Resource Set: Engaging Imagination & Evoking Wonder

Evoking Wonder and Developing a Sense of Place 
The English version of Gillians much loved book.

A Walking Curriculum provides easy-to-use, child-centred and developmentally appropriate activities that make outdoor learning – regardless of whether you’re surrounded by trees or concrete – memorable, meaningful and fun. Printed with ink that is chlorine-free and the acid-free interior paper is Forest Stewardship Council certified.

"Fabulous resource to get your kids outside for more than just “a walk” but a walk with purpose and relevance! Great read for educators wanting to embrace outdoor education." - School District 47 Principal

Accompanying (Free) Resource: Walking Forward: Indigenous Perspectives in Learning from Place

Accompanying Resource: Playing in the Muck and Other Art Activities: Imaginative Art Activities for The Walking Curriculum

The Inside Scoop: Gillian has been such a fantastic & enthusiastic person to work with! She conveys her ideas succinctly with clarity, and we were thrilled to be able to work with her on piloting our first ‘Earthy Chat’s podcast! (see below)

• English
• French
• Spanish

This brand-new resource book includes 33 walking themes paired with cognitive tools to engage emotion and imagination in learning.

This innovative, interdisciplinary resource designed specifically for Early Years Educators outlines an imaginative and ecological approach to taking student learning outside school walls.

This book received the 2024 Writer’s Award from the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario!

Specifically, it shapes A Walking Curriculum (Judson, 2018) for primary-aged learners. Educators in urban, suburban, and even rural areas often have few imagination-focused curricular resources that can develop students’ sense of ecological understanding, through play, wonder, and walking - this resource can help fill that gap.

Each walk describes how to introduce, follow up, and play with each walk. The walks can be used in any context to develop students’ sense of Place and to enrich their understanding of curricular topics. Engaging students’ imaginations within these settings through the use of cognitive tools will broaden their awareness of the unique characteristics of Place and evoke their sense of wonder and learning.

The walks and imagination-focused learning activities that go with them provide opportunities for educators to further develop students’ sense-making abilities, allowing for the learning experiences to be meaningful and authentic. As co-learners, educators and students will bring learning to life through taking action, building community, and sparking imagination and fun.

99 pages. Printed on 100% recycled paper at a local print company. Read more about our ethical policies and practices.

This practical guide for all educators (K-12) encourages young people to connect with the natural world and create a more sustainable, ecologically secure planet. It is designed for use with any curriculum to give students opportunities to engage their bodies, emotions, and imaginations in the world around them. Cultivating ecological understanding requires reimagining the human world as part of, not apart from, nature.

Drawing on an approach to teaching called Imaginative Ecological Education (IEE),Engaging Imagination in Ecological Education includes tried-and-tested activities for students, step-by-step examples for shaping curricula by using tools of the imagination to cultivate ecological understanding, and strategies for implementing Imaginative Ecological Education in any school setting—urban, suburban, or rural.

Author Gillian Judson, PhD, is Executive Director of the Centre For Imagination in Research, Culture and Education (www.circesfu.ca) at Simon Fraser University. Her research and teaching are primarily concerned with the role of imagination in all learning, with a particular focus on imaginative, Place-based teaching practices.

"Every teacher needs to own this book! Dr. Gillian Judson shows how to keep students engaged and connected in Ecological Education by using their imagination.  There are activities you can follow and adapt for any K-12 student.  After you have read the book you will have all the tools to create your own program and the reasons why it is important to do so.  This book is full of insightful information that all twenty-first century teachers need." - Teacher, K-5 Team Lead

148 pages

The Inside Scoop: Gillian has been such a fantastic & enthusiastic person to work with! She conveys her ideas succinctly with clarity, and we were thrilled to be able to work with her on piloting our first 'Earthy Chat's podcast! (see below)

This resource created by artist Adelle Caunce is designed to go with A Walking Curriculum (also available on Canada's Outdoor Learning Store). It contains fun, easy-to-implement, art-based activities that correspond directly with 30 of the walking themes (e.g. The Vertical World Walk, The Growth Walk, The Lovely/Unlovely Walk etc.).

It is designed to engage imagination, help foster a sense of wonder at the world around us, and give the kids a bit of a giggle while they're learning.

Images are black and white to make photocopying a breeze.

Pages 44

Ethical Elements: Read more about our ethical policies & practices.

The Inside Scoop: This resource comes highly recommended by Gillian Judson, celebrated author of the companion resource, A Walking Curriculum.

Watch the fun promo video here!

The benefits of teachers moving learning outdoors are well established – rambunctious learners are able to focus, shy children find different ways to express themselves, anxious learners become better able to regulate their emotions, every one breathes a bit more deeply. Getting outdoors is a starting place. But what if we moved from learning outdoors to learning from the outdoors? What if we thought of Place as the teacher? What if we bring imagination to the heart of the practice? How can an understanding of Place and engagement of imagination help move us along the critically important path towards reconciliation? How can First Peoples’ Principles of Learning guide our teaching?

This 45 page printed resource will help answer these questions. You will find powerful examples of how teachers are bringing an inquiry mindset and imagination to changing the experiences of their learners and deepening their connection to Place. (You may never look at a mud puddle the same way again after you hear the questions posed by the Kindergarten learners.) You will look at human-made and natural lines in brand new ways. Your eyes and ears will be open to new possibilities and imagination will forever be on your radar. You will consider what it means to be a watchful listener. You will gain a deeper understanding of how the First People’s Principles and Indigenous worldviews can guide connections to Nature in all contexts.

Creating a resource like this requires a great deal of imagination, commitment, teamwork, patience and wisdom. The partnership between Heidi Wood and Gillian Judson, with the contribution of Nadine McSpaddin and her colleagues has resulted in an invaluable tool for teachers everywhere.

Access the .pdf for free anytime. This resource set comes with a printed copy that is included at cost.