Teaching Guides
Twenty five guides for the adults. Starting a garden with no budget, teaching through the rainy season, running mixed ages, keeping it alive over the holidays, and the things that actually go wrong.
25 resources in this collection
Written by Eric Gonzalez-Payne, founder of Empathy School Bali.
25 resources
For adultsHow to Start a School Garden With No Budget
Teaching practice
What to do in the first month when you have been given permission, a patch of ground and no money.
For adultsOutdoor Learning Through the Rainy Season
Teaching practice
How to keep teaching outside when it rains every afternoon for four months.
For adultsTeaching Three Age Groups at Once
Teaching practice
The one principle that makes mixed age teaching possible rather than exhausting.
For adultsWhat to Plant When in the Tropics
Teaching practice
A planting rhythm for a climate with two seasons instead of four.
For adultsWhen a Child Will Not Touch Soil
Teaching practice
Why it happens, why forcing it fails, and what actually works.
For adultsA Nature Corner With No Outdoor Space
Teaching practice
What to build when the centre has a corridor, a windowsill and nothing else.
For adultsRunning a Classroom Rice Tray
Teaching practice
The single best indoor growing project in this region, and how to keep it alive.
For adultsRaising Butterflies in a Classroom
Teaching practice
Egg to wings, on a table, in about a month.
For adultsComposting in a Tropical Climate
Teaching practice
It works faster here than anywhere, and it goes wrong faster too.
For adultsWhen the Plant Dies
Teaching practice
It will. What you do next decides whether the class learns anything.
For adultsTools and Materials That Survive the Tropics
Teaching practice
What to buy, what not to bother with, and what rots in six weeks.
For adultsKeeping Children Safe Outdoors in the Tropics
Teaching practice
The real risks, which are not the ones people worry about.
For adultsGetting Parents On Board With Outdoor Learning
Teaching practice
The objections you will actually get, and what answers them.
For adultsMaking a School Garden Survive the Holidays
Teaching practice
Almost every school garden dies in a break. Here is how to stop it.
For adultsPersuading a Principal to Allow Outdoor Learning
Teaching practice
What actually moves the decision, from someone who has sat on both sides of it.
For adultsRecording and Assessing Outdoor Learning
Teaching practice
How to evidence it without turning it into a test.
For adultsHow to Ask a Child a Good Question Outdoors
Teaching practice
The difference between a session that produces thinking and one that produces answers.
For adultsOne Adult, Twenty Five Children, Outdoors
Teaching practice
How to run it without losing anyone or losing the session.
For adultsGrowing Food Fast Enough to Keep Children Interested
Teaching practice
Children lose interest at about six weeks. Plan around that.
For adultsSeed Saving in a Humid Climate
Teaching practice
Most seed saving advice is written for dry countries. Here is the tropical version.
For adultsA Mud Kitchen That Does Not Become Chaos
Teaching practice
The three decisions that make the difference between a rich activity and a mess with a hose.
For adultsAnts, Mosquitoes and Everything Else
Teaching practice
Living with the insects rather than fighting them, and what actually reduces bites.
For adultsYour First Ten Minutes Outdoors
Teaching practice
The routine that makes everything after it possible.
For adultsTwelve Plants to Start a Preschool Garden
Teaching practice
If you can only plant twelve things, plant these.
For adultsWhen a Child Is Frightened of an Insect
Teaching practice
A common situation, handled badly more often than not.