Meet Lari Jo Edwards
Science Education Specialist
At A Charlotte Mason Plenary
Naturalist, Scientist, and CM Educator
Charlotte Mason Nature Study Classes led by a Naturalist, a Scientist, and a CM Educator? YES PLEASE!
Meet Lari Jo Edwards! She’s our new Science Education Specialist at A Charlotte Mason Plenary!
She has great things planned for us!
Here’s a bit of Lari Jo’s background:
Lari Jo has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science degree in Ecological Teaching and Learning from Lesley University.
For the past several years, she’s been the Education Coordinator at the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program in South Texas.
She’s an absolute treasure to our local CM families because she’s been leading Nature Study outings for us for the past few years.
And now she’s offering those Nature Study classes online through The Plenary! YES!
Introducing Field Notes Fridays:
Online Nature Study Classes
Field Notes Fridays is a one-hour guided Nature Inquiry class – LIVE ONLINE – for all ages and experience levels!
We’d love for you to join us!
DATES AVAILABLE FOR SUMMER 2021
- June 4 – Noticing and Wondering
- June 25 – Making Connections
- July 2 – What is Metadata?
- July 23 – Putting it All Together on a Page
- Aug 6 – Zoom In with a 100″ Hike
- Aug 27 – Zoom Out with Habitat Highrise
It’s a class for the whole familiy! Everyone can participate!
But each live class is limited to just 40 families (so sign up now before the classes are sold out!)
Can’t make the live classes? You can register for a pre-recorded class and follow along on your own schedule!
Watch the video below to find out more about Lari Jo and the Field Notes Fridays Classes!
Lari Jo Talks About Field Notes Fridays
The beauty of Field Notes Fridays is that even though it’s an online class, students go outside for a portion of the class time. Here’s how it works:
EACH CLASS CONTAINS THREE LEARNING ELEMENTS
1. Lesson Time – Lari Jo introduces the week’s “nature theme,” talks about what observations you will be making during your “Nearby Nature Time,” and helps you set up a journal page to capture your discoveries.
2. Nearby Nature Time – During your Nearby Nature Time, you will go outside to discover a nature object that fits with the lesson’s theme. You will then record your observations in your nature journal based on your experience level of nature journaling (see below). Lari Jo will stay online and available in case you have any questions.
3. Sharing Discoveries Time – After 20 minutes, everyone will reconvene and share what you have discovered. Sharing (narrating) discoveries helps to solidify your knowledge about your local environment. Hearing what others discovered expands your knowledge of other parts of the world. Making connections with each other’s discoveries deepens your knowledge of the natural world.
Plus, all experience levels are welcome! Lari Jo teaches three different levels of nature journaling based on your experience and comfort level.
THREE LEVELS OF NATURE JOURNALING
Level 1: Use of pictures and prompts such as “I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds me of” to make observations on the page
Level 2: Includes Level 1, but we now also add words, pictures, numbers, and basic metadata to make observations on the page
Level 3: Includes everything in Level 1 and 2, with the addition of charts, graphs, maps, connections, questions, research, and more to add depth to the knowledge being gathered. This level uses a variety of observation and data collection skills.
It’s going to be a great class! We’ll see you there!
Rachel, what is the time for the classes?
The LIVE classes are from 1:00 – 2:00 pm Central Time. You can see the full schedule here:
http://cmplenary.com/product/field-notes-fridays-online-nature-study-classes/
But if you can’t make the live classes, there are also pre-recorded classes! Here’s the link for those:
http://cmplenary.com/product/field-notes-fridays-nature-study-classes-recorded/