Nestled among tall downtown Toronto apartment buildings and Victorian homes, you find the small, yet thoughtful courtyard at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study (JICS). In what is truly an urban setting, the sound of construction blends with that of birds to create a space where children begin building authentic relationship with the Land.
JICS Teacher-librarian Krista Spence shows us how the students at the University of Toronto lab school use their courtyard space as a means to make meaningful connection to the land.
“This is a place to observe and engage with the seasons,” says Krista. “Recognizing, naming and knowing about a finite number of plants and creatures is a powerful starting place to learn how we are all connected. This is our living room, our playground, our study. It’s where we pause and connect, watch and wonder.”
For more about The Robertson Program: www.therobertsonprogram.com
The Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study is the lab school at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
For more about The Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study: www.oise.utoronto.ca/jics
Special thanks to The Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, Krista Spence, Richard Messina, Chriss Bogert, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and The University of Toronto.
