Third and fourth graders at Lansdowne Friends School experienced the natural world in one of their units of study while learning to canoe on one of the many streams in the Delaware Valley. Teacher Alison Levie's students learned canoe safety and techniques launching their canoes in Crum Creek in Swarthmore and paddling upstream as part of their water study.
Water is one of the key science units in Levie's class. Students learn about the physical properties of water, the importance of water for life, the interconnectedness of life and how water aids in those connections, human dependence on water, and about the life cycles of aquatic organisms. As part of their work, her students have done stream studies in the creeks near Lansdowne Friends School.
This week, Levie, a lifelong canoer, teamed up with Tim and Terri James, who directed a comprehensive canoeing program in the middle school at Westtown School before they retired last year. From their canoes, students experienced the physics of water--seeing, for example, why paddling on the left side of a canoe will make the canoe go right, and how ruddering steers a boat. They observed aquatic life in and along the stream. They also tested the pH of the water and gauged the health of the stream by the presence of macroinvertebrates.
Most importantly, they had an experience in nature. Author Richard Luov argues in his book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder that there is a great disconnect between children today and the outdoors. He further argues that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults.
"These canoe trips are part of Lansdowne Friends School's answer to nature deficit disorder," said Head of School John McKinstry. "At the same time, students are learning a life-long skill."
The canoeing program also connects students to their own watersheds. The Jameses have had a long connection to Chester/Ridley/Crum Watersheds association, having been part of stream clean-ups and streambank restoration projects for CRC for dozens of years. "It seems like a natural extension for Terri and Tim to teach students how to canoe in the CRC," McKinstry said.
This week's short trip was also part of the prepration for a much longer canoe trip in the spring.
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