The Coyote Mentoring Weekend is a fantastic introduction to the basic principles of our nature-based educational approach. It is designed for educators, parents, and anyone interested in significantly expanding their teaching repertoire and mentoring skills. This course provides the foundational tools for crafting powerful experiences of learning and deep connections with the natural world for your students, family, employees, or even yourself. We invite you to join us as we re-discover the sense of wonder for nature's mysteries that all children share. What's Covered? Through a combination of lecture, storytelling, discussions, group activities, and peer teaching sessions... You will learn: The importance of heightened awareness in students, and how it relates to critical thinking and problem solving. How to use symbol and metaphor to create a powerful educational environment. The role of brain patterning, and the natural flow of the human learning process. How stories, song and other artistic expressions open a doorway to authentic student growth. Essential routines found throughout the world that ground students in their senses and expand awareness. Learning Outcomes As a result of taking this course, participants will: Experience for themselves how powerful the “cultural context” is in education. Take home powerful images and metaphors to cultivate a supportive learning environment in their classrooms. Acquire concepts to facilitate development of their students' full potentials. Learn how to use stories and storytelling as an educational tool. Understand the primary teaching styles of the Coyote Mentoring approach and how to appropriately utilize them when working with students. For Educators Many educators are overwhelmed with large class sizes and increasing lists of information that must be covered. Frustrations abound from not being able to devote the attention or energy for the holistic development of their students. This leaves students less open to receiving information, and much less engaged with the learning process. Coyote Mentoring is a distinctive and highly effective educational approach developed by Jon Young and Wilderness Awareness School over the past 25 years that uses children's innate enthusiasm for the natural world as a context to actively engage them in the learning process. This approach develops the capacities of students for learning, problem solving, and full expression, and re-awakens their natural sense of wonder. While the Coyote Mentoring approach is appropriate for all educators, it will be especially helpful for teachers and outdoor educators with a large amount of contact time with their students. Program Logistics Class will take place at our school's 40-acre property from 5pm Friday to 5pm Sunday. Food and camping is included in this overnight program. Participants are encouraged to camp on the land as there will be evening activities on Friday and Saturday.