Tales
GrandMother Nature goes into classrooms, children’s centers and other situations focused on children to tell tales both familiar and new using interactive modes to enable children to learn more about their world around them. Please contact Thea Nicholas, aka, GrandMother Nature for more information.
Here are some of the tales:
pre-K to early elementary:
all elementary:
Who Is Afraid of the Big Bad Woods?
upper elementary:
upper elementary/middle school:
all age levels:
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Trout Are Made of Trees
Cricket-ology
All about cricketsWeaving Webs
The secret lives of spidersIowa Rocks!!
An all NEW program touching on Iowa's geological formations and unique geographyEnviro-Stars
An all NEW program focused on pollution preventionHelp! There's a Worm In My Garbage
NEW program introducing children to recycling, vermiculture, and soil preservationEggs Are Quiet
Based on the book of the same name; discovering all about eggsFor the Birds
Learning how to tell one bird nest from anotherEco-Journaling For All Ages
How to begin, how to maintain, how to use, how to learn what makes for a good journal. Examples of prior naturalist's journals and their help to use today.
Tales From Around the World
Telling Korean Folk Tales
Korea: Land of the Morning Calm
Introducing Korea to children through personal artifacts, stories and pictures. My experience as a child living in Seoul.Comparing and Contrasting the Economies of South Korea and the United States
(for older students and adults)Korea and Iowa—Geography of the Peoples
(6th grade and up)Celebrating in Korea!
A look at how the Korean people celebrate their holidays — food, dress, customs
Children will be able to identify shapes and colors and understand what happens when two colors are mixed when we learn to read nature. We will look at clouds and discover what colors we see in the sky. We will make clouds from various art scraps—cotton balls, torn pieces of paper, using negative grounds—cutting holes, etc. We will also use finger plays and simple sounds to enhance the understandings. We will learn that nature as we see it is affected by things we cannot see—wind, weather far away, the buildings and surroundings that cause different effects—shadows, light/dark, windy/calm; warm/cool. This class is appropriate for pre-K to early elementary.
Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Woods?
This tale focuses on trees in and around Iowa, safety in the woods, how to read a landscape through its trees, trees and their by-products and/or the life cycle of trees. Some of the activities available through this program include: critical thinking, making paper, leaf prints, shapes and colors of trees, leaves; leaf sculptures, fruits and nuts from trees in Iowa; journaling and descriptive writing focused on trees; getting out into the woods and a skit based on the hug-a-tree program. This class is adaptable to all elementary levels.
Is the Sky Falling? Or, Mrs. Little Hears Some Good News!
Based on the story of the chicken that runs around as if she had no sense, we focus on our own senses. How we make decisions based on facts that we learn through our 5 senses. Children are encouraged to ask the basic questions of who, what, why, what next, how, when as we learn to tell the difference between what we see and what we hear. This program is focused on critical thinking skills, discernment through the senses and development of self-confidence. This class is adaptable to all elementary levels.
The Little Red Hen—Who Likes to Eat?
What does it take to make a load of bread? Where
does our food come from? In the original story of The Little Red Hen, she wants to grow some wheat. This tale has been adapted to focus on Iowa’s corn crop. We look at the growing cycle of corn, all of the products from corn; we investigate how plants grow and develop and discover why winter is an important season for corn. Through art activities we use corn seeds (and other edibles) to make mosaics, we act out or actually plant and observe corn growing and talk/draw the needs of the plant; nutrition of the corn plant and how that relates to children and their nutrition. What makes for healthy plants and healthy children? Collages, dramatizations, mosaics and more. This class is adaptable to all elementary levels.
Who Lives under the Snow? The Root Children Go Exploring
This story looks at what is happening in our environment during the winter months. We explore roots, winter habitats, winter activities such as measuring snow and reading footprints, the need for water in the winter, effects of wind through observation and critical thinking. We create stories, pictures and skits based on what we have learned. What it means to be a “root”; why we need roots; what the wind sounds like, feels like, smells like which we then turn into a song or a poem or a skit. This class is appropriate for upper elementary students.
We will look at yarns, folk stories and tall tales in this class to discover how learning about the natural world is transmitted. The goal will be to recover, relearn and preserve human knowledge. What scientific lessons or discoveries are in these tales? What do we learn about our surroundings through these stories? Why do we tell stories? What is MY story? How do I fit into this world? What are some of the other stories from other countries? We will be able to identify ways and whys to take care of the earth. This class is appropriate for upper elementary language art students. It is also adaptable for use in multi-cultural settings.
This class looks at an old story through a variety of lenses. The class is sectioned into 6 students each: lawyers, artists, writers, scientists, architects, historians or orators. Each group will look at the pros and cons of building a house using hay, straw and brick. They will be expected to learn the differences between the three materials, why or why not they would be a good choice and what the results might be from the choice. This will involve investigation, reading, critical thinking, managing time and understanding the value of understanding our choices. The students will then report their results to their classmates in a form of their choosing: skit, posters, dioramas, tall tale or oral reports. This class is for upper level elementary or middle school students.
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Discovering the unexpected in nature. This class will look at the surprises that nature has for us. The shapes of clouds; weeds in sidewalks, cantaloupes from cracks, moss on trees and ants everywhere. We will go out into the world and use our 5 senses to really see what colors, smells, shapes, textures, sounds and tastes surround us. From this experience we will write a story about how much fun our world is! What surprised us! What made us laugh! We will begin to understand that there are many healthy habits that help people stay healthy and being in nature is an integral part to our health and well-being. We will be able to observe, identify, and describe how plants and people grow. This class is for all age levels.
