CAYC-MB MTS PD Day - Fostering Inquiry, Play & Well-Being with Nature

Register here: https://memberlink.mbteach.org/Event.axd?e=2777

Keynote Address by Tasha Spillet: Land as a Relative and Classroom

Land as Relative and Classroom

As an Indigenous land-based educator, Dr. Tasha Spillett emphasizes the importance of viewing the land as both a relative and a classroom. Drawing from her doctoral work on gender within Indigenous land-based education, she will highlight the deep connection between land, culture, and identity. Spillett advocates for revitalizing Indigenous knowledge through land-based education, fostering reciprocity, respect, and stewardship. Spillett underscores the value of holistic, experiential learning that honors Indigenous knowledge systems, especially in urban areas where connections to land may be more challenging. Land-based education helps students build meaningful relationships with the land, fostering a sense of belonging and responsibility to future generations. Through her work, Spillett promotes this approach as a pathway to decolonization and Indigenous resurgence, empowering young people to reclaim and revitalize their cultural heritage.

Presenter: Tasha Spillett, PhD (she/her/hers) - a New York Times bestselling author who draws her strength from her Indigenous (Cree) and Trinidadian bloodlines. She is also a celebrated educator, scholar and public speaker. Tasha is most heart-tied to contributing to community-led work that centers the liberation of Indigenous women and women of color and creating a world that affirms the joy and well-being of children.

AM1 - Risky Play

"Risky play” involves activities that offer challenges and a degree of risk. Supported by research in medicine, health, psychiatry, and education, risky play enhances self-regulation and overall growth. This workshop explores various forms of risky play and will encourage teachers to consider ways to manage these in a good way, while acknowledging the barriers that make this so hard to do at school. Discussion will cover setting boundaries that promote benefits, considerations of equity and accessibility, and fostering sage yet adventurous play through language and clear expectations. By integrating risky play into the curriculum educators can enrich learning experiences and nurture holistic development. This session will occur outdoors in order to engage in real-world scenarios where risky play occurs. Teachers will have opportunities to spot the risk, access the risk and consider the benefits. Participants are encouraged to dress appropriately for the weather and to bring whatever tools will support comfort while in the outdoors (or indoors).

Presenter: Hannelore Wurmann - Grade 4/5 German Bilingual teacher and Outdoor Leaning Support teacher, Donwood School, River East Transcona School Division

AM2 - Vermicomposting: Enriching Soil and Enacting Multiliteracies

Vermicomposting involves composting food scraps from the classroom in plastic bins indoors, using worms. It gives children year-round opportunities to help the environment while learning and interacting with worms. In this workshop, we will see an example of a school vermicomposting program at work in a large elementary school in Manitoba, keeping more than 60 kilograms of waste per year out of the city’s landfills. Participants will take away tips, guidance and ready-made resources on how to set up a vermicomposting system on any scale that suits them. Attendees will be able to engage with active bins by digging around, picking up worms, and inspecting the bins at work. Besides the practical aspects of vermicomposting, curricular connections will be made, and pedagogical implications will be shared focusing on interdisciplinary literacies and multimodal meaning making practices as well as student agency and empowerment. This is a practical workshop connected with curriculum and sustainability and will allow educators to see what is at work, as well as ask questions and discuss possibilities.

Presenters: John O’ Neil - Grade 5 Teacher, École South Pointe School, Pembina Trails School Division, Dr. Xiaoxiao Du - Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba and Tessa Sharpe - Grade 7 French Immersion Teacher, École South Pointe School, Pembina Trails School Division

AM3 - Miigwetch to Treaty 1 Land (2 spots remaining)

Join us for our a lively and interactive session outdoors to connect with the land as we would with young children! We will weave together Indigenous teachings, mentor texts, puppets, singing and movement as we show our respect to the land, trees, water, humans and "more than humans" who call Treaty 1 Land home.

Presenters: Lindsay Weppler - Kindergarten Teacher, St. John Brebeuf School and Catherine Paul-Sawatzky - Early Years Learning Support Teacher, James Nisbet School, Seven Oaks School Division

AM4 - Deep Listening through Dadirri: Fostering Wellness and a Sustainability Ethic

Western society often lives disconnected from more-than-human worlds, causing environmental problems worldwide and increased mental health issues. This workshop will explore the foundations of the Australian First Nations practice of Dadirri, which involves deep listening and sensory attunement to the rhythms of more-than-human worlds. Through practical and hands-on engagement with Dadirri, participants will have the opportunity to foster wellness through relational attachments to something bigger than our human selves (e.g., we are not alone) and a more robust sustainability ethic (e.g., fighting for what it is we have come to love).

Presenter: Kathryn Riley (she/her) - Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba

AM5 - A Flight into the Fascinating World of Bees: What Do Bees Have to Do with What I Eat?

In this presentation we will learn about why bees are important in the world, pollination, the connection between bees and food, how we get honey, the life cycle of bees and much more. There will be lots of time for questions and to explore the beekeeping artefacts, including beekeeping work-clothes, tools, parts of the hive, photographs, books, and materials you can take back to your school. There will also be time, of course, to taste various kinds of honey!

Presenter: Margaret Smith – beekeeper and former early years teacher

AM6 - Farm to Table: Bringing the Farm into the Classroom

In this workshop, you will engage in a hands-on cooking experience using fresh local food. Learn how to take wholesome, healthy ingredients and make them taste delicious. These simple recipes can be used with your students to teach basic cooking skills and to encourage more cooking at home. You will plant and take home your own pot for your classroom and watch it grow. We will also sample a variety of local veggies and describe the different flavors, textures and colors. All activities can be replicated in your classroom to encourage children to explore new foods in a fun, no-pressure setting. Join us to learn how to create meaningful, farm-to-table experiences that enhance children's connection to their food and environment.

Presenter: Janine LaForte - Registered Dietician, Real Life Nutrition. Janine is a dietician with over 23 years of experience and a mother of three with a passion for home cooking. She has been recognized as a nutrition expert advisor by prominent media outlets such as CBC, CTV, City News, Winnipeg Free Press, CJOB and the Great Tastes of Manitoba.

AM7 - Living and Learning Through The Circle of Courage

Join us as we delve into sharing our journey of how we brought our school’s belief statement to life, using the Circle of Courage as our guide. Discover how each quadrant—belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity—shapes our work as activists within our school, community, and world. This belief statement is at the core of our work, as it focuses on each learner's gifts, fostering their growth and potential. By embracing these beliefs, we aim to cultivate conditions in which these principles are embedded and woven in our daily learning experiences.

Presenters: Krista Ballantyne - Grade 1/2 teacher, Amber Trails School, Seven Oaks School Division and Nicole Reay - Grade 4/5 teacher, Amber Trails School, Seven Oaks School Division

AD1 - Art is Medicine: A Land-Based Arts Workshop

This workshop will offer the opportunity to slow down and find stillness, play, and peace, as we explore our creative side while connecting to the land. We will start with a smudge and then reflect on how the arts have the power to heal, to find insight, to reflect deeply and to learn. Kisa will share some teachings related to creativity and wellness, including the benefits of regular arts practice and using the Medicine Wheel as a tool for our reflection. Participants will be guided through a process of making relationship with the land, and then creating a unique work of wild nature art to take home. We will use acrylic paints, along with found natural materials to make prints, stencils, patterns and markings on canvas.

Presenter: Kisa MacIsaac (she/her) is Métis with family from Manitow Sakihikan (Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta) and also has Scottish/European roots. She is a mother of three children, an artist, workshop facilitator, a proud Early Childhood Educator and Instructor at Red River College Polytech, residing on Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Instagram: @kisa.artist

PM1 - Natural Inspiration: Using Natural Materials to Create Global Thinkers (4 spots remaining)

This workshop is an opportunity for participants to think creatively about lesson planning with natural resources. Using the 6 Global Competencies as an anchor point, we will explore different ways that natural materials can be used to foster deeper thinking and social awareness within our classrooms. Participants can expect opportunities to collaborate with their peers, and to engage in activities with natural materials that can be used in your classrooms. This session aims to consider how we can foster well-rounded, involved, and resourceful people – not just students. I welcome you to an afternoon of exploration, innovation, and collaboration!

Presenter: Sydni Masiowski – Grade 3 teacher, Princess Margaret School, River East Transcona School Division

PM2 - Planning for a Year of Learning at the Leaf

Join us while we share our plans for our residency at the Goodman School at Assiniboine Park’s “Learning at the Leaf”. We will share our big ideas for learning and how we plan to use the experiences of our seven visits to The Leaf to extend the learning in our school and community. Local artists and other experts will be part of our project. We will have specific program information, great books to browse, and plans for our indoor garden at school and much more. Whether you are new to gardening with students or experienced, this session will inspire you to cultivate a deeper appreciation for connecting students with nature.

Presenters: Monika Mueller - Grade 3/4 Teacher, Princess Margaret School, River East Transcona School Division and Laurie Cessford - Teacher-Librarian, Princess Margaret School, River East Transcona School Division

PM3 - What is a Land Acknowledgement?

What is involved in writing a land acknowledgement from a child’s point of view?
How can we co-create land acknowledgements with the children in our classrooms that are meaningful, purposeful and built on relationships? Please join us as share our learning—and invite conversations—about land acknowledgements through a playful and child-centered lens.

Presenters: Kim Crass - Learning Support Teacher, O.V. Jewitt School, Seven Oaks School Division and Naomi Dennie – Grade 1/2 Teacher, O.V. Jewitt School, Seven Oaks School Division

FULL - PM4 - The Power of TWO: Two Weeks as a Starting Point for Outdoor Learning

In this workshop we will share our beginnings in outdoor learning, leaving our classroom walls behind for 2 weeks, and where this has led us today after about 10 years of nature focused learning in our classrooms. Participants will learn some 'core routines' that we have used over the years that help to bring some stability to our outdoor learning times. You will leave the session ready to take your classes outside with a range of games, activities and project ideas that we will play and explore together. Be prepared to head outside to try out some activities!

Presenter: Sara Murray – French Immersion kindergarten teacher, École Riviere Rouge, Seven Oaks School Division and Alice Sherwin – Grade 1/2 teacher, James Nisbet Community School, Seven Oaks School Division

PM5 - A Flight into the Fascinating World of Bees: What Do Bees Have to Do with What I Eat?

In this presentation we will learn about why bees are important in the world, pollination, the connection between bees and food, how we get honey, the life cycle of bees and much more. There will be lots of time for questions and to explore the beekeeping artefacts, including beekeeping work-clothes, tools, parts of the hive, photographs, books, and materials you can take back to your school. There will also be time, of course, to taste various kinds of honey!

Presenter: Margaret Smith – Beekeeper and former early years teacher

PM6 - Farm to Table: Bringing the Farm into the Classroom

In this workshop, you will engage in a hands-on cooking experience using fresh local food. Learn how to take wholesome, healthy ingredients and make them taste delicious. These simple recipes can be used with your students to teach basic cooking skills and to encourage more cooking at home. You will plant and take home your own pot for your classroom and watch it grow. We will also sample a variety of local veggies and describe the different flavors, textures and colors. All activities can be replicated in your classroom to encourage children to explore new foods in a fun, no-pressure setting. Join us to learn how to create meaningful, farm-to-table experiences that enhance children's connection to their food and environment.

Presenter: Janine LaForte - Registered Dietician, Real Life Nutrition. Janine is a dietician with over 23 years of experience and a mother of three with a passion for home cooking. She has been recognized as a nutrition expert advisor by prominent media outlets such as CBC, CTV, City News, Winnipeg Free Press, CJOB and the Great Tastes of Manitoba.

PM7 - Imagining What is Possible: A Land Experience

Spend the afternoon in relationship with the land at the Seven Oak School Division's Ozhaawashkwaa Animikii-Bineshi Aki Onji Kinimaagae’ Inun – Blue Thunderbird Land-Based Teachings Learning Centre. These are restored grounds for land-based and experiential learning that are rooted on 35-acres of Indigenous grassland restoration, a naturalized wetland, a protected remnant grassland, and include walking trails, Wawiyia'kiti'gahn (Circle Garden), Indigenous Storytelling & Interpretive signage, fireside gathering areas, tipi and sweat lodge, Indigenous plant gardens, and more. We will come to know this natural place together and share stories of renewal and stewardship that have invited teachers and children into relationship with the land. These stories might help you to imagine what could be possible in your own places! Together we will reflect and envision what commitment you can make to nurture your own relationship to the land. Guided by the belief that land is always our teacher in any place, we will think together about how you may foster stewardship, connection and curiosity with your own students. We will consider how we may move from inspiration to action, from ideas to lived experience.

Presenter: Alexis Nazeravich (she/her) – Aki Centre Site and Program Coordinator

Alexis grew up in Winnipeg and is a settler whose roots are in Ukrainian. On her journey to find her purpose and gifts, she discovered her passion to understand and address challenges facing her community, and was fueled by the belief that we can live in relationship with the Earth and each other in healthier and gentler ways. She received a degree in International Development Studies with a focus on sustainable agriculture from University of Winnipeg. Over the past 20 years, Alexis found balance to her academic learning by becoming a land steward, seeking knowledge and developing skills as an organic vegetable and herb grower, Indigenous Plant grower, and through grassland and ecological restoration projects. She experienced how restoration of the Earth and the human spirit happen together. She has supported the Aki centre and care of the 50 acres since 2017, its beginning. She is guided by learning through a relationship with the land with reverence to Indigenous worldviews and ways of knowing.