How has Coyote's Guide helped you?

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Permalink Reply by River on March 24, 2009 at 5:31pm

I personally like it all. What has worked well for me is nature-related songs, and the art of questioning. Structured games tend to go awry with my group very quickly, though they have worked and been great fun with other groups. Shelter building and exploring/wandering as valid things to do have been great reinforcements. I love the idea of the directions and the characteristics but it is difficult to remember and difficult for me to explain to other staff who are less than interested. I just try to be balanced and think of the flow of the day. and a balance of the kinds of energy I bring to the group.

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Permalink Reply by Bruce Carron on April 7, 2009 at 10:54pm

YES. And thank you to Ellen, Jon, Evan and the WAS and Owlink staff that helped bring this book into being. There's nothing that i don't like. Usually, I look up something to refresh my memory or find inspiration. I was thinking about profiling tonight and looking for some more info. I know there is the profile of the learning journey and indicators of awareness. I was looking for more insights and ideas in how to profile and what to look/listen for? Since coyote mentoring is about knowing the student, what are some techniques? I know that telling stories is a good technique especially if one uses the 8 shields in the story and paying attention to what aspects engage the student. Any ideas, Nate, Ellen, others?
thanks,
bruce

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Permalink Reply by Ellen Haas on April 8, 2009 at 2:58pm

Hey Bruce. Thanks for kind words. We have a profile of the learning journey in the Natural Cycle chapter (the second one, p 177ff) with the interesting set of words - Ready (E) Set (SE) Kearning (S) Resting (SW) Arrived (W) then a whole different set: Historian (NW) Teacher (N) and Cultural Creative (NE). I remember writing this part -- we really didn't have labels from the oral tradition, so made these up from the narratives we did have for the book. What we repeatedly bumped ito as we wrote was that most youth programs take folks from East to West, but don't really go much into the northern hemisphere. You need a longer time of mentoring, and more inwardness to get to those depths. Or as suggested by the northern hemisphere labels, Historians, Teachers and Cultural Creatives are themselves teachers. .. Makes our Profile challenging to work with doesn't it? Personally, I love the last chapter 11 indicators of Awareness and think they work great to profile the learning journey.

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Permalink Reply by Kate White on April 13, 2009 at 2:10am

I refer to it for lesson plans. It is a great resource.

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Permalink Reply by Ellen Haas on April 13, 2009 at 4:48am

Hi Kate -- Let's see, two ours ago would be 3:30 am my time. You're an early bird.. Hope those trees in the background of your picture are east coast trees.. Thanks for writing in. What lessons do you plan?

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Permalink Reply by Liz Crain on July 17, 2009 at 5:10am

Having the following reinforced felt very good:
Don't make ridged schedules in education because you'll NEVER fully stick to the lesson plan!
Get your students outside! The mind is set free in ways only attainable in an outdoor setting.
Repetition is good, and mother nature thrives on patterning. Everyone is a creature of habit.

It's so true! Realizing that I did not have to be at center stage with my students was such a relief. Don't get me wrong, the "teacher" still guides and inspires, (like coyote) but allowing the students spontaneous reaction to the natural world around them is priceless. I can also be learning too!

Coyote's Guide allowed me to return to my own childhood memories around learning. The freedom to explore a mud puddle, getting my feet wet, touching something slimy and then finding out it's a salamander. Watching smaller animals like ants or snails, these experiences were inspiring. I think of those learning experiences much more often than any time in the class room. Granted, there are some "facts and figures" that were better taught inside, (I guess) my retention of outdoor experiences demonstrates that Coyote's Guide is helping education onto a better path.

I can now confidently smile when a parents asks me about the class spending "too much time outside" and say, "Oh, they are still learning!" I think it would do parents a world of good to be transported back to childhood with their children by letting the parent become the student to their own child. "Come here Mom, I want to show you this puddle and the amazing things I've fond in it!"

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Permalink Reply by Julia on August 23, 2009 at 6:03pm

I just finished a dream summer job - nature camp counselor with kids entering kindergarten through third grade. There was no "curriculum" other than "swamp day" and a cookout one day a week. Coyote's Guide mentored me through the whole process of designing a flexible weekly schedule for the kids. The most successful and immediately useful elements for me were storytelling to introduce activities, different layers of questions, role-modeling curiosity and (this was huge) balancing high energy activities with quiet time/free exploration/nature crafts. I used so many of the activities in Coyote's Guide that it truly proved indispensable (I even rattled several of the ideas from it off in my interview for the job, which I'm sure helped!). Now as I enter the classroom for student teaching, I hope to carry these lessons with me.

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Permalink Reply by Kate Guenther on October 26, 2009 at 2:05pm

I just finished leading my adult first weekend retreat using the Natural Cycle. I feel fortunate to complete all the directions. Started on Saturday, through overnight and, as the retreat was for a church, it culminated in a Sunday morning Church Service. What I really noticed was that the first 1/2 of the retreat was very activity oriented (with lots of activities straight from Coyote's Guide) then by supper we hit the SW and took a break. From there on the retreat shifted into more of a facilitative processing mode for me, less activities and more being present and facilitating, and people really did start to internalize and make sense of what we gave them earlier. They processed both both around the campfire and the next morning morning hike before the formal ceremonial "church service" to which everyone arrived in a pretty nature-spirit place, using their senses and being in the present moment. I tried to weave in Joanna Macy's Council of All Beings for the church service, which I think I could improve with a better set-up.

Folks got a lot out of the activities (especially the predator-prey intuition game) and sit spot. But for me, the thing I really wanted to test out was the Natural Cycle process. I was very pleased. I am going to try to use the Natural Cycle with some hour long classes I am going to offer-- we'll see how that works. I also have another daylong retreat for psychiatric hospital staff later this week, based on Coyote's Guide.

Than you so much for an inspiring, helpful, concrete book. It is the process piece (Natural Cycle) that makes the biggest difference for me, so far.

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