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GATE NIGHT:

Curiosity and Investigation

Jessica Friedman

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About Me:

Jessica Friedman

California Certified Naturalist
Curriculum Writer, De Young Museum
GATE Coordinator
Interests: Art history, American history, California history, Birds

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Quote: John Muir

“I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.”

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Tonight’s Presentation

Visual Thinking Strategies (Yenawine)

Nature Walks/Journaling (Laws)

Places of interest in the Sacramento region and beyond

Questions

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Reaching All Learners…

Children need a ton of experiential learning to stay curious and learn new concepts. Experiential learning specifically means learning through hands on, engaging actions. Experiential learning typically does not include sports, a screen, or a very crowded environment.

One way we can provide these opportunities is to get out of the house, explore the world out there, and look for unique and low cost experiences which connect us with the world in a 1:1 way. Examples of this: museums, seashore, forests, and locations which include different cultures or languages.

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Thinking About ART:

Visual Thinking Strategies

Visual Thinking Stratgies:

Developed/Created by Phillip Yenawine

A way of interacting with pieces of artwork without having any prior information about the artwork.

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Questions via Visual Thinking

VTS Questions:

What's going on in this picture?

What else can you find?

What do you see that makes you say that?

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Why Does this Matter?

No prior knowledge needed
No right or wrong answer
A way to talk and reflect
Easy
Fun
Allows choices

So! Go to a museum, and walk through a gallery. Maybe you will stay 30 minutes the first time. Ask your child to pick a piece of artwork s/he is curious about. Then pose these questions:

What's going on in this picture?

What else can you find?

What do you see that makes you say that?

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Let’s Try It!

MAIDU SPIRIT AS BEAR, 1978.

Dal Castro (Nisenan, born 1934)

Acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20 in. Crocker Art Museum,.

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China, Tang Dynasty (618–907), Figure of a Tomb Guardian

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Connecting with Nature

“Observing and journaling will slow you down and make you stop, sit down, look, and look again. How often do we take the time to be still, quiet, and attentive? Engaging in this process helps you organize your thoughts, piece together answers, and ask richer questions.”

― John Muir Laws, Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

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Nature Observation:

Curiosity AND Lifelong Learning

JOHN MUIR LAWS

https://johnmuirlaws.com/

John Muir Laws, California naturalist and educator, gives us an entree into connecting with nature. While Laws focuses on “Nature Journaling”, although it is not necessary to do journaling in order to experience nature in a deep and meaningful way.

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1. Find a special place.

2. Open your senses, sit quietly, and observe using

“I notice, I wonder, it reminds me of.”

3. Document your experience.

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Let’s Try It!

I notice,
I wonder,
It reminds me of

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RECAP:

Visual Thinking Strategies:

What's going on in this picture?

What else can you find?

What do you see that makes you say that?

Nature Observation:

“I notice, I wonder, it reminds me of.”

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Favorite Places: Art

Crocker Art Museum — Sacramento

De Young Art Museum — SF

Museum of Modern Art — SF

Palace of Legion of Honor — SF

Oakland Museum of Art — East Bay

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Favorite Places: Nature

Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
Cache Creek Conservancy
Effie Yeaw Nature Center (near Carmichael)
Stebbins Cold Canyon Hike
UC Davis Arboretum
Half Moon Bay: Cowell Ranch Beach

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Resources:

App: All Trails
App: Seek to identify plants
Books: Simple bird/plant ID books
A $1.00 journal for nature writing

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Phillip Yenawine :

Visual Thinking Strategies

https://vimeo.com/203614115

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