Winter PDLS Workshop 3: Special Skills

Offered by Alissa Venable (she/her) of Scatter Creek Montessori 

When we take learning outdoors, we get to learn in the company of so many more-than-humans. While grown-ups may understand the opportunities and richness that comes from supporting respectful interactions and observations of the creatures around us, encountering differences in the wild (and in the world) can elicit strong emotional reactions in the children & youth we guide (and even in us, the grown ups guiding them). Big emotions on a vast spectrum from - ‘eeeeek!!! A spider/chicken/frog’ to ‘awwwwwww! A worm/rabbit/pigeon.’ A skillset educators will hone in this session is facilitating wonder, felt safety, and quality learning for students when having these experiences, while keeping the safety and autonomy of the animals in our practice as well. An opportunity to nurture learning across differences, empathy, and set the culture of our spaces to be inclusive and welcome for all living creatures within it.

About Alyssa

Originally from Chicago, Alyssa fell for the breathtaking beauty of Washington state and in 2010 moved across the country to live near the forests and seas of the Pacific Northwest. She completed a bachelor’s at The Evergreen State College with a focus on alternative educational approaches including nature-based play and child-centered learning. For the past decade Alyssa has been an early childhood guide in Montessori classrooms, founding Scatter Creek Montessori farm school in 2021. Alyssa strives to uplift other educators to join her in moving evermore towards the abundance of awe-filled learning there is in nature. Her heart finds joy watching her goats play or cats nap while she enjoys a chocolate croissant.