The Hanahau'oli School Professional Development Center is adding a new series of weekend learning experiences for educators centered on the idea that children are natural scientists! Join us this February and March for three workshops that can be taken individually or as a series. Natural Scientists: Engaging Children in Early Childhood with Place-Based Community Resources is designed for educators across the state of Hawai'i who work with children in preschool through grade 1 to gain hands-on experiences utilizing place-based resources in their classrooms.
Session 1: Saturday, February 22, 9am to 11am
Integrating Kilo and Hawaiian Moon Phases in School Gardens and Outdoor Spaces with Dr. Summer Maunakea of UH Mānoa College of Education
In-person at the UHM COE Hoʻōla ʻĀina Pilipili Garden, located at 1776 University Avenue
$40 per person
This workshop introduces educators to the concept of kilo and why it is an important practice to cultivate relationships with and learn from our environment. Educators will design their own kilo journals and learn practical strategies to integrate the Hawaiian moon phases into their curriculum. Educators will discuss the use of kilo and Hawaiian moon phases in conceptual teaching around the themes of food, cycles, and weather. This in-person workshop will take place at a working garden at UH Mānoa, so please prepare for sunny conditions and physical activity.
Session 2: Saturday, March 1, 9am-11am
Hands On Plant Exploration: Science, Nutrition, and Inquiry for Early Childhood with Tiana Kamen of Farm to Keiki
Online via Zoom from Kaua'i Island
$40 per person
This workshop introduces participants to the core principles of Farm to Early Care and Education, leveraging the insights and methods from the "Farm to Keiki" book. We will explore how to provide educators with practical, hands-on strategies and ideas for fostering young children’s scientific inquiry through natural, local surroundings and gardens. By focusing on a plant featured in the book, we'll illustrate its integration across all academic disciplines, from nutrition to science, emphasizing the full cycle from garden to tummies.
Session 3: Saturday, March 8, 9am-11am
Exploring Cultural, Biological, and Geographical Features of Our Communities with Young Learners with Educator Jess Sobocinski
Online via Zoom from Hawai'i Island
$40 per person
In this workshop, participants will learn how to help their young learners begin to develop a sense of place by connecting them to the cultural, biological, and geographical features of their communities. We will explore rituals, routines, and activities that can help students begin to orient themselves in relationship to their surroundings by exploring significant place names, mountains/streams/beaches, seasonal shifts, weather patterns, and the flora and fauna they can experience from just outside their classroom. This awareness lays the foundation for lifelong scientific learning, enriching their experiences both inside and outside of the classrooms.
About the Facilitators:
Summer P. Maunakea, PhD is an assistant professor of Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Education and Leadership at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, College of Education. Currently, she teaches courses on curriculum leadership, place-based education, sustainability, interdisciplinary science and social studies grounded in an indigenous perspective. As part of the Kokua Hawaiʻi Foundation’s ʻĀINA In Schools team, she instructs professional development courses that prepare educators, parents, and community members to teach from the ʻāina, utilizing the ʻĀINA In Schools Curriculum. Summer is a lifelong learner of intergenerational approaches to the holistic well-being of people and the natural environment. Her role in the project will include connecting educators to the transformative community organizations and partners that aim to support Hawaiʻi educators.
Tiana Kamen, MS Nutrition was born and raised on Kaua’i. She is an ‘āina-based educator, farm to school advocate, and nutritionist. She is also the author of the curriculum, “Farm to Keiki – Cooking, Gardening and Nutrition with Children”. Tiana is dedicated to growing the Farm to Early Childcare and Education movement in Hawai'i and trains educators throughout Hawai'i in Farm to Keiki. She uses food and nature as medicine to inspire people to adopt healthy lifestyles and take care of the Earth. Tiana has been involved in the farm to school movement since 2009 and is a recognized leader of Farm to Early Childcare and Education in Hawai‘i. She pioneered two farm to school programs, Farm to Keiki (a farm to preschool program) and the Kaua‘i School Garden Network. Through this work, she became a founding member of both the Hawai‘i Farm to School Network and the National Farm to Preschool Subcommittee.
Jess Sobocinski is an educator and researcher living in the ahupuaʻa of Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi Island. Originally from Portage, Indiana, she discovered her passion for education through work in food hubs, where she saw the potential of community gardens to foster healing and address social inequality. After serving as a garden kumu at Hōnaunau Elementary and earning her K-6 teaching license through Kahoʻiwai, Jess has worked in farm-to-school programs across Hawaiʻi Island for over a decade. As a graduate student in the MEd CS STEMS² program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, her research focused on using ʻāina-based education to promote social justice education in elementary schools, empowering students to recognize and address injustices while developing empathy and resilience. Jess is back at Hōnaunau Elementary, serving as a first grade general education teacher!