Winter 2013

Rainbow School’s Outdoor Classroom Newsletter

The OC classrooms will be doing this month. Yellow and

Purple Rooms will be planting beans, Blue Room

will plant edamame (soybeans), and Rainbow

Room will plant tomatoes. In March, students will

be planting early season crops like onions, garlic,

peas, lettuce, carrots, beets, spinach, broccoli,

cauliflower, and brussel sprouts directly in the

garden. The Blue and Rainbow Room students

will be making seed tape (pieces of paper

containing small seeds), so that the younger

children can have an easier time planting seeds

directly in the garden.

We are so lucky and excited to welcome

our new OC Coordinator, Rhae Adams. Rhae is

a former Rainbow School PTA President, Board

Member, and parent to graduate Ava Adams-

Huang. She provided invaluable help and

expertise in the early days of the OC as a

member of the original planning committee. She

brings a background in biodynamic farming,

landscaping and rain barrel production to the

OC; as well as a love for exploring nature and

sharing her experiences, especially with children.

Rhae is excited to serve as a resource for teachers

and families, and to strengthen the exploration

opportunities in the OC. She welcomes your

suggestions and input, and encourages your

involvement!

Spring is a time of renewal and starting fresh.

As you may know, former Outdoor Classroom

Coordinator and SBPC Pastor, Ayana Teter, has

started a new pastoral role in Pennsylvania. We

are grateful to Ayana for shepherding the OC

through the past year, made challenging by the

extreme weather we faced last summer.

Ayana's passion for early childhood education

showed in how she energized the Family

Adventure Club. We wish Ayana the best in her

new endeavors.

While the official start of spring is still a few

weeks away, garden preparations are already

underway. Late winter is a great time to start

plants from seed, which the “upstairs”

OC WORK DAYS OC Family Adventure Club March 14, 10am

Our theme is “Animal Signs”

We’re making efforts to increase wildlife in the OC.

Come see if we are having success. No registration

necessary. Bring a blanket to sit on, and dress for the

weather. Snack provided.

Spring Awakenings

March 10 Noon – 4pm

Spring Cleaning and Assesment

March 19, 9am – Noon

Planting

All are welcome, we will have tasks for all hands. In addition to helping prepare the OC for spring plants, you will have the opportunity to learn about assessing your plants for survival

status (important after last summer), and composting.

Beauty in My Work I have been traveling this month, giving Nature

Explore workshops across the country. One of my

favorite activities to share with folks is part of our

Families’ Club series and is called, “What is Beautiful to

You?” Each person is asked to take some time to

connect to the natural world and consider the beauty

they perceive. Through this experience we are

reminded that natural beauty surrounds each one of

us, we just need to remember to look. It is so easy to

get caught in the “autopilot” versions of our daily

lives. I often find, it isn’t until we are intentional in our

thoughts and actions through this shared workshop

experience that we break free and begin to see anew.

Beauty in Writing In her book, The Sense of Wonder, Rachel Carson

shared, “A child’s world is fresh and new and

beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our

misfortune that for most of us that clear-eye vision,

that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-

inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach

adulthood…” A few paragraphs later she adds, “For

most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely

through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing

eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open our

eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, ‘What if I

had never seen this before? What if I knew I would

never see it again?’”

Beauty Through My Child’s Eyes My personal reaction has been to seek out frequent

moments to experience beauty through the eyes of

children. When I do, I am gifted with the energy

waves that come from their sense of wonder. I have

become deeply aware that I react to the emotional

response that beauty evokes and so do children. The

past few days I have had charming moments with my

seven year old son, Rory, who has been enchanted by

the beauty of fireflies. Most evenings this week, as

dusk settles into darkness, Rory can be found roaming

the backyard, which has become his own solitary

world of magical insects and make believe. I have

seen his discovery, his amazement, his sense of

wonder and with that a need to engage with

curiosity more deeply, a desire to cherish and

preserve, the need to stay longer and come again.

And there in those moments, because my child

has reminded me, I too am seeing beauty in the world

around me. On occasion, Rory has invited me to join

him, and I realize now my child is experiencing the

world through my eyes as well. How long will it last?

I think that perhaps together we can grow in a way

that finds lasting, life-long connections with each

other and with our beautiful world.

Beauty in the World By Tina Reeble, Education Specialist, Dimensions Educational Research

Foundation and Nature Explore Research Foundation

Our February OC Family Adventure Club focused on

Beauty. I wanted to share these thoughts around this

theme. This piece is taken from

http://community.natureexplore.org/, an excellent

resource of short, inspirational entries around the

subjects of children and nature.—Rhae

This article is reprinted from NatureExplore.Org, a collaborative

resource of Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational

Research Foundation.

To donate items for our OC Wish List, or to make other inquiries,

contact Rainbow School at 816-523-4336 or

rainbow@south-broadland.org

The OC Wish List Garden Materials Garden markers Short, 12” Garden Hose

Tools Watering Cans Children’s Garden Gloves Child-sized rakes

Music Set of bells to be suspended Set of chimes Assorted small bells/cow bells Wind chimes —wood

Habitat Bird houses Suet Cakes Finch Socks Black Oil Seeds

Aesthetic Gazing balls

Wood for ... Child size picnic tables

Nature Treasures Seeds, Feathers, Rocks, Bones, Etc.

Coming in 2013 Plans are in the works for a number of enhancements and additions to the

OC. Rhae also intends an increased emphasis on the vegetable beds, herbs

and fruit growing, to give the children more opportunities to explore nature's

bounty. Look for these coming attractions:

•Water feature in memory of Cinnamon Smith

•Trees

•A "messy materials" area

•Enhancements to the dirt hill, a favorite of the children!

•Continued evaluation of shade options

•Opportunities to make art with natural elements

NO THANKS! Walnuts, whole or parts

Branches

Meat, egg or dairy food waste

Animal excrement

Grass clippings or runners

Tea bags

Any items with any plastic on it

Trash

Compost with Us! In the OC we have a large wood bin composter. In the past we've had some troubles with materials coming in that weren't helpful in the composting process. We want our composter to produce a healthy additive to our soil,

and to be functional so the children can learn about this important aspect of gardening. To that end, we've developed these Composter Guidelines, which you will also find posted on the bin. We welcome your contributions to the bin, especially of green material. But if you have any questions about the suitability of the material, please consult the guidelines below or ask Rhae.

YES PLEASE! Fruit, vegetable or grain food waste

Leaves, green or dried

Dirt

Weeds—but NOT grass!

Paper goods in SMALL AMOUNTS — tissues, newspaper, office paper

Coffee grounds, loose tea leaves

Eggshells

Please support the businesses that have helped with this project

With gratitude, we

would like to thank

Willow Tree artist,

Susan Lordi, and her

husband, Dennis

Marker, for their

continued generosity

to our Outdoor

Classroom and to

Rainbow School.

A Special Thank You to

KANSAS CITY

COMMUNITY GARDENS

For Their Help and Support!