Megan Gessler
Educator, The Morton Arboretum
What is your earliest memory of playing in nature?
My earliest memory of nature stems back to when I was about 4 years old. I remember watching our German shorthaired pointer jump up in the air to pick pears off of our pear tree. I remember how exuberant he was and how it looked like he was flying through the air with joy.
How does nature impact the whole child?
I'd like to posit that nature itself, of which humans are a part of, provides a perfect catalyst for personal growth. I will defer to Rachel Carlson's quote from The Sense of Wonder: “It is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. The years of early childhood are the time to prepare the soil. Once the emotions have been aroused -- a sense of the beautiful, the excitement of the new and the unknown, a feeling of sympathy, pity, admiration or love -- then we wish for knowledge about the subject of our emotional response. Once found, it has lasting meaning. It is more important to pave the way for the child to want to know than to put him on a diet of facts he is not ready to assimilate.” Follow the biophilic tendencies to connect with nature. The learning will come on its own. Child-led inquiry is a natural byproduct of spending time in nature and the growth is so rich and rewarding and applies to all areas of child development.
Do you have any favorite things to do in nature?
I love being active in nature. Hiking, snow and water skiing, sledding, swimming, rock hunting, etc. But I also love reflective and mindful moments of just sitting and being one with the environment. Watching these moments through the eyes of my students is very rewarding. I can see their body language change. I see the connections in their eyes. And I witness the change in attitude when the moment has passed. Nature provides perspective.
How do you connect to the 4 P’s philosophy?
Connecting children to place through project-based emergent curriculum is my jam. I get the enviable position of watching children grow in independence and confidence while becoming empowered agents of change. I wouldn't have it any other way.
What’s coming up?
If you reside in Illinois, please check out Northern Illinois Nature Preschool Association at www.ninpa.org or look for us on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to connect and help strengthen each other and our profession throughout the state.
