catalyst cata·lyst (kat′ə list′)

I was listening to NPR again. Don't role your eyes like that.  Okay, so Heather McElhatton was interviewing lawyer cum author, Allison Carmen, about her new book, The Gift of Maybe . Turns o...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-tao-of-play.html

No, I'm not talking about bad guys in society. I'm talking about foxes, wolves, sharks-- the "bad guys" of the natural world. When we explore the animal kingdom, we inevitably bump into a who...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2015/03/predators-anti-bias-education.html

I recently attended a day long conference put on by the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota .  The group was hosting Andrea Sisbarro, Director of the Boulder Journey School out in Colorado . ...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2015/03/special-needs-or-special-rights.html

I had two very interesting conversations yesterday-- one with a grown-up, the other with a child. The first conversation was with my new friend, Katie. Katie is a very experienced kindergarten...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2015/03/honoring-our-differences-honoring-earth.html

Playing the buffoon too often is not the wisest choice for a teacher, especially if she hopes to be taken seriously when it counts. If you are always a child’s pal and never the “heavy,” y...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2015/03/hollow-laughter.html

I just heard a funny story from my teaching colleagues here at Dodge : A boy in the Spruce Room was cooking in the play kitchen. He appeared to be making soup for a nearby baby doll who was i...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2015/02/chicken-soup-for-soul.html

My own kids are obsessed with the soundtrack from the musical, Evita. We recently found a vintage vinyl recording of the Broadway show with Pattie Lapone and one song is stuck in my head. The p...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/11/where-am-i-going-to.html

scary monsters Well, here we are on the heels of Halloween, squaring our shoulders to November and anticipating the challenges of winter. I actually love this "shoulder" season of November, ...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-was-i-scared-of.html

It's harvest time here at Dodge .  Once again, we are enjoying the sweet and savory fruits of our labors.  Our young students are plucking the last fall golds from the raspberry canes, pickin...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/10/its-harvest-time-here-at-dodge.html

risky business at Dodge Have you heard of "adventure playgrounds?" There seems to be some chatter out there about a "new" trend in outdoor play spaces. People like risky play advocates, Rus...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/08/junkyard-playgrounds-risky-business.html

tadpole study in a vernal, er, flood pond Washouts, mudslides, sandbags, road closures, no wake warnings, crop loss, property loss, infrastructure damage and lost revenue...many communities ...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/07/lessons-from-flood-again-and-rivers.html

a day at Dodge between deluges Welcome summer, I think.   Things are positively biblical around here and my deck furniture at home is literally growing mushrooms.  The Nature Center , li...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/06/lessons-from-tick.html

Hey! Spring is here, finally, summer is on the way...and we have tons of learning opportunities coming up here at Dodge , so don't blink. There's a Summer Dance Series (on the prairie!) and a S...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/05/catalyst-summer-writing-workshops.html

Have you noticed that friendship is often forged in the fire of new experience?  When people, young and old, are thrown together in unfamiliar circumstances, they often bond, don't they?  Su...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/05/friendship-ultimate-in-experiential.html

What is camp? Camp can be a place where you temporarily live. Camp can also suggest a whole experience that encompasses activities, and maybe outcomes that we come to associate with immersion...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/05/camp-happy.html

So what is "experiential education?" The Association for Experiential Education offers this definition: "EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION IS A PHILOSOPHY THAT INFORMS MANY METHODOLOGIES IN WHICH E...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/04/experiential-education-flood.html

Teachers of all stripes have small goals and big goals.   Teachers strive to get through each day with a measure of success; usually there are a series of smaller tasks they need to move the...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/04/this-earth-day-consider-time-and-space.html

"I saw a Red-eared Owl today!" Not really, no.  But he did see something.  And that something was really cool.  And he wanted to tell his dad all about it as soon as he saw him.  At four ...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/04/i-saw-red-eared-owl-today.html

Spring conferences are over now, as is spring vacation, and it's time to get back to the blog.  So, I promised to write about how we intrepid Dodge teachers adapted our adult Up North Frozen ...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-ropes.html

IT TAKES A VILLAGE PART I: Whew!  It's that time of year again: conference time!  Things are getting busier as we approach the final stretch of our school year.  We are preparing to meet w...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/03/thanks-hillary.html

This week I am hosting a guest blogger:  my dad! My dad is probably the reason I work for Dodge Nature Center . No, he's not the boss!  But he is an outdoorsman, and his love of the nat...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/02/up-close-with-snowls-andmy-dad.html

So, we did indeed attend (and present at) our annual early childhood conference (MNAEYC/MNSACA) last Friday.  See previous post for details about our Dodge presentation; it was well received ...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/02/rectangles-are-long.html

Baby Rock I'm currently at work on a presentation for the annual MNAEYC (Minnesota Association for the Education of Young Children) State Conference.  I'm speaking with my colleague, Joey, ...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2014/01/nature-creativity-inquiry.html

feeding chickens at the Dodge Farm So,  I have the privilege of teaching a couple classes for homeschoolers once a week.  Cooperating homeschooling families meet at a church in the south m...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2013/12/nature-v-science-rivers-bridges-or.html

photo courtesy of the intrepid Holly Brand Beavers are pretty entertaining.  Ever watched a beaver go about his business?  No?  I recommend visiting Wild River State Park and hiking down...

http://dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com/2013/12/beavers-are-pretty-entertaining.html