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Cohort 1: David

David, PreK

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


Demographic Information

  • Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
  • DOB: May, 2013
  • Gender: Male
  • Birthplace: Fairbanks, AK
  • Family Members: Mother, Father, Sister (age 8)
  • Years Parent Lived in Alaska: 26
  • Parent’s feeling about place lived: (1-10 rating; 10=extremely happy, 1=extremely unhappy)
  • House Location(s) in Fairbanks: Outside Fairbanks City Limits

Source: Family Survey, Fall 2018 (completed by David’s mother)

  • Family Outdoor Activities:
    • (Ranked frequently and almost always)
    • N/A
  • Child’s Outdoor Activities:
    • (Ranked frequently and almost always)
    • Bike, scooter, or skate
    • Make-believe/free play (outdoors summer)
    • Play ball
    • Build forts 
    • Pick flowers
    • Look for bugs
    • Hide and seek
    • Play with dog
    • Collect/Find things (rocks)
  • Favorite Family Activity (Written response): "Hiking"
  • Child’s Favorite Summer Activity (Written response): “Riding bike"
  • Child’s Favorite Winter Activity (Written response): “Walk"
  • Description of outdoor experience when child was afraid/scared (Written response): “Bee landed on him"
  • Description of outdoor experience when child was excited/happy (Written response): “Building a fort"

Source: Family Survey, Fall 2018 (completed by David’s mother)

Child's Drawings

Child's drawing: Wolf, road, frog, tree, a bear

Fall 2018

Title: Pathways

Child quotes:

“This is a pathway. That pathway leads to the road. And there’s another pathway.”

“I saw a bear when I was camping.”

“It’s a baby bear.”

“The black bears are really good climbers, and the brown bears can’t climb.”

“My mom, my dad, and my sister.”

“Did you know some wolves can be black wolves?”

“I go gun shooting, and a saw one frog in the woods, but I didn’t shoot it. It was tiny.”

Child's drawing: Toothless the Dragon, White Toothless

Spring 2019

Title: Imagination with Toothless the Dragon

Child quotes:

“Play”

“Train your dragons”

“Fly, I just fly around.”

“We pretend we’re dragons.”

Feedback Comments:

N/A

Child's Drawing: An upside down bridge with monster on it
Fall 2018
Child's Drawing: the puddles, bus, "I like to walk through the puddles", "I like the bus because we looked out the window"
Spring 2019
Child's drawing: "A school bus make me scared because I thought I was going to fall off"
Fall 2018
Child's drawing: Raven, dog, me Bear, volcano
Spring 2019

Fall 2018
Class Nature Tour Video Highlights

Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:

Self-talk and imagination – “trees have bones”; Curious and observant of nature – Interested in [puffball] mushrooms; Observed cranes; Read wildlife sign

Fall 2018
Family Nature Tour Video 
Highlights

Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:

Comfortable exploring alone- Ran ahead on trail; Self-talk navigation awareness and recall; Stick play (i.e., imaginary weapon); Dad regulate stick play; Mother taught David about ecology

Spring 2019
Class Nature Tour Video Highlights

Spring 2019
Family Nature Tour Video 
Highlights

Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:

Finds tracks in the snow; runs on snow; leads others through forest; hangs/swings on tree for fun; uses stick for navigation

Child Reflections on Education Activities

Child Quotes:

“I like to stay on the trail.”

“I like to get wet in the forest and run in puddles.”

“You don’t have to run.”

“I learned everyone has a little wild.”

“Not to go in the fields of the sandhill cranes.”

Child Quotes:

“I saw a wolf and it was a wolf den and there was a black wolf and one baby black wolf.”

"Fun. Break them then got a new one.” (Comment on stick play)

“I liked when Michael fell through holes [in the snow] and then I fell through holes.”

“Safe at bus. Not safe at the water–like seawater (not puddles). I seen water there so I know it is there–the first time I went to Creamer’s field.”

“Don’t go in the puddles and sea water. You might drown.”


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