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Charlotte Mason Education Conference Keynote and Workshops: Bel Air CA
July 15, 2016
I am leading a series of Nature Journaling classes at the Western Charlotte Mason Eduction Conference. It should be a wonderful conference. Registration information.
The agenda includes:
Lectures
Thinking like a Naturalist: Reclaiming the Art of Natural History
Did you know that your powers of observation and curiosity are not static traits but skills that you can develop and enhance? How can you get more out of every nature ramble? Developments in neuropsychology have opened doors in our understanding of the brain and cognition and how you can train yourself to see more and to be more curious about what you discover. Naturalist and illustrator John Muir Laws will demonstrate simple and fun techniques you can incorporate into your own recreational nature study, classroom, or family outings. You will learn an adaptable five-step approach that will dramatically increase your memory and observational skills, focus and heighten your curiosity, help you think more creatively, and give you a framework for exploring mysteries in nature.
This is your brain on paper: the art and science of keeping a nature journal
Learn how to keep your own notebook to open the door to richer discovery, better memory, and more fun in nature. What if you could change one simple thing and make yourself a more astute observer, curious explorer, creative thinker, deliberate investigator, and better naturalist? You can: it is keeping a notebook to record your discoveries and questions, and to help you plan and document your investigations. A journal is a ubiquitous part of a naturalist’s gear, more important than binoculars or a microscope. No tool has a more profound effect on your ability to see and think.
There are many ways you can use a journal: you can draw, diagram, map, model, list, and write. These techniques can be used to document, explore, or reflect. Each approach changes the way you see and think. A new approach is a new lens on the world. Strategically combining these methods virtually guarantees new discoveries and will delight your mind.
If you have never used a nature journal before, you will learn simple techniques that you can apply immediately with no drawing experience required. If you already keep a notebook of your discoveries, learn ways to expand the scope of your practice and open new doors to discovering the world. You will leave with a rich kit of tools to focus your observations, organize your thoughts, enhance recall of critical details, stimulate creativity, and expand the possibilities for your adventures and discoveries.
Journaling for life
Learn simple techniques to bring journaling into your everyday life, increasing attention, memory, and happiness. Keeping a journal is not just an activity for early childhood education. It is a foundational strategy and tool that can be incorporated into your life at any age. All scientists, no matter their field, keep notebooks. Detectives keep focused, detailed notebooks of clues or crime scenes. Writers, songwriters, and poets keep notebooks of phrases, ideas, or other inspiration. Keeping a gratitude journal improves sleep, decreases symptoms of illness, and increases happiness for both adults and kids. Finally, people who keep a diary develop greater emotional intelligence then their non reflective peers. You can do it too.
