Bright Ideas - The Natural Start Blog
Recycled Holiday Craft Ideas from our Pinterest Board
December 12, 2013
Crafts are a great way to reuse everyday materials, and they keep crafting costs low while also reducing waste. Here are five of our favorites from our Pinterest board. Read More
New Toy Tops the TOADY Award for Worst Toy of the Year
December 10, 2013
Just one day after the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood announced the winner of its worst-toy-of-the-year competition--the iPotty--a new, even more questionable toy for babies has come on the market. Read More
Vote for the Worst Toy of the Year
December 6, 2013
See the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood's nominees for the year's worst toy, and cast your vote in support of healthy, happy childhoods. Read More
Making Mud Kitchens
November 22, 2013
British early childhood nature education expert Jan White argues that mud kitchens are low-cost, easy, and fun spaces for children to play and develop. Read More
What Young Learners Really Need to Learn
November 5, 2013
A growing number of education experts argue that the best way to prepare for future academic learning is not with early academic learning. Listen to a podcast in which experts advocate for more play-based learning that lets children explore, create, and develop a love of learning. Read More
Critical Investments Should Target the First Eight Years of Life, Report Finds
November 4, 2013
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s latest KIDS COUNT® policy report finds that only 36 percent of third graders are on track in cognitive development. The report presents a strong case for investing in the early years of a child's life. Read More
New Courses Available in Nature-Based Early Childhood Education Program
November 4, 2013
Antioch University has released its spring schedule for courses in its Nature-Based Early Childhood Education Program Series. Read More
Why Toys R Us Should End Its New Ad Campaign
October 28, 2013
We hope lots of kids find great toys under the tree this Christmas, but not at the expense of the forests. Join us in letting Toys R Us know we don't support their new ad campaign. Read More
Turn Your Old Markers into Clean Fuel
October 5, 2013
Finally, when markers run dry, they don't have to be sent to the landfill. Crayola's new ColorCycle program offers schools a way to recycle spent markers, so they get a second life as a clean-burning fuel. Read More
New Report from North Carolina Promotes Healthy Weight in Early Childhood
September 26, 2013
The Natural Learning Initiative, College of Design, NC State University, recently participated in a task force convened by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) to draft strategies that would target the obesity epidemic at its roots—the state’s youngest children birth to five. Read More