The Natural Start Alliance offers hour-long webinars on topics of key interest to early childhood professionals that aim to support the programs in this growing field.
Upcoming webinars will be listed below and recordings will be posted, after the event.
The Natural Start Alliance is happy to continue its partnership with the Evanston Public Library to bring you the best in children’s books about nature connection and environmental stewardship. The Blueberry Award is a literary award that honors books about nature — the first of its kind. During a webinar on March 15, 2024, the award committee, organized through Evanston Public Library, reviewed 2023 Blueberry Award book winners and honors with the Natural Start community!
As programs navigate all of the varied considerations in operating a nature-based education program, an important question is: Should my program operate as a non-profit or for-profit venture? This webinar provides an overview of a new resource to help programs considering their options.
Nearly a quarter of all children in the US speak a language other than English in the home. In some states, that percentage is over a third, and in some urban areas, more than half of children may be learning multiple languages. How can we best support children in their language learning outdoors, and are there elements of nature-based, outdoor learning that are particularly helpful in language learning? Join us to hear some of the latest research and learn from programs that have made nature and language learning central in their curriculum.
Natural Start reached out to members to learn how nature preschools are prioritizing equity and diversity through their enrollment process. We heard back from programs employing a variety of strategies for attracting and enrolling racially and economically diverse families, including administrative policies, marketing and outreach, community partnerships, accessing state pre-K funding, and more.
This webinar draws from the extensive research of Dr. Deja Jones, Founder of Honeypot Montessori, and the hands-on expertise of Ashley Causey-Golden, co-founder of Gather Forest School. This webinar focused on the collaborative creation of outdoor play areas tailored for Black children between the ages of 3 and 6 and explore the practical implementation of research in this domain.
"Do You See What I See?" provides a look at NASA’s nature-based explorations for young minds that build upon their natural curiosity. Webinar provides a variety of nature-based learning activities designed to foster a natural sense of curiosity through the development of observation skills that encourage young minds to ask questions and explore the natural world using their senses.
The Natural Start Alliance partnered with the Evanston Public Library to bring you the best in children’s books about nature connection and environmental stewardship. The Blueberry Award is a relatively new literary award that honors books about nature — the first of its kind. The Award committee reviewed books from 2022, sharing the latest and greatest with our community!
How do you create fun, authentic outdoor learning experiences for the littlest learners in your life? In this webinar, co-hosted by Project Learning Tree, we explore activities from PLT’s newest resource for parents and educators of young children, Trees & Me. Whether you’re dipping your toe into outdoor learning or you're an experienced outdoor educator seeking tried and true activities for Earth Day and beyond, this webinar is for you!
The Natural Start Alliance partnered with the National Farm to School Network for the webinar, “Aligning Outdoor Learning & Farm to ECE.” Explore resources for connecting Farm to Early Care and Education and outdoor learning.
The Natural Start Alliance teamed up with the Evanston Public Library to shine a spotlight on the Blueberry Book Awards. View a recording of the live event and get familiar with some excellent nature books for young children!
The Natural Start Alliance teamed up with the Evanston Public Library to shine a spotlight on the Blueberry Awards, a new literary award that honors books about nature. Panelists examined what makes a children’s book about nature stand out, how books written for young children are exploring nature connection, sustainability, and environmental stewardship, and why that matters, especially now. View the webinar recording for a look at the best children’s literature about nature, as designated by a committee of librarians and environmentalists. You’ll walk away with new ideas about the power of story and a list of books to add to your classroom library!
In this interactive webinar, presenters provided strategies to facilitate students' interaction with nature, particularly with students who live in areas where substantial inequities exist between children and their lack of access to a clean and healthy environment.
