27 Apr
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GKO Passport to Adventure

Posted By: gko-admin in Activities, GKO    

Let the adventure begin!

Passport to Adventure encourages children and their families to get outdoors and explore, while promoting local events, programs, and nearby natural destinations.   Click here for more information!

6 Dec
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Nature‐Based Community Workshops 2013

Posted By: gko-admin in Fall, GKO    

New Opportunities for Teachers, Parents & Families
Nature-Based Community Workshops for Educators, Parents, Students & Families by GKO
Following the tremendous community support for the Getting Kids Outdoors (GKO) Passport to Adventure, GKO is announcing its new Nature-Based Community Workshops.  A recently-awarded grant from the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation allows for the implementation of Phase III of the coalition's strategic plan.  This phase involved developing, marketing, and...

20 May
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NATURAL TEACHERS: 10 Ways You Can Add Vitamin “N” to your Classroom & Beyond

Posted By: Jen in Articles, Educators    

By  on March 23rd, 2013

Not long ago I met some dedicated young women who were doing their student teaching at an impressive nature-based preschool. They made it clear that they’d love to pursue careers at similar schools. But they were discouraged about the prospects. Despite growing demand from parents, the number of nature-based preschools remains relatively low. “Is there a business school at your university?” I asked. Yes, they said. “Have the business school and your education...

13 May
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PEACE LIKE A RIVER: There’s a Time for Hyper-vigilance and a Time to Pay a Different Kind of Attention

Posted By: Jen in Articles    

By  on April 1st, 2013 Thinking about Newtown. Chased by an unending stampede of 2,000-pound automobiles and 4,000-pound SUVs, we cocoon inside our homes. The assault continues. Unsettling, threatening images charge through the television cable and overwhelm us. Hyper-vigilance trumps mindfulness. Where do we find respite? The poet Wendell Berry offers direction: When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s...

7 May
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The Touch-Screen Generation

Posted By: Jen in GKO    

        Young children—even toddlers—are spending more and more time with digital technology. What will it mean for their development?
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On a chilly day last spring, a few dozen developers of children’s apps for phones and tablets gathered at an old beach resort in Monterey, California, to show off their games. One developer, a self-described “visionary for puzzles” who looked like a skateboarder-recently-turned-dad, displayed a jacked-up, interactive...

7 May
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Schoolyard Habitat Workshop a success!

Posted By: Jen in Educators, GKO    

Getting Kids Outdoors, the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Michigan Green Schools, Polly’s Planting and Plucking, and local teachers joined together to explore options for creating a unique outdoor landscape project with students.  Kim Buntin from Polly's Planting and Plucking led a wonderful tour, sharing tips on getting started with schoolyard habitats that promote outdoor learning.  Thanks also to Heather Rawlings, Biologist, US Fish & Wildlife Service for her presentation on Schoolyard Habitats.  And a big...