Amanda, PreK

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


Demographic Information

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鈥檚 feeling about place lived: 10 (1-10 rating; 10=extremely happy, 1=extremely unhappy)
  • House Location(s) in Fairbanks: Inside Fairbanks City Limits
Family Favorite Outdoor Activities
  • 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 啵啵直播秀 or livestock (dog)
    • Weave, carve, or natural art (Paint rocks with berries)
  • Child鈥檚 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): 鈥淲e all love to kayak and camp.鈥
  • Child鈥檚 Favorite Summer Activity (Written response): 鈥淔ree play (unrestricted).鈥
  • Child鈥檚 Favorite Winter Activity (Written response): 鈥淔ree play (unrestricted). We build our own sled hill, so it is work, but even Amanda contributes.鈥
  • Description of outdoor experience when child was afraid/scared (Written response): 鈥淚 can鈥檛 recall when she鈥檚 been scared outside.鈥
  • Description of outdoor experience when child was excited/happy (Written response): 鈥淧laying our regular, neighborhood soccer game in the field behind our house.鈥

Child's Drawings

Favorite "Summer" Nature Activity
Child's drawing

Fall 2018

Title: On the middle slide at the playground

Child quotes:

鈥淏ecause I like to go on middle stuff.鈥

鈥淐limb up stairs.鈥

鈥淭his is gonna be the whole playground.鈥

鈥淢onkey bars.鈥

鈥淚 can climb on them.鈥

鈥淭his is like a loop around way you climb up it to the top.鈥

Family Feedback:

Amanda鈥檚 mother writes that Amanda plays on the playground daily, with 鈥淢om, Dad, and 3 other siblings.鈥 She writes that they go every weekend and 3-4 weekday afternoons.

鈥淲e typically head outside every afternoon after school and weekend afternoons if we aren鈥檛 doing an activity at another location.鈥

鈥淚t 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.鈥

鈥淲e 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."

Favorite "Winter" Nature Activity
Child's drawing

Spring 2019

Title: Sun with snow

Child quotes:

鈥淚鈥檓 drawing some snow.鈥

鈥淎 big clump of snow.鈥

鈥淚 will be playing on the top of it.鈥

鈥淚t鈥檚 out in recess.鈥

鈥淎 little grass everywhere.鈥

鈥淚 get really really hot.鈥

鈥淚 can sled.鈥

鈥淪nowball fight.鈥

鈥淟et鈥檚 draw the big yellow moon.鈥

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 鈥淚 don鈥檛 even wanna go back鈥; Curious (asking questions about rosehips)

Child Quotes:
鈥淚 like to color one.鈥 (Referencing coloring a coloring page of the forest)

Spring 2019

Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:

Imaginary play- 鈥減oison鈥 in the snow; excitement about climbing tree and wading in puddle, environmental discomfort- feet wet, sits out

Child Quotes:

鈥淲eird and fun.鈥 (Comment on playing in the thicket)

鈥淚t was fun, silly, and really really really fun because everyone wanted sticks.鈥

鈥淚t was fun and silly, I loved it. I played with my friends in the snow.鈥

鈥淚 learned that you can鈥檛 go in deep snow or deep water because it would turn into deep deep water.鈥

鈥淐an go in the bridge. You can go on snow. You can go in the forest. Can鈥檛 go on the lake. Can鈥檛 go in the fox den.鈥


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