Environmental Studies Program Curriculum Overview

Nature Day is a natural extension of life in the kindergarten, providing the children with opportunities to experience a sense of awe and wonder for nature through imitation, imagination, and storytelling. Our love and respect for Mother Earth grows through time spent in the natural environment as well as creating seasonal crafts from her abundance. This experience allows the children to become aware of nature at work in their surroundings. Archetypal stories are told to portray the natural world, seasonal changes, and to express our
interconnectedness to life.

In the Nature Day Program for first grade we reinforce the immersion in the archetypes experienced in the fairy tales and folklore that are given to the children in their main lesson blocks. The stories express the oneness of animals, plants, and the human being as a balanced creature in nature. The stories, poems, games, and artistic activities are chosen to portray the cycles of the natural world and especially the seasonal changes. We encourage the connection with the elements in order to thrive and deepen a sense of stewardship and understanding of the natural world. We spend most Natures Days returning to our local environment experiencing its natural rhythms throughout the seasons. By having this continuity with place we are planting seeds that grow with our joy, commitment, and knowledge with regard to our lasting presence within our local habitats.

In second grade, the animal kingdom is represented in fable stories reflecting our human attributes, our rascally selves as well as our noble qualities. These animal qualities of, for instance, only taking what they need and using their wits, are regarded with respect and pleasure . The activities include how we listen to and watch the plant and animal kingdoms throughout the day and year. We watch the sun move through the sky throughout the day and year and pay careful attention to the plants and animals that are migrating, breeding, and foraging in the rich and diverse local environments. We do this with quiet observation, listening, treasure hunts, maintaining our stewardships, play, acting and other artistic (biodegradable) activities. By the end of the year, we find ways to bridge us into the upcoming third grade study of agriculture. We explore how all things that are domesticated were once wild. We look at different ways we can take care of the wild and the domestic, with protection, cultivation, and also by the simple and necessary act of leaving the wild alone to grow with our attention but without unnecessary interference.

Third grade environmental studies curriculum is an evolution of encouraging stewardship for the planet's ecology, keeping our sense of wonder alive, as well as learning the difficult and rewarding tasks humans have in cultivating the earth and animals with sustainable agricultural, thus directly relating to the third grade curriculum in regard to practical life and agriculture. Throughout the year, we see how wild animals use the natural environment (e.g. rock formations, nesting grounds, topography) and how these strategies inspire human's domestic shelter. We will also regard physical energies such as light and heat and explore how humans consciously utilize them. We observe human impact on the earth in relation to agriculture. We will explore the earth by visiting working farms and places that are actively employing sustainable methods of production. The ultimate focus is to arouse the children's sense of love and respect for the planet as a mysterious, fertile, and wondrous gift that we will bring joy and gracious praise to. We employ many creation myths and physical arts throughout.

The nine-year change is in full swing and as fourth graders they enter the heart of childhood. The students begin to understand natural phenomena in more conceptual terms. They feel empathy towards the world and other creatures within those terms. Through direct experiences both of individual impact and observation they gain a greater sense of ecological stewardship. Zoology and mapping (California) are main focuses in the curriculum and through these subjects we study our place in our local environment and in the world. We start to see how the character of the earth's topography and soil affect the organisms that are present. We look into how animal characteristics and life cycles vary with interdependent relationships and how they relate to the earth's surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. We look at how plants and animals (including humans) adapt to their environment. We also continue our observation of propagation, mating, generation, death, and decomposition (all life cycles). We continue to look up at the sun and recognize its energy and how the power of its place above us affects our weather, days, nights, and seasons. We begin using tools such as compasses to find new directions in our studies, our place in the world, and universe.

The 5th grade class intensifies its focus on the botanical world through focused study in the field.  Contiguous site location throughout the year allows field observations and exploration to reveal how plants grow and change throughout the seasons.  The plant kingdom is introduced, bridging simple algae, mosses, ferns, and fungus with more complex cone bearing plants (gymnosperms) and flowering plants (angiosperms).  The children will explore these plants as the foundation of ecosystems and their role in preparing habitat for other species of plants.  As an extension of agriculture, the children explore the human use of plants through crafts such as making mushroom paper, preparing food, and creating lichen dyes.  Tree study is woven into the curriculum as plants reveal their more complex and diverse forms, first with evergreens and transitioning to deciduous trees, comparing and observing different survival adaptations, leaf forms, and reproductive structures.  Basic plant reproduction will be introduced in terms of seed dispersal strategies (wind, fire, water, etc.) and the relationship between insects, birds, and mammals to pollination.  Throughout the year, the class will celebrate and honor the dynamic properties of plants (i.e. medicinal, technological, spiritual, artistic, and musical properties of plants).  The class through art and craft projects will enjoy the beauty and diversity of our plant world.

The 6th grade life science curriculum provides the students with new perspectives, directing their attention to the earth and sky in the world of astronomy and geology.  The geology block invites the children to look at the scope of geologic time and the continuously changing earth.  Curriculum themes focus on the composition of the earth, minerals, metals, types of rocks, and the rock cycle.  The children are introduced to the study of continental drift and plate tectonics (earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building), and field trips allow direct observation of local evidence of these natural phenomena.  The class will consider the forces of erosion and the formation of prominent geological features of California .
The children also turn their attention to the sky in the astronomy block. At this stage the approach is phenomenological, i.e., the children study what they can actually observe with their own eyes, especially the relationship between the earth and sun as well as the phases of the lunar cycle and visible constellations.  The children come to understand that what they observe in the sky has a direct influence on the climate and vegetation all over the earth.  The children will orient themselves to the constellations, stars, and visible planets.  They will observe the moon, its phases and orbit, eclipses, and effects on tidal and other earth cycles.  The children will be introduced to the relationships between humans and the sky as they observe the sun, other stars, and the planets in our solar system and milky way galaxy.

As the students enter puberty, the practical applications of mechanical principles are the central theme.  Mechanics requires the study of gravity, providing the opportunity for the children to experience this force consciously as they themselves enter puberty and explore the new strength that comes with their own muscle and bone growth.  They discover how the force of gravity can be employed in mechanics and made serviceable in life.  Seven aspects of mechanics are covered: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class levers, inclined planes, wedges, wheels and axles, gears, pulleys, screws and simple machines. Each of these mechanical devices will be built and/or applied in practical everyday ways.  This exploration will progress through a logical sequence--experimental observations, hypotheses, results, and analysis.  
The approach to inorganic chemistry in the 7th grade is phenomenological, with the emphasis on accurate description and the children's own direct experiences.  The study of combustion will include observations of the burning qualities of different materials, descriptions of the power of a forest fire, the nature of biological respiration and the ritual/sacrificial use of fire in different cultures and legends.  The role of oxygen, carbon dioxide and energy, as well as the role of the plant world over the whole earth, will be emphasized.  Inorganic chemistry curriculum guidelines include: the combustion of sulphur, carbon and phosphorus (volcanoes, charcoal burning, and fireflies); the role of oxygen and carbon dioxide in humans, animals, and plants; acid and base reactions, natural and human-made pH indicators; soil pH and its role in agriculture, forestry, and plant niches; natural formations of limestone and marble; the lime cycle; the reaction of concentrated hydrochloric acid and solid sodium hydroxide to illustrate the power of the acid/base neutralization in forming salts, and practical human applications (e.g. toothpaste, the farmer's use of lime, mud on a bee sting, etc.).

As the 8th grade class increasingly enters into the world, they become more aware of the world's ecological challenges and environmental issues.  These challenges and issues play an essential part in the environmental sciences of meteorology, conservation and resource studies, and organic chemistry.  
In 8th grade the content guidelines for meteorology are as follows: comparing weather and climate; major climates and biomes of the world; composition of our atmosphere; the sun's influence on weather and water currents; thermal energy; convection currents under the earth's surface and above; transference of heat through matter; relationship between weather and topography; cloud formation, types, and fronts; extreme weather phenomena, including hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, floods and droughts; the influence of climate on human civilizations, from ancient times to the present; how humans are currently affecting the climate; global warming and the hole in the ozone layer; strategies for reducing our impact on the climate.

The content guidelines for organic chemistry include: photosynthesis; foods we eat and the common substances around us; study of three organic compounds: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; breakdown of carbohydrates in relation to sugars, starches, and cellulose; carbon cycle; human uses of sugar throughout history; the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and oils.
The content guidelines for life science/ecology and conservation resource studies are as follows: energy flows, food webs, carrying capacities and limiting factors, food pyramids-relative biomass of trophic levels, biodiversity-in our local area and globally, native and introduced plants and animals, extinction, grouping of organisms according to their functions in an ecosystem, availability of energy sources for humans, their effectiveness as tools, the consequences of using limited resources, understanding the material resources used by humans, and whether they are renewable or non-renewable.
The 8th grade class also carries out year-long group and individual projects in connection with the community in an ecological/environmental studies approach.  Community service projects offer the students opportunities to deepen their knowledge of stewardship for their local environment and community.  During the spring, each child presents their environmental service project to the greater community.  At this age it is important for the class to experience themselves both as world citizens but also as individuals who have social responsibilities.