Jessica, PreK
Year 1, Cohort 1, Non-Rural Alaska
Child-Nature Points of Interest (2018-2019)
Demographic Information
- Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
- DOB: November, 2013
- Gender: Female
- Birthplace: Fairbanks, AK
- Family Members: Father, Stepmother, Mother, Stepfather, Sister (age 12), Sister (age 10), Sister (age 10), Brother (age 1)
- Years Parent Lived in Alaska: 6
- Parent’s feeling about place lived: 10 (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 Jessica’s father)
- Family Outdoor Activities:
Ranked frequently and almost always)- Tend to animals or livestock
- 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
- Hide and seek
- Play with dog
- Swim or water play
- Collect/Find things
- Build snowman, snow forts, snowballs
- Free play outside (winter)
- Sled
- Favorite Family Activity (Written response): "4-wheeling"
- Child’s Favorite Summer Activity (Written response): “Fishing"
- Child’s Favorite Winter Activity (Written response): “Building snowmen/sledding"
- Description of outdoor experience when child was afraid/scared (Written response): “Tubing when it starts to go under."
- Description of outdoor experience when child was excited/happy (Written response): “Fishing in Wisconsin."
Source: Family Survey, Fall 2018 (completed by Jessica’s father)
Child's Drawings
Fall 2018
Summer Activity
Title: Having a campfire
Child quotes:
“Probably in like fireplaces and stuff and maybe just outside too. I have a fire pit at my dad’s house, but now we’re moving, so we have to leave our fire pit there.”
“There’s trees and stuff”
Family Feedback: Jessica’s father writes they have campfires “when camping or sometimes in our backyard” and at “typically Birch or Harding Lake or Angel Rocks.” He writes Jessica has campfires “5-10 times during the summer” and that she does this with “family/parents, siblings.”
Spring 2019
Winter Activity
Title: Having a campfire
Child quotes:
“Probably in like fireplaces and stuff and maybe just outside too. I have a fire pit at my dad’s house, but now we’re moving, so we have to leave our fire pit there.”
“There’s trees and stuff”
Family Feedback: Jessica’s father writes they have campfires “when camping or sometimes in our backyard” and at “typically Birch or Harding Lake or Angel Rocks.” He writes Jessica has campfires “5-10 times during the summer” and that she does this with “family/parents, siblings.”
Fall 2018
Class Nature Tour Video Highlights
Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:
Connected water to fishing; Observed cranes "it's a crane party"; Sought to protect cranes - telling others, “Don’t disturb them”; Observant of nature (moose, mushrooms, fish, frogs)
Spring 2019
Class Nature Tour Video Highlights
Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:
Uncertainty about environment- entering/quickly exiting thicket, climbing trees; Uses stick as tool, breaking ice and walking stick for grandmother; expresses disdain towards muddy pinecone
Child Reflections on Education Activities
Child Quotes:
“The cranes eat cereal.”
“They [sandhill cranes] know each other from long time ago because they be together.”
Child Quotes:
“I found a lot of tracks. There was one track that had fur by it that faded into colors. I had fun in the thicket.”
“I had fun finding two sticks. I had fun covering the number 1 and 7 (signs) and there was a bug that was a baby spider then we killed it.”
“My friend Amanda and me got through the snow and it was fun and also Brittany.”
“That it is a big responsibility to be there. And keep your eyes peeled for birds.”
“So being in the tree is a big responsibility and you have to be safe. There might be birds with nests.”
“Can go explore places in the puddles and have fun and splash. Can’t go, where I can’t go is on the lake because it might not be thick and I would fall in and I would be scared.”
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