 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
provide Audubon Adventures to homeschooling families in our chapter area,
and sponsor teens at environmental summer camp.
SAAS would like to
thank Mrs. Srygley's
fourth grade class at Jackson Heights Elementary School for
participating in National Audubon's "Pennies for the Planet"
campaign. The students chose to
support an ongoing project restoring
nesting
sites for Atlantic Puffins off the coast of Maine.
SAAS sponsors
teen at DEC Camp Colby in Saranac Lake, NYThanks to the generosity of our Chapter Supporters in the December 2008 Appeal, we are again able to sponsor a teen for a week in the summer of 2009 at Camp Colby, DEC's environmental education camp outside Saranac Lake, NY. Campers participate in a discovery group, completing lessons in field, forest, and pond exploration, as well learning about group dynamics and the impact of humans on the environment.
Audubon
Adventures Program
The education of our youth about the wonders and
appreciation
of the natural world has been one of our most important
goals.
Since 1985 SAAS members have
sponsored the National Audubon Society's
Audubon
Adventures
Program classes
to enhance an
interdisciplinary Nature
Study
program for grades 4-6. Many area schools from Minerva to
Hudson
Falls to South Glens Falls and in between have participated.
Materials
include a bi-monthly newspaper for the students and an informative
teacher resource Manual. We are open to sponsoring any
classroom
in our chapter area; please contact any board member for more
information.
In the fall of 2007, we
introduced
the program to a
new group of students in our chapter area - the
homeschooling families. When approached to determine possible
interest,
homeschooling parents were enthusiastic about particpating, and eagerly
received the materials. For the 2007-2008 school year we are
sponsoring a co-op
teaching
group with a dozen students, plus 6 individual families. If
you
know of a family that homeschools and would like to know more about the
program, please refer them to any board member.
Again for
the
2008-2009 school year,
our chapter is providing Audubon Adventures to homeschooling families
and co-ops. One
co-op of 17 students and three private homes are
participating. The
feedback offered after last year's
particpation
was enthusiastic and families eagerly anticipate receiving the new
materials.
"I
really enjoyed all
the hands-on activities and the easy to use, colorful manual and
posters. It serves as a great resource in addition to our
other
science material. I would love to receive the materials again
for
the 2008-2009 school year." - Homeschooling
mom in Diamond Point, NY
Read this great report from
Homeschooling
Teacher, Susie Heneghan!
Every Friday,
seventeen homeschooled children ranging in age from six to
nine, gather
together to learn about bees, birds, and bats, following the
Audubon Adventures curriculum. However, the lessons
they
learn go
far beyond just those in the lesson plans.
During
their
lesson about solitary bees, they were divided into groups of
four,
each
group had one bee bundle—a simulated home
for bees—that they
had
constructed earlier. They had to collectively
decide where
the best
location would be to place the bee bundles, based on previous
information. They quickly discovered that everyone thought
their
spot was
the "right" one, and they had to decide who would prevail.
They
spent time debating (a little political science) and they had to
eventually
take a vote (a lesson on American Government).
Their conclusion was then presented before
the rest of the class (a lesson on public
speaking). At
the end of the class they had discovered that they could disagree and
still
remain friends (building character). The final lesson, bees!
All this education is taking place in just one hour during our co-op for homeschoolers known as The Greater Glens Falls Christian Homeschoolers. I'm the proud teacher and proud of mom of three.
- Submitted
by Susie
Heneghan, February 2009
Susie Heneghan's Audubon
Adventurers!
Camp
Inspiration Birding Workshop
In June of 2005, SAAS spent two mornings presenting a
beginning
birding program at Camp Inspiration, a week-long summer camp for
wheelchair and ventilator dependent children held at the
Double H Hole in the Woods camp. More info here: Camp Inspiration