Education
Teacher Programs
Summer 2013 Programs
New! Nature in the City
July 8 – 10 & September 21 at the Chicago Botanic Garden
July 11 – 12 at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Fee: $285 (20% discount for Educator Members)
Grade level: K-12
CPDU credit: 45, Lane credit: 3, Graduate credit: 3
An additional fee for graduate credit will be collected on the first day of the workshop.
Urban environments provide a wealth of opportunities for students to learn about plant and animal interactions. Join us in a weeklong exploration of urban ecology featuring pollination, seed dispersal, protection from herbivores, adaptations and more. Engage in activities and experiments designed to connect your students to the nature in their community and discover ideas for enhancing the habitat on your school grounds.
New! Exploring Nature with Young Children
July 15 – 16, 19 and October 5 at the Chicago Botanic Garden
July 17 – 18 at the Kohl Children’s Museum
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Fee: $285 (20% discount for Educator Members)
Grade level: PreK-2
CPDU credit: 45, Lane credit: 3, Graduate credit: 3
An additional fee for graduate credit will be collected on the first day of the workshop.
Join the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Kohl Children’s Museum in exploring ways to connect young children with nature that foster inquiry and basic scientific skills. Learn about conducting nature walks and outdoor explorations, exploring plant and animal interactions and habitats, and connecting nature with art. Receive training in the Council for Environmental Education’s Growing Up WILD curriculum for PreK. Receive a copy of the curriculum guide for an additional fee.
School Gardening Conference
Solving Problems with School Gardening
June 29 at the Chicago Botanic Garden
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Fee: $95
Lunch (optional): $18
Grade level: PreK-12
CPDU credit: 7.5
Program schedule and session descriptions
School Gardens present many challenges and opportunities. From a practical perspective, starting and maintaining a school garden requires a coordinated effort among school and sometimes community members. School gardeners face many decisions and challenges planning and maintaining the garden. Once you have the garden, it can become a living laboratory for science investigations and other curricular connections.
This year’s school gardening conference will provide helpful advice for the practical side of growing a successful school garden and also share activities and lessons that use the garden to teach problem solving and other thinking skills. Join us for a fun day filled with presentations and hands-on activities presented by teachers and professionals in the field that offer practical ways to keep your garden growing and inquiry-based lesson ideas that get your students using the garden to understand nature.. Enjoy the keynote presentation by Sharon Danks author of the book Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation, who will show you how your efforts to confront the challenges and opportunities with school gardens are shared by educators all over the world. Bring your questions and “ask the experts” during a panel discussion.
Bring your own lunch, purchase lunch on-site in the Garden’s Café, or purchase your lunch ahead of time for $18.
One CPS Lane credit and one graduate credit (additional fee) are available if the conference is taken with the School Garden Road Trip on July 13. Call 847-835-8253 for more information about this option.
School Garden Road Trip
July 13 at the Chicago Botanic Garden
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Fee: $75
Grade level: K-12
CPDU credit: 7.5
(1 CPS Lane credit and 1 graduate credit are available if this class is taken with the School Gardening Conference)
Join us on a tour of school gardens in the Chicago region. Learn directly from the schools about their challenges and success and how their teachers use the gardens with their teachers. Explore school garden themes and techniques and ideas for using school gardens to make cross-curricular connections.
From our Noses to Our Toes: Exploring Nature through Our Senses
August 7 at the Chicago Botanic Garden
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Fee: $85
Grade level: Birth – PreK
CPDU credit: 7, Early Intervention credit: 6.5
Join us for a fun-filled day of nature activities for infants and toddlers. Learn techniques for introducing nature to little people through sensory exploration and hands-on learning “stations.” This class is designed for early intervention providers, day-car providers, parents, and anyone who works with infants to 3-year-olds, and is adaptable for PreK educators.