Skip to main content

Cohort 1: Amanda

Amanda, PreK

Year 1, Cohort 1, Non-Rural Alaska
Child-Nature Points of Interest (2018-2019)


Demographic Information

  • Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
  • DOB: December, 2013
  • Gender: Female
  • Birthplace: Pinehurst, NC
  • Family Members: Mother, Father, Sister (grade 5), Sister (grade 2), Brother (grade 1)
  • Years Parent Lived in Alaska: 2
  • Parent’s feeling about place lived: 10 (1-10 rating; 10=extremely happy, 1=extremely unhappy)
  • House Location(s) in Fairbanks: Inside Fairbanks City Limits
  • Family Outdoor Activities:
    • (Ranked frequently and almost always)
    • Go to playground or park (in city/town/village)
    • Go on walks (in city/town/village)
    • Picnic or outdoor barbeque
    • Canoe, kayak, or paddleboat
    • Camping
    • Ski (cross-country or downhill)
    • Tend animal or livestock (dog)
    • Weave, carve, or natural art (Paint rocks with berries)
  • Child’s Outdoor Activities:
    • (Ranked frequently and almost always)
    • Bike, scooter, or skate
    • Make-believe/free play (outdoors summer)
    • Build forts
    • Pick flowers
    • Look for bugs
    • Play with dog
    • Jump on trampoline
    • Climb trees
    • Collect/Find things (rocks)
    • Build snowman, snow forts, snowballs
    • Free play outside (winter)
    • Sled
    • Other (downhill ski)
  • Favorite Family Activity (Written response): “We all love to kayak and camp.”
  • Child’s Favorite Summer Activity (Written response): “Free play (unrestricted).”
  • Child’s Favorite Winter Activity (Written response): “Free play (unrestricted). We build our own sled hill, so it is work, but even Amanda contributes.”
  • Description of outdoor experience when child was afraid/scared (Written response): “I can’t recall when she’s been scared outside.”
  • Description of outdoor experience when child was excited/happy (Written response): “Playing our regular, neighborhood soccer game in the field behind our house.”

Child's Drawings

Child's drawing

Fall 2018

Title: On the middle slide at the playground

Child quotes:

“Because I like to go on middle stuff.”

“Climb up stairs.”

“This is gonna be the whole playground.”

“Monkey bars.”

“I can climb on them.”

“This is like a loop around way you climb up it to the top.”

Family Feedback:

Amanda’s mother writes that Amanda plays on the playground daily, with “Mom, Dad, and 3 other siblings.” She writes that they go every weekend and 3-4 weekday afternoons.

“We typically head outside every afternoon after school and weekend afternoons if we aren’t doing an activity at another location.”

“It is the park in our backyard. We like on Fort Wainwright (army base) so we have awesome parks with structures for kids. This one is right behind our house.”

“We play outside with the kids from our neighborhood. All 4 of our children are blessed to have lots of unstructured play with friends because we live in a close-knit community on a military installation."

Child's drawing

Spring 2019

Title: Sun with snow

Child quotes:

“I’m drawing some snow.”

“A big clump of snow.”

“I will be playing on the top of it.”

“It’s out in recess.”

“A little grass everywhere.”

“I get really really hot.”

“I can sled.”

“Snowball fight.”

“Let’s draw the big yellow moon.”

Family Feedback: N/A

Fall 2018

Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:
Confidence off trail (i.e., grass and logs); Assured peer they were not lost; Expressed desire to stay in tall grass “I don’t even wanna go back”; Curious (asking questions about rosehips)

Child Quotes:
“I like to color one.” (Referencing coloring a coloring page of the forest)

Spring 2019

Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:

Imaginary play- “poison” in the snow; excitement about climbing tree and wading in puddle, environmental discomfort- feet wet, sits out

Child Quotes:

“Weird and fun.” (Comment on playing in the thicket)

“It was fun, silly, and really really really fun because everyone wanted sticks.”

“It was fun and silly, I loved it. I played with my friends in the snow.”

“I learned that you can’t go in deep snow or deep water because it would turn into deep deep water.”

“Can go in the bridge. You can go on snow. You can go in the forest. Can’t go on the lake. Can’t go in the fox den.”


This project is funded by the National Science Foundation. Award # 1753399, CAREER: A longitudinal study of the emotional and behavioral processes of Environmental Identity Development among rural and non-rural Alaskan children