1. Nature + Technology
in the classroom + at home
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2. Nature
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3. Ways to explore Nature
• “What would our world be without a tree, a flower, or a blade of
grass?”
• Not only is nature beautiful but spending time in it is really
good for you!
• Here are just a few of the many ways you can explore
nature with children:
• Go outside!
• Hike
• Camp
• Botanical gardens
• Parks
• Play with Dirt
• Garden
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4. Benefits of nature:
“There is no way that we can help children to love and preserve
this planet, if we don’t give them direct experiences with the
miracles and blessings of nature” –Anita Olds5
• Health
• Happiness
• Intelligence
“Go out and get your hands dirty!”
4

5. Health
“Time in nature is not leisure time; its an essential investment in our
children’s health” –Richard Louv 2
• Playing in nature can positively impact children’s health and well-being 2
• Therapeutic and restorative 2
• Pain reduction
• Vitamin D
• Exercise 2
• Combat: obesity, asthma, type 2 diabetes, ADD/ADHD 2
• Outdoor play is essential to getting children active and the American
Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents to get their children outside
as much as possible1
• In the last 30 years childhood obesity has more then tripled 6
5

6. Happiness: Mental Well-being
• A Child with little connection to and love of our earth is like a
rudderless ship lost at sea
• Stress Reduction
• Can mitigate attention and behavior disorders 2
• Nature is soothing
• Nature buffers the impact of life stresses on children and helps
them deal with adversity. The greater the amount of nature
exposure, the greater the benefits 5
• Play in a diverse natural environment reduces or eliminates
bullying
5
• Children who play in nature have more positive feelings about
each other 5
• Nature stimulates social interaction
6

7. Intelligence
• Children with views of and contact with nature score higher on
tests of concentration and self-discipline
5
• When Children play in natural environment, their play is more
diverse with imaginative and creative play that fosters language
and collaborative skills
5
• Schools with environmental education programs score higher
on standardized tests in math, reading, writing and listening
1
• Exposure to natural environments improves children's cognitive
development by improving their awareness, reasoning, and
observational skills
5
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8. Benefits of Dirt
• Can make you happier
• Recent studies show that dirt contains microscopic
bacteria called Mycobacterium vaccae which increases
levels of serotonin in our brains, helping us relax, soothe
and calm 4
• Can make you smarter
• MV has also been shown to increase cognitive functions 4
• Can make you healthier
• MV boosts your immune system and improves mood
• Being too clean can impair the skins ability to heal itself
3
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9. Benefits of Gardening
• Play with dirt!
• Get lots of vitamin D
• When children garden they gain a sense of accomplishment
• They are more willing to eat what they have grown, even if it’s
a vegetable
• When children garden they increase their self esteem
• Learn about teamwork and cooperation
• Connect with nature and their outdoor environment
• Gain a sense of ownership
• Use their large motor and get their “wiggles” out
• Gardening can help children develop
• Small motor skills and literacy
• Math
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10. Gardening through Literacy + Small Motor Skills
• Make gardening journals where children can draw images
of what they have grown and write down the names of
what they’ve grown
• Label items in the garden
• Write stories about the garden
• Give children clipboards, paper and colored pencils and sit
Above: a picture of
and draw things in the garden or trees the grown snow pea
plant!
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11. Gardening through Literacy + Small Motor Skills
(continued)
• Make a seed book out of Ziploc baggies where you can
catalog the things you have planted and save some extra
seeds
• Cook something that they have grown in the garden and
have the children dictate or write their own cookbook
• Teach children how to read a seed packet
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12. Gardening through Literacy + Small Motor Skills
(continued)
• By participating in these and other gardening
activities the children are learning
• How to use writing tools
• How to write letters
• How to write sentences
• Use their small motor skills
• Understand that print has multiple purposes
“The snow peas are green”
“The large ones are daddy snow peas”
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13. Gardening through Math
• Have children use rulers to measure
things they have grown in the garden
• Make a graph for children to
document the growth of their fruits
and vegetables
• Count the number of seeds, plants,
leaves, flowers and/or pods
• Compare and contrast different
seeds, their shapes, sizes and color
• Measure the amount of water you are Above: A child learns how to use a
giving the plants ruler to measure the length of a
snow pea plant
13

14. Gardening through Math (continued)
• Through such activities children learn:
• Measurement scales
• How to use measurement tools
• One to one correspondence
• Recognizing and learning numbers
• Writing numbers
• Learning to compare and contrast items
• Learning about shapes, sizes and colors
• Learning about graphing
Above: a Child learns and
recognizes numbers on a ruler
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15. Gardening Sensory Activities
• Through such activities children learn:
Above: a Child learns and
recognizes numbers on a ruler
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16. Technology
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17. Technology: A problem?
“The average American boy or girl spends just 4-7 minutes in outdoor
unstructured play each day, and more then 7 hours each day in front of
an electronic screen” –National Wildlife Federation
1
• Rising childhood obesity, attention disorders + asthma1
• “Our kids are out of shape, tuned out and stressed out, because
they’re missing something essential to their health and development:
connection to the natural world” 1
• Most hesitation of technology use in early childhood education has to
do with fear about its contribution to early childhood obesity by:
• Replacing outdoor play
• Exposing children to junk food advertisements
17

18. Technology: What do we do?
Fight technology?
Force outdoor play?
18

19. Technology: NAEYC statement 8
• Technology and interactive media are here to stay
• Technology and interactive media are tools that can promote effective
learning and development when they are used intentionally by early
childhood educators
• Technology and media should not replace creative play, real-life
exploration, physical activity, outdoor experiences, conversation and
social interaction
• Effective uses of technology and media are active, hands-on, engaging
and empowering
19

20. Technology: NAEYC statement 8
(continued)
• When used appropriately, technology and media can enhance children’s
cognitive and social abilities
• Interactions with technology and media should be playful and support
creativity
• Technology tools can help educators make and strengthen home-school
connections
• Technology and media can enhance early childhood practice when
integrated into the environment, curriculum and daily routines
20

21. Technology: NAEYC statement 8
(continued)
• For children with special needs, technology has proven to have many
potential benefits
• Tool to augment sensory input or reduce distractions
• Support for cognitive processing or enhancing memory recall
• Technologies can empower young children, increasing their
independence and supporting their inclusion in classes with their
peers
• Technology can be effective for duel language learners by providing
access to a families home language and culture while supporting English
language learning
• Digital literacy is essential to guiding early childhood educators and
parents in the selection, use, integration, and evaluation of technology
and interactive media
21

22. Technology: NAEYC Recommendations
• Select, use, integrate and evaluate technology and interactive media
tools in intentional an developmentally appropriate ways
• Provide a balance of activities and programs for young children
recognizing that technology and interactive media can be valuable
tools when use intentionally with children to extend and support
active, hands-on creative and authentic engagement with those
around them an with their world
22

23. Technology + Nature
Technology Technology allows you to…
• Camera/photography • Document
• Television • Share
• Film • Play
• Internet • Learn
• Virtual worlds
• Games
• Social Networking
Sites
• Blogs
• Information Sites
• Phone
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24. Technology: A solution!
• FACT: Many young children use technology.
• A report from Sesame Workshop claims that up to 80% of children
under 5 use he Internet on at least a weekly bases in the United States. 7
• Why?
• Because we use technology, because technology is the future. It’s not
going anywhere and rules and restriction aren’t going to prevent our
children from being exposed to it
• So why don’t we use technology to encourage outdoor play
• Nature and technology don’t have to contradict one another
• Technology can compliment and supplement the study of nature
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25. Photography
• Document
• The stages of your child’s garden
• Your outdoor adventures and Hikes
• Share
• Share your pictures with friends, family &
other parents on social networking sites or
blogs
• Learn
• Use your phone to take pictures of plants,
animals and other elements of nature and Above: Lourdes uses a camera
then use phone applications to learn about to document her class’s
them gardening adventures
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26. Television
• PBS Kids
• National Geographic Kids
• Discovery Kids
• Nick Jr.
• CBeebies
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27. Film
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28. Internet: for kids
• Learn
• My first garden: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/firstgarden/
• Kids Gardening: kidsgardening.org
• Seeds of Change garden: http://www.seedsofchange.com/
• Biology 4 kids: biology4kids.com
• Play “Edutainment”
• Bloomers Island: bloomersisland.com
• Plan-a-Garden: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/
• Community garden blog:
http://www.bloomersisland.com/blog/community_garden
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29. Internet: for kids
• Bloomers Island
• bloomersisland.com by Bloomers
Edutainment LLC is a fun virtual
world where kids can become one
of the bloomers garden characters,
make friends, play gardening games
and build a decorate their very
own tree house!
29

30. Internet: for kids
• My First Garden
• http://urbanext.illinois.edu/firstgarden/
• By the Illinois Extension Office.
Click on the Just For Kids link to
go here:
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/kids/index.html
. Not only do they have fun games
and tutorials, but a whole list of
great links, like The Great Corn
Adventure, and The Secret Life of
Trees.
30

31. Internet: for kids
• Plan-a-Garden
• http://www.bhg.com/garden
ing/
• This cool website works
great with kids. Once you
register for the site, kids
can take turns dragging and
pasting different trees,
bushes, and flowers onto
any number of blank slates,
and plan different unique
gardens. This is an example
of my garden.
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32. Internet: for parents
• Learn • Share
• Websites • Pinterest.com
• Kidsgardening.org • Facebook.com
• Childrenandnature.org • Twitter.com
• Blogs • Play (with your kids)
• Sage advice blog: • Bloomersisland.com
• Backyard activities
http://www.bloomersisland.com/blog/sage_advice
• Growing Great Blog: • Kids Garden Crafts
http://growinggreat.org/blog/ • Gardening with Kids
• Net Mums
• Coloring sheets
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33. Internet: for parents
33

34. Internet: for parents
34

35. Internet: for parents
• Net Mums
• Print coloring
sheets for your
child that teach
them about plants
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36. Phone Applications:
• Get outside and explore + learn together
• iGarden USA
• Gardening
• NatureFind
• Trailhead by The North Face
• iBird Explore Backyard
• Florafolio
• Botany Buddy
• MyNature Tracks
• Leaf Snap
• Eden Garden Design
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37. Phone Applications:
• Bloomers! Checkin
• The Bloomers Checkin app encourages kids to go outside
and explore nature. If a child checks into one of the
outdoor locations recognized on this app, then the child
receives 500 golden suns on bloomersisland.com!
• It’s a great way to encourage kids to go out and get their
hands dirty!
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38. Phone Applications:
• LeafSnap
• LeafSnap is the first in a series of electronic field guides
being developed by researchers from Colombia
University. This free mobile app uses visual recognition
software to help identify tree species from photographs
of their leaves
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39. Phone Applications:
• Eden Garden Designer
• The Eden Garden Designer app combines fun and
function. Gardeners can create virtual gardens using
either a pre-loaded design or with an uploaded photo.
Gardeners can experiment with their own gardens using
the virtual garden function. The app also includes a
searchable plant library. The plants can be added to a
gardener’s virtual garden to create an outdoor
masterpiece. This is a fun app for only 99 cents. It is
compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
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40. Bloomers!
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41. The Bloomers! Vision
We believe that when children are excited about nature,
excitement grows to passion – and passion for how the
world is regarded and cared for is the single most
important ingredient for the healthiest planet and healthiest
people possible.
How do we get kids excited about nature?
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42. Characters
The Bloomers! characters are the heart of the experience –
each representing an element of nature with a twist of human quirks.
Bud, Pete Moss, Daisy, Violet, Basil, Big Red, Lilly, Rosey and Dogwood
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43. GAME HOME SCHOOL
Bloomers! Island Bloomers! Backyard Bloomers! Schoolyard
JOIN BRING THE LEARN WHAT
THE GAME TO MAKES THE
FUN LIFE BLOOMERS! FAMILY
GROW
Help your personal Get hands-on and
Bloomers! garden hands-dirty with new Learning about plants,
character through ways to help the flowers, gardens and
different island Bloomers! family and nature is fun! - and the key
adventures. friends grow. to the Bloomers! experience.
43

44. Bloomers! Island
GAME
GAME
Bloomers! Island
Mini-Quests
Earn Golden Suns
Shop
Customize Characters
Socialize
Explore Nature
Learn About Nature
Narrated Stories
Market Need About Bloomers! Bloomers! Experience Bloomers! Story Bringing Bloomers! To Life Bloomers! Team 44

45. Bloomers! Backyard
HOME
Bloomers! Backyard
Mini-Projects
GPS Golden Suns
Toys
Gardening Tools
Videos
Books
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46. Bloomers! Schoolyard
SCHOOL
Bloomers! Schoolyard
Mini-Curriculums
Academic Golden Suns
Homework Made Fun
Classroom tools
Videos
Books
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47. Ways Bloomers! uses technology
to get kids excited about nature
• Engages kids with garden characters and gardening games
• Hands-on gardening lessons for the schools are reinforces through
online environments, games and ebooks
• GPS locator drives kids outside through incentives
•The online environments each contains one object needed to grow
and plant or tree
•Teachers and parents can buy cute real world patches like the ones
the children can win online
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48. Bloomers! : ideas for teachers
•The online environment has a chat function where students can chat
with their teachers
• Teachers can make plans to meet their class in an environment for
discussions
•In the very veggie garden, teachers can ask their students to identify
different vegetables: corn, tomatoes, pumpkin, lettuce, eggplant
•Teachers can document what their class is growing and send it to us
schoolyard@bloomersisland.com and we’ll post it on our website
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49. Find out more about Bloomers!
bloomersisland.com
facebook.com/BloomersIsland
twitter.com/#!/BloomersIsland
pinterest.com/bloomersisland/
Contact:
info@bloomersisland.com
Don’t Forget to visit our Bloomers! Booth
*Sign up for our newsletter to get a copy of this presentation
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50. Reference Links:
• 1: http://www.nwf.org/get-outside/be-out-there/why-be-out-there/benefits.aspx
• 2: http://www.fws.gov/filedownloads/ftp_ChildrenandNature/Fact
%20Sheets/NEEF_fact%20sheet.pdf
• 3: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6630394/Children-should-be-
allowed-to-play-in-the-dirt-new-research-suggests.html
• 4: http://www.livescience.com/7270-depressed-play-dirt.html
• 5: http://www.whitehutchinson.com/children/articles/
• 6: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm
• 7:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2011/03/study-80-
percent-of-children-under-5-use-internet-weekly/1#.T577RMRYsxE
50

51. This presentation was…
• Presented by:
• Cynthia Wylie
• C.E.O and Creator of Bloomers! Edutainment
• cynthia@bloomersisland.com
• Lourdes Padgett
• Teacher & Education Outreach Director
• lourdes@bloomersisland.com
• Created by:
• Jamie Shields
• Communications Manager
• jamie@bloomersisland.com
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52. Thank you!
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