Audubon Adventures

National Audubon Society has an excellent resource to help those of you teaching at the 3-5 grade level. Audubon Adventures Classroom Kits provide teachers a unique way to address core standards while connecting children with the outdoors. Kits provide four lessons on the environment and include a teacher guide, background facts on each topic, student handouts, hands-on activities for both the classroom and the outdoors, and student assessments. Audubon Adventures can be used as a source of non-fictional reading or as a full science lesson. Each lesson also defines the national language arts and science standards that will be met. New this year to Audubon Adventures is a digital classroom kit and topics about Birds, Bees as Pollinators and Neighborhood Biomes. In all, 38 topics are available to choose from. For more information on Audubon Adventures, visit http://education.audubon.org/audubon-adventures.

OAS is able to provide several schools Audubon Adventures for free. During the 2012/2013 school year, OAS distributed classroom kits to schools in Tully, Marcellus, Syracuse, Watertown, Alexandria Bay and Carthage. One educator reported, “The kids loved them and the information fit right into our lessons.” If you are interested in an Audubon Adventures Classroom Kit for the 2014/2015 school year, send an email to jkfarrell1@windstream.net. Include your name, school, and contact information.

One recipient of an Audubon Adventures Kit was the New School in Syracuse. Emmy Newman, a 7th grade student of the New School, had contacted OAS expressing an interest in birds. She was required, through both the New School and Hebrew School, to get involved with a passion of hers that would give back to the community and build confidence.

Emmy Newman

Emmy Newman

Emmy used the Audubon Adventures kit to teach her class about the environment. She also raised over $500 to support OAS, built a kestrel box for Green Lakes State Park, went on her first three birding trips and participated in the Christmas Bird Count. Emmy has started a passion that will last a lifetime and OAS was thrilled to be involved. OAS is grateful for the money raised, and will use the funds to continue helping others build a passion for birds.