A Halloween Bash and a Fun Liaison Week

Firstly, I want to let everyone know about my personal blog that I'm keeping in addition to this official EEC one. The link is at the top of the list in the right-hand column, but I'll put it here for ease as well: IslandWood Endeavors. I write longer entries on that site that are more specific to my life here at IslandWood and post many more pictures. You are all welcome to follow that blog too, if you'd like!

The amount that is accomplished in a single week here never fails to amaze me. Teaching, learning, and fun make up the trio of elements that somehow manages to always pack itself into 7 days, leaving me weary but filled with eager anticipation to do it all again the very next week.

Last weekend, after the Pumpkin Carving Party that Diana described in the previous entry, the grads threw a raucous Halloween party in the Commons. The costumes were creative to say the least, including a roller skating tooth fairy (my fellow blogger, Ally), multiple characters from the Rattlin' Bog song (a tree, a tick, a Douglas squirrel), Malice-in-Wonderland (Alice gone bad...), School Overnight Program leftover queen (graham crackers, pretzel sticks, corn chips, oh my!), Green Peace, a flamingo, and a giant banana. Needless to say, we had a grand ol' time and danced, sang, and laughed into the wee hours of the night as our jack-o-lanterns carved the previous evening glowed around us.

Last week was my first week liaisoning, a term we've coined here at IslandWood for lack of a better one to describe being on active liaison duty for a week of the School Overnight Program (SOP). Roxhill Elementary, the school that I've built a liaison relationship with through leading an IslandWood orientation presentation for the students, teaching pre-lessons about ecosystems, and running an informational meeting for the parents, all at their school in West Seattle, finally brought their 5th graders for their week at IslandWood.  This meant that I, along with two other grads whose liaison schools were here also, were the go-to leaders of the week for the schools' teachers, chaperones, students, and IslandWood instructors. Our responsibilities were varied, from jumping on the buses when the students first arrived to get them pumped up about the week, to helping pass out rain jackets and fleece hats to students who needed to borrow them, to leading songs about decomposers, banana slugs and moose every morning and evening, to running Wednesday night campfire, to delivering special food to kids with dietary restrictions in the dining hall, to making sure everyone had what they needed at all times.

It was a big job to say the least, but immensely enjoyable since all of the kids knew my name, shouted greetings to me whenever I passed, and begged me to sing songs with them whenever they saw me on the trails or around campus.  Being a liaison was certainly a different role than being an instructor. I had to lead more than 100 kids at a time during Friendship Circle gatherings, evening programs, and the campfire as opposed to only being in charge of 7-12 kids as an instructor, but it wasn't nearly as scary as my nerves had built it up to be before the week started. I gained many large group management skills and learned to love the thrill of debriefing activities with a huge group and singing like my life depended on it with the voices of all those kids joining in.

Especially inspiring was the professional development session that the liaisons did with the teachers on Wednesday morning.  It's a time when the teachers can hear about ideas IslandWood has for continuing projects and environmental lessons back at their schools with the help of their liaisons. Two of the three teachers that were here last week attended the session and the ideas that flew around the room during the three hour session were so encouraging! Plans for community improvement projects, school composting systems, and neighborhood native plant guides were all discussed, and even more exciting were the plans that were made between the two teachers from different schools to bring the students from one school to the other school for a field trip to explore a local bog, do a nature-themed art project, and learn about the student-run recycling and compost program they have.  The teachers were so thrilled with this plan they could hardly contain themselves and the liaison from the other school and myself can't wait to join them for this joint school adventure! It made saying goodbye to the kids at the end of the week a whole lot easier since I could say that I was going to see them in just two weeks for more environmental fun!

That's basically the report for now. I spent the weekend visiting family in Portland (just 4 hours away!) and am now back for a week of midterm professional development, filled with lots of interesting trainings and classes. I also have a sniffly cold, but what do you expect from an educator who's around a different batch of kids every week in the drizzly Pacific Northwest? ; )

Learning to Fly

Look outside your window and you'll see the trees turning vibrant shades of rust. The days are getting shorter, and the weather colder, the air brisker. It's already the first of November, and the days are flying by. Cohort A just finished the second week of solo teaching with Emerald Heights Elementary, a local school in Silverdale that brings sixth graders every year. It was a great week for the Cohort A graduate instructors--the dynamic that accompanies teaching older students brought a heightened level of excitement as the week began on Monday morning.

My role was that of the school liaison, which means that I was in charge of logistical planning for group activities throughout the week. Acting as liaison is a great change of pace from field instruction, and it offers a host of new challenges, as well. The week began by opening Friendship Circle with introductions and then lunch, which included brief lessons in recycling and composting, two practices that are key components of all meals here at IslandWood. After a quick review of schedules, rules and other logistics, we introduced the students to the IslandWood experience with a rousing rendition of the Banana Slug song. I donned the banana slug costume, to the amusement of 101 laughing, excited sixth graders. The remainder of the afternoon was spent distributing rain gear to the students. As a life-long Mid-Westerner, I'm quickly learning the importance of good rain gear here in the Pacific Northwest.

Throughout the rest of the week, my liaison duties varied from filling water jugs near the harbor for student fill-ups to facilitating the evening program, Ecosystems Challenge, and leading morning Friendship Circle meetings. Each day I led songs and brief lessons for the entire group of students, a task that at first seemed a little daunting; but as the week progressed, I found myself eagerly awaiting the responsibility of leading the morning Friendship Circle songs and facilitating the debrief discussion during evening programs. By the end of the week, I had become surprisingly comfortable in front of large groups.

As it always does, the week ended with Wednesday night campfire. For the students, this is seemingly the long-awaited, much-anticipated apex of the entire week; for the moment it is announced early in the week, the buzz about skit-planning can be heard throughout the field groups and within the students' lodges. It was a great show, with plenty of amazing performances by students and grad instructors, alike. There was no shortage of smiles and laughter, and the evening ended with the routine slide show of photos taken during field instruction. The kids love this part, as it highlights them as the stars of the show and serves as a reminder of their incredible accomplishments during their time here at IslandWood.

The grad instructors ended the week with a pumpkin carving party graciously hosted by our very own Emily. It served as a relaxing and fun night with our fellow grads, and one in which creative juices flowed freely in the spirit of Halloween. There was great food, amazing music and an array of exquisitely-carved pumpkins. After a long and tiring but rewarding week, it was just the R&R we needed.

This was a great week, and we look forward to many more to come. Our time here is just beginning, and there's so much more yet to unfold. In the words of a wise soul, "my golly, there's something incredible going on here."

Stay tuned for more!

The start of a new year!

To start, I apologize for the length! Attempting to summarize the past few months was like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole but I hope this helps!

Welcome readers to the 2009-2010 graduate blog! There will be three of us contributing stories and hopefully, sharing insight into the Graduate and School Overnight programs here at Islandwood. Before diving in, I would like to share a little background. There are 29 grads this year and we are from 29 different walks of life. We have moved from Ohio, New York, Vermont, Portland, etc… to be a part of this unique, hands-on experience. For those of you potential graduates who may be wondering if this program is right for you, let me assure you that we all asked ourselves that same question! There are not many people who have both a science and education background and that diversity is welcomed with open arms. I, for example am an elementary teacher who has spent as much time as possible snowboarding, white water kayaking, hiking, camping, and climbing in Colorado but have never had formal science education.


Quite a few of us have experience in one or the other but for the past few months we have spent extensive time studying, exploring our beautiful campus and experiencing life in the areas where we feel we may be lacking. The staff at Islandwood has done an amazing job in helping me feel prepared and qualified for my first solo week in the field, (which just so happened to be last week). They have imparted their stories, songs, knowledge and wisdom so that we can pass down the same adoration of nature to our young students in a way that is articulate and lasting for them.

To start, following a month of INTENSIVE training with the entire grad class (be prepared for 12 hour days… seriously), we are broken into 2 cohorts. At that point you can say goodbye to your opposite cohort because you will see them very rarely! (From now on I will be referring to cohort A as “The Unicorns” and cohort B as “The Survivors”. You too will develop ridiculous nicknames!) After another month of training, studying and observing you are paired up to team-teach for your first week in the field. There were mixed feelings circulating through the crowded prep room during this week. Some were pure shouts of ecstasy to finally be interacting with the students and some were groans of hope for the week when they would finally have the students and the lessons all to themselves. All in all it was an amazing week with beautiful weather, food to definitely write home about and hilarious 4th and 5th graders!


Directly after team teaching week it is the Unicorn’s opportunity to take the reigns and lead a group of young and impressionable minds on their four-day adventure. Referring to a loose schedule of venues, it is up to the instructor to choose where and how to present Islandwood to your group. The possibilities are endless but a few of the choices include a trip to the harbor, a scavenger hunt through the garden or venturing into the teams course all with one goal in mind, helping these children fall in love nature so that one day, they might feel inclined to protect it! The Unicorns ended up receiving an amazing gift from the heavens with torrential downpour and high winds. Impressively, spirits remained high and their first week was one to be proud of!


Just this past week was team Survivor’s first official week in the field. Monday went well and only a few of us lead our groups off trail during the night hike! No worries, we recovered quickly and hopefully it seemed as though it was a purposeful trip into the bushes rather than an accidental one! Tuesday at the harbor was amazing! My students were enthralled with a fish near the rock dam for nearly the full half hour. Thankfully, the rain stayed away and after the harbor, Team Stream was able to climb to the top of the canopy tower. A fear of heights for one student almost inhibited his success but he pushed through and even made it to the top! A fellow instructor had the quote of the week when one student at Mac’s Pond exclaimed, “Look, that bug is walking on water”! (I think they were referring to a backswimmer.) Subsequently another student retorted with, “that’s impossible, only Jesus can do that”! Wednesday, my favorite day of all brought the rain but with it brought the campfire. Students sang and performed skits and our very own Mike hit it out of the park with “Pet the moose baby one, two, three…” The grads seemed sad to say goodbye to their students and are valiantly awaiting the arrival of the buses during their next teaching week!

Moral of the story… if you enjoy the outdoors, love children and want to make the earth a better place to live… buy Carharts and a rain jacket and become an instructor at IW!