Over the past decade, ELF has enriched the lives of nearly 9,000 elementary students in northern Michigan. Developed at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, ELF is a school-based science and nature program presented to K-6th graders by adult volunteers. ELF enhances in children a natural curiosity and love of nature, and helps them learn to lead environmentally aware and responsible lives.
ELF volunteers (moms, dads, grandparents, uncles, aunts, senior citizens and others) are trained by SEE-North staff to present science and nature lessons to students. Eight times during the school year, ELF volunteers gather for a training session, where they learn about the topic to be presented that month and enjoy each other's company. Teams of volunteers then work in classrooms to teach the lesson to students.
If you're interested in joining this enthused group of adults who are making a real difference in the lives of kids, contact Marty Samson at SEE-North (231-348-9700) or send email to marty@seenorth.org.
This year, ELF is up and running in these elementary schools:
Harbor Springs |
Petoskey |
| Blackbird Elementary | Central Elementary |
| Shay Elementary | Concord Academy - Petoskey |
| Lincoln Elementary | |
| Ottawa Elementary | |
| St. Francis Elementary | |
| Sheridan Elementary |
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The schedule of ELF trainings for the 2006-07 school year will be posted as summer draws to a close and ELF begins again. For more information about training sessions or borrowing the training videotapes for ELF volunteers, contact Marty Samson at 348-9700 x 105.
School |
Training Dates |
Location |
| Central, Petoskey | ||
| Blackbird, Harbor Springs | ||
| Shay, Harbor Springs | ||
| St. Francis, Petoskey | ||
| Lincoln, Petoskey | ||
| Sheridan, Petoskey |
• What is the ELF curriculum?
ELF lessons come from a book called, "Hands-On Nature." Lessons form a year-long series of activities linked to an annual theme (Habitats, Adaptations, Cycles, Designs in Nature). Rather than supplanting a school's curriculum, ELF compliments and enhances the existing one. SEE-North has correlated each ELF lesson with the Michigan Curriculum Framework, upon which the MEAP Science Test is based.
• What experience is required of ELF volunteers?
None! All information is provided in monthly training sessions, when ELF volunteers learn about the lesson's content and then work through the lesson under the guidance of SEE-North's staff, who model good teaching techniques that volunteers can use in classrooms. The only requirement for ELF volunteers is an interest in helping children.
• How much time is required of ELF volunteers?
Volunteers put in about 6-8 hours per month: Training sessions last for 1.5-2 hours. About 30 minutes are spent organizing with other volunteers. About 1-3 hours are spent preparing materials (just one set of materials per school is needed, so this task can bedivided amongst all the volunteers in the school). Each unit takes 1-1.5 hours to teach. We strongly recommend that volunteers work in pairs and teach the ELF lesson in at least two classrooms.
Each school also needs an ELF Volunteer Coordinator. This person works with SEE-North's staff to schedule the training and teaching schedules in the school, and communicates those schedules to ELF volunteers and classroom teachers. These duties require about 4 hours' effort in each month of the school year. ELF Volunteer Coordinators are dependable people — the glue that holds ELF together in local schools!
• How many volunteers are necessary?
If volunteers work in pairs and teach the lesson in two classrooms, schools will need at least one volunteer for every classroom that participates in ELF. If six classrooms are interested in ELF, then six volunteers are needed. They will work as three pairs, each pair teaching the monthly lessons in two classrooms. As few as two volunteers can participate for a school.
• What is the classroom teacher's role?
Volunteers are prepared to handle instruction on their own, but teachers remain in the classroom, are encouraged to participate in the lesson, and are asked to help with classroom management, especially early on. We encourage the teacher and volunteers to discuss the teacher's level of involvement ahead of time, so that everyone has realistic expectations and everyone's responsibilities are clear. To date, classroom teachers have been overwhelmingly positive about ELF and have been eager to help the volunteers in whatever way possible.
• How can I inform people in my school and community about ELF?
SEE-North can lend you a short videotape, prepared by the Vermont Institute for Natural Science. It conveys important information about ELF and also depicts the "magic" of having adults learning together during training sessions and then guiding students in learning aboaut the natural world. SEE-North has led ELF for a decade, and we are available to answer your questions or help you solve problems. We have launched ELF in many schools and we're eager to share what we've learned about the process.
For further information about ELF, please contact Marty Samson (231-348-9700 Ext. 105 or marty@seenorth.org).