring about an awareness that a book, classroom activity, nor internet image can ever provide. It may take some guidance and practice, but providing your students with repeated opportunities to simply sit and observe nature, can truly open their eyes to a new way of seeing their world.

Connecting the Monarch Migration to School Standards

The monarch migration sparks awe and wonder in people of all ages. Teachers all across North America incorporate the migration into their classroom in numerous ways. Our friends at Journey North have incredible, real-time maps that allow you to follow the migration. Using data submitted by citizen scientists, like you, the maps document first sightings of monarchs (adults, eggs and larvae) as well as the first milkweed shoots to emerge in the spring. Easily report your observations and use these resources to participate in the migration, no matter where you are!

Learn more about connecting the monarch migration to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards by visiting our Curricula page!

Phenology and the “Start of Spring”

Coming Soon...Spring!?

Here it is mid-February, and my office window has been open this whole week. These unseasonably warm days do not seem "normal" to me. However, since I have not been documenting these "first signs of spring" as part of the National Phenology Network's incredible phenology tracking project, I cannot use data to back up my claim that spring is arriving early!

In actuality, I would not document and report when I first open my office window each year. However, most of us do make general observations regarding spring's arrival- when the first crocus blooms, the first monarch sighting, when we first hear bullfrogs, when apple trees or lilacs bloom, or even when allergy season starts. So, why not take a few minutes to report what you and your students observe in your garden each spring, and contribute to an extremely important scientific database? If you need more of a focus, USA-NPN has a specific campaign- Nectar Connectors- to obtain data on pollinator plants. Knowing when and where nectar sources are available for monarchs and other important pollinators across the country is vital in driving conservation-related policy.

The USA National Phenology Network serves science and society by promoting broad understanding of plant and animal phenology and its relationship with environmental change.Nature's Notebook is the USA-PNP project to connect people with nature to benefit our changing planet. Teachers, students, researchers, and volunteers collect and report standardized ground observations of phenology. To participate in this important scientific research, click on the link above. Setting up an account is super easy, as is reporting your data. There's even an app for quick reporting while in the field! And don't forget to share your experiences in our forum, the backbone of this Monarch Waystation Network!