Mind-Full Background
How Did We Get Here?
Greetings from Tiffany, and a bit of Mind-Full background…
Mind-Full Education has been a part my approach to working with children and families for many years. I came to education not through a family history of teaching and school success, but from a place of burning curiosity and confusion tinged with frustration. My natural curiosity resulted in lots of questions, many of which were not well received by my teachers. Those that welcomed my inquisitive nature are bright spots along my educational path.
Wanting all children to find support as they pursue answers, I chose to step into the classroom as a teacher. My instructional experiences are wide-ranging, including K-9, 6th, 7th, K & 6th, 4th/5th, and K-5 multi-age, with homeroom, all-subject, Social Studies, PE, ELA support and extension, PBIS instruction and monitoring, guest principal. All of these are a fantastic background for the K-8 structure of Mind-Full Meadows STEAM-Powered Learning Farm. The focus of my chosen educational path is also well-suited for such a small, robust FARM STEAM program.
- BS in Elementary Education, WOU, Integrated Sciences, Geography, and Music
- MEd., Lesley University, Integrated Teaching Through the Arts
- Current Oregon Legacy Teaching License
- Educational Leadership and Administration, U of O
- Current Oregon Principal License
Thoughtful questions from parents and adventurous interactions with children at my first Mind-Full Meadows summer camps over the summer of 2020 shifted my plans from simply leading camps to altering my career path. Mind-Full Meadows became the home to a developing STEAM-Powered Learning Farm!
Circumstances in our world and our state are such that all of us have taken the time to think very creatively about how we will best meet the educational and social-emotional needs of the children in our lives. The benefits of of an education founded in developing a robust relationship with the natural environment are many, and the integration of FARM* concepts with a rigorous STEAM framework results in highly engaged learning.
Program Description
The Site
Mind-Full Meadows is a beautifully diverse 2.8 acre site, rich with opportunities for immersive, hands-on exploration of native plants and animals. Only five minutes from 18th and Chambers, the calm of the countryside surrounds you as you step from your car.
It has been populated with a variety of kid-friendly small farm animals, including both the smallest and largest breeds of chickens, with many fluffy friends in between.
The property and its inhabitants lend themselves to experiences both whimsical and real-world, magical and scientific thinking often running side by side. The property includes both Douglas Fir and Oregon White Oak forest, as well as a seasonal creek and open meadow. There are four bridges across the creek, an adventure trail, and a clubhouse in the woods. We have a greenhouse on site, as well as both raised bed and meadow gardens. Student interests are supported as they integrate what is outside with the high-caliber instructional materials and technology applications housed within the main building.
The Approach
The learning of skills and their practical application take place in many settings. Students are grouped in a variety of ways throughout the week to support ongoing growth and collaborative problem-solving.
These are examples of some of the curricula we’re exploring during the 20/21 academic year. Aspects will change as learning opportunities arise.
- Outdoor Math and Science, including Wild Math and the National Curriculum Outdoors
- Students explore math in the natural world and learn practical outdoor skills.
- Tinker
- Hands-On Physics, including the use of winches, levers, wedges, screws, and ramps
- Students learn by doing, and see simple machines in use on a daily basis.
- Native Edible and Medicinal Plants, including Herb Fairies and the Wildcraft game
- Students develop an understanding of the uses of 15 or more native plants.
- Self-Regulation, Self-Advocacy, and Public Speaking, including The Zones of Regulation
- Students are given opportunities to gain insight into their strengths and challenges.
We polish our learning lens with AEIOU actions:
- Asking questions
- Engaging fully in the learning process
- Integrating new information
- Opening our mind to diverse views
- Utilizing what we learn
Students at Mind-Full Meadows Access:
- 3D Design and Construction, including 3D pens and both filament and resin printers
- Students can learn to design, print, test, and market their ideas.
- Modular Robotics and Coding, including Cubelets robotics and an Artie robot
- Students can learn to build, test, and program functional robots.
- Augmented and Virtual Reality learning, including Merge cubes and Virtuali-Tee
- Students can interact virtually with CCSS-aligned content in ELA, sciences, music & math, including AR anatomy and biology.
- High-Caliber, CCSS-Aligned Content designed to meet student need, including:
- Math-U-See, Tinker Math, eSpark Math & Reading, Generation Genius, Explode the Code
- Engineering Challenges, including marble courses, domino races, Lego design, raft races, and solar cars
- Students can design, test, and improve upon times in side-by-side trials.
FARM STEAM
After teaching K-9 public school for almost three decades, with the last ten years immersed in a multi-age, project-based, child-focused K-5 school, I left my public school position over the summer of 2020, and began the process of designing my own instructional program for the 20/21 academic year. I chose to integrate my interest and experiences in STEAM education with the natural and FARM resources available at Mind-Full Meadows (MFM).
When I first arrived on the property, I knew the location and site layout of MFM was ideal for children, so my approach to developing the site is through the eyes of a child. I chose to create my FARM concept to capture these actions we all focus on in some way:
FARM
- Farming Practices - Children help select crops, start veggies in our greenhouse, then plant and harvest in our organic gardens.
- Animal Care - Children help care for developing chicks, chickens, rabbits, Muscovies, ducks, goats, & a Great Pyrenees.
- Responsible Choices - Children are taught expectations, from teachers and elder peers, are guided as they grow, are trusted, and are given broader choices when responsible behavior is demonstrated.
- Making Things - Children learn to think creatively and use available resources.
STEAM
- Science is all around, and includes application of scientific principles, experiment design, data collection and analysis, and presentation of results.
- Technology takes many forms, from solar panels to augmented reality and 3D printers. Students use technology in creative and collaborative ways to make things, capture learning, and research topics of interest.
- Engineering concepts are applied as we move bridges across the creek and in Lego landers. From lashing rafts to constructing parachute forts, we design and make things!
- Art is a part of life. Lyrics are poetry, painting captures mood, and beats get you moving. Students explore and create art in many forms, from stop-motion animation to yeast bread cooking and shared music.
- Mathematics weaves through all we do. From the schedules guiding our days to pulley ratios and recipes. We notice math both inside and outdoors, connecting nature to technology in practical ways.