Feature Stories
Image credit: Best Day Ever movie
December 2018
The recently published "A Forest Days Handbook" demonstrates that young children can learn their letters and numbers AND get stronger, healthier, and more resilient in a nature-based learning environment.
November 2018
How do we welcome and affirm the diverse cultures of our students and the larger community in which we work? Here are six tips for developing cultural empathy and bringing a multicultural lens to nature-based teaching practice.
October 2018
Outdoor interactions with nature in early childhood centers are proven to foster children's healthy growth and development. These tips from the National Wildlife Federation will help you to advocate for licensing regulations that support the installation of outdoor learning environments in your state.
August 2018
Nature-based early learning programs require teachers to have a different skillset than a typical naturalist or a traditional early childhood educator. These interview questions will help you to evaluate the candidate’s fit with a program that truly puts nature at the heart of the learning experience.
Summer 2018 Special
Summer brings a change of pace to our lives as nature-based early childhood educators. How do we make the most of it to practice self-care, reflect on our work, and come back in the fall rejuvenated and reaffirmed in our commitment to nature-based teaching?
May 2018
What happens when you want to offer early childhood nature programming but don’t have the space, personnel, or other resources to run a full-scale nature preschool? One answer may lie in short-form programming such as nature playdates.
April 2018
How do cultural ideas about childhood, development, and learning impact nature-based early childhood education? Samantha Leder shares some of the lessons she learned during her study abroad semester in a Danish forest kindergarten.
March 2018
How can we document early learning in the outdoors? Nature journals can help to develop children's observational and representational skills while serving as tangible developmental reference points for parents, educators, and the children themselves.
February 2018
What is the common thread in the vast diversity of nature-based education programs offered to young children all over the world? Claire Warden looks at the structure of the mycelium to find an analogy for the underlying philosophy that connects these programs.
January 2018
How do you incorporate nature-based learning into an existing preschool or childcare center? Here are seven practical strategies that will help you get started.