Exploring Nature with the Senses: Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon

Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon leads environmental education programming for children and adults, and has based her teaching methods on the principle of experiential learning. The backbone of Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon’s programs is a personal experience of nature, utilizing all five senses. If you’d like to experience the natural world more fully, or encourage kids to do the same, Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon has the following recommendations.

See what’s around you first, says Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon. Take in all of the colors and the variety of life. Is the light different under the cover of the trees? How far does your visibility reach? Do you recognize any types of tree, flower, bug, or animal?

Listen for the sounds of nature. There are the basics, like birds chirping, but see what else you can figure out based on your years, says Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon. Can you hear leaves rustling? Are there animals digging? What sounds do your own feet make as you walk over leaves or brush?

Touch the world around you to literally get a feel for what nature has to offer. There are a huge varieties of textures that can tell you a lot about the environment. Is the soil dry, or damp? Are the leaves crunchy or supple? Are the rocks slippery? Is the air warm?

Smell the huge variety of scents emanating from the natural world. Are there any plants that smell like foods you’ve eaten? What does the Earth smell like? Do you think it’s rained recently? Are you near the ocean?

Taste plants that you know it’s safe to ingest. While you should never put anything in your mouth that you’re unsure of, eating nature’s bounty of fruit and other plant life can be a great way to really take in what nature has to offer. Have you ever tried seaweed straight from the beach? Have you ever come across a bush of wild blackberries?

Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon: Integrating Environmental Education into the Classroom

Environmental education is a fantastic way to design hands-on lessons about science, according to environmental educator Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon. There are plenty of ways that teachers can bring more of the environment into the classroom, but these are some tried and true methods that Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon says that kids and teachers both love.

Have a Class Garden

Provided there is space, a less stressful alternative to the traditional “class pet” is a class garden. At the beginning of the school year, kids and teachers can pick out which plants they would like to grow, and can start them from seeds. Along the way, says Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon, the garden will provide many opportunities to talk about how plants grow and thrive, as well as a fun class chore that everyone can have a chance to participate in. An outdoor garden also provides a habitat for local wildlife that can also be explored and observed. Many scienticic experiements and epereinces can be utilized through this space.

Go for Class Walks

Experiencing nature together is a great way to do some class bonding while also letting kids burn off some extra energy, says Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon. During science class, go for a walk together and note down everything you see and experience. What’s the weather like? Are there any signs of animal life? Are the plants in bloom? Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon says that this type of experience can lead children to ask questions that can spark interesting discussions and instill a sense of curiosity that will last a lifetime. For older students there are many experienments that can be facilitated outdoors, all of which meet the standards.

Come up with a classroom Cause

Finally, kids can learn a little something about sustainability and stewardship by instituting a class cause. For example the familiar...Recycle Together

A lesson at the beginning of the year about what can be recycled and how to separate the different types of recyclable can turn into great habits early on, says Rainbow Wulfech Pharaon. Teachers can also set a great example by reusing materials in the classroom, from jars used as paint brush holders to misprinted papers used as scrap paper.

Home Activities for Nature Exploration With Kids from Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon

Exploring nature doesn’t have to mean a big trip out to a national park to see nature totally untouched by humans. Nature exploration can happen right in your own neighborhood and backyard! Here, early childhood environmental education expert Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon offers some of her favorite activities that can teach kids about nature without leaving home. Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon also creates music for children with her brother, William Wulfeck; she writes the lyrics, which he sets to music. Visit www.willwulfeck.com for more information.

Explore the Backyard

Life is everywhere, including your backyard (or a local park, if you don’t have your own yard!). Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon encourages letting kids explore on their own to find out what kind of plant life they can find, any interesting bugs that might be roaming about, and any signs of animal life.

Start a Garden

Growing a garden is a great way to learn about how plants work, says Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon. There are countless gardening kits out there that allow kids to see roots as they grow, but it can be just as fun to make your own garden, indoor or outdoor. Along with kids, learn about what grows best in your climate, and then either get seeds or started sprouts and plant away!

Create Your Own Nature Guide

Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon has found that kids love talking the things they see. While watching a plant grow Glue a leaf into a binder and ID it. Keeping a journal is a great way to get kids interesteed and also allows them to revisit their explorations.

Do Some Crafting

The natural world is a great source of crafting material, like sticks, stones, and dried leaves, says Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon. Have your child collect materials and create a project from them, or if in an area where there is no collection policies, create a sculpture out of natural materials and take an artisitc photo.

Most importantly get outside. Any activity outdoors increases a bond between the child and the natural world.

Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon: Environmental Educator

Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon is an environmental educator, whose life mission is to “creatively unite people and the environment.” For many years, Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon has been living her dream by teaching both children and adults about nature and their place in it.

Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Individualized Studies, with her concentration being Environmental Education and Interpretation. This education has allowed Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon to come at her teaching with an informed methodology and deep understanding of the best ways in which to reach an audience.

Throughout her career, Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon has worked in a number of contexts to increase awareness about environmental issues and help people to understand their relationship with the natural world. Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon has led experiential educational opportunities for children in schools, summer camps, after school programs, and at nature centers. In addition to working with children, RAinbow Wulfeck PHaraon has consulted for government agencies and non-profits to coordinate various environmental initiatives and partnerships. Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon also has extensive experience writing and implementing environmental enrichment programs, as well as doing strategic planning and advisory for non-profits and community organizations.

For her work, Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon has received awards, including honors from the USDA Forest Service, Santa Barbara City College, EcoKids Nature Camp, and Midcity Neighbors Environmental Committee. She is frequently recognized by colleagues as a hard-working individual who is dedicated to the work that she does.

Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon is also the author of an environmental education text, entitled “Nature Time: Activities for Early Childhood, Classroom, and After School Nature Exploration.”Published by Neighborhood House of Milwaukee. The book details a number of the educational strategies that Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon employs in her teaching, and highlights some of the nature activities that are most loved by the children that she has taught throughout her successful career.

Being A Part of the Environment with Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon

Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon has said that her life’s mission is to “creatively unite people and the environment.” As an environmental educator, Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon frequently has the opportunity to help people see that they are, in fact, a part of nature, and not separate beings from the environment. Below, Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon highlights a few of the ways that she typically asks participants to experience the environment, in order to see their place within it.

Get Out Into Nature

For Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon, the biggest part of the equation is hands-on experience with nature. Participants in her programming, kids and adults alike, have the opportunity to explore nature with their senses. Often, in today’s world, adults especially tend to see the environment as a totally separate thing from themselves, and a commodity at best. Increasing familiarity with nature, says Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon, is a great way to remind adults that nature is still there, and it’s a complex system that every individual has a place in.

Understand Where You Fit in the Environment

Another aspect of nature that Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon enjoys discussing with participants is where you see your fit as part of the universe and the environment. As Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon likes to remind participants look deeper into their own beliefs to build a closer relationship to the natural world. This, says Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon, can often help provide perspective for how inseparable from our environment we truly are.

Think About Impact

Finally, Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon encourages participants to think about all of the ways that the environment affects them, as well as all of the ways in which they affect the environment. By thinking of your relationship with the environment as a true, two-way relationship, Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon says, it can be easier to understand why it’s so important to honor it and consider the environment when making decisions.