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Early Childhood Nature Resources

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This group is a place for all of us who love nature and young children to share resources we have found to be helpful and inspiring. Please post stories, programs, workshop materials, handouts for parents, books, links, and photos.

Website: http://www.hookedonnature.org
Members: 99
Latest Activity: Apr 8

Words of Wisdom

Teaching children about the natural world
should be treated as one of the most
important events in their lives.
Thomas Berry, Dream of the Earth

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense
of wonder, he needs the companionship
of at least one adult who can share it,
rediscovering with him the joy, excitement
and mystery of the world we live in.
Rachel Carson, A Sense of Wonder

Discussion Forum

Nature Preschools and Kindergartens 1 Reply

Nature Preschools and Kindergartens WorkshopJoin us for a great One-Day Intensive Workshop on Nature Preschools and Kindergartens. Claire Warden and I will be hosting this workshop on Nature…Continue

Started by Paul Roberts. Last reply by Juliet Robertson Jan 11.

Nature Preschools 22 Replies

We are just about to start our second year of our Little Sprouts nature based early learning center and I just wondered if any of you guys are doing this and if you have any BIG ideas for us to…Continue

Started by Debbie Greene. Last reply by Janine Carpenter May 5, 2012.

Join us for our International Green Schoolyard Conference: Sept. 16-18, 2011, San Francisco Bay Area

As many of you know, the green schoolyard movement is growing rapidly and flourishing around the world. Schools near and far are reimagining their grounds, replacing their extensive paved surfaces…Continue

Tags: environment, nature, conference, green, childhood

Started by Sharon Danks Jun 20, 2011.

Let's G.O.! Get Outside 1 Reply

Wanted to be sure you all know about Let’s G.O.! Get Outside. This is a youth-inspired, youth-led campaign unifying all of C&NN's initiatives and partners to Play, Serve and Celebrate together…Continue

Started by Avery Cleary. Last reply by Stephanie Rach-Wilson Mar 4, 2011.

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Comment by Christina (Tina) Person on December 17, 2010 at 7:53pm: Thank you all! Excellent infomation and resources, maybe I need to re-think the forest school. Wonderful!

Comment by Chris Kiewra on December 17, 2010 at 1:12pm: Thanks Brooke for letting folks know about Dimensions! I would just add that on the Nature Explore section of the website looking at certified outdoor classrooms can provide a range of ideas for creating spaces in lots of settings. The Learning With Nature Idea book can also be a helpful how-to guide.

Comment by Juliet Robertson on December 17, 2010 at 12:54pm: Bora

This reference is really interesting and useful. I see you had a major input - Congratulations! I hope you are pleased with the result too.

Everyone reading this thread - download a copy and share widely!

Comment by Bora Simmons on December 17, 2010 at 11:55am: The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) has recently published Early Childhood Environmental Education Programs: Guidelines for Excellence. These guidelines are part of the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education and provide suggestions for the development and improvement of early childhood EE programs. A PDF of the guidelines can be downloaded from NAAEE's EELinked site: http://eelinked.naaee.net/n/guidelines/topics/Early-Childhood-EE-Gu...

Comment by Brooke Levey on December 17, 2010 at 11:17am: I also agree that being outside and integration nature into all aspects of early childhood education is critical to the healthy development of children....I have three (8 and under). You might want to check out what the Dimensions Foundation is doing in Nebraska. They have a fabulous early childhood program. Two of my children attended their school before we moved to MD. They have a very nice natural play space for the kids....outdoor instruments, native plants, garden, huge sandbox, greenhouse....they do also have one play structure. www.dimensionsfoundation.org. Also, NYC has some fabulous slides, water play areas, etc in their public parks....I will check to see if I can find photo's and post them.

Comment by Juliet Robertson on December 17, 2010 at 11:05am: There are many urban forest schools. We have theGlasgow & Clyde Valley Forest Kindergarten Projectwhich is about using local (and often less than pristine) woodlands in urban spaces.

Also Cowgate U5 pre-school in the heart of Edinburgh has their Forest Kindergarten sessions just off the Royal Mile - tourists can look down and watch the activity! They eventually want to have a permanent outdoor nature kindergarten as a satellite of their main centre in an urban park.

Comment by Christina (Tina) Person on December 17, 2010 at 10:47am: Thank you Juliet and Ken, I'm familiar with Green Hearts but haven't seen the playground ideas. Also I love the work going on in Scotland, I was thinking I'd like to open a forest school, but that would not reach the children in urban areas. I will check out the resource page, and love any book plugs. Thank you so much!! How wonderful it is to communicate with people that think alike.

Comment by Juliet Robertson on December 17, 2010 at 10:41am: My thoughts are "Oh yes" and "Too right"! I'm sure many people on this forum are with you here, Christina. On the resource page on my website are some case studies - three from Sweden all about their outdoor schools.

There's LOTS happening in Scotland right now in relation to outdoor play, especially in pre-schools. We've 4 nurseries that are 95% outdoors all year round with many more in the pipeline.

That's a lovely summary, Ken!

Oh and I'm going to plug Sharon Danks book "Asphalt to Ecosystems". It's a superb collection of inspiring images and ideas.

Comment by Ken Finch on December 17, 2010 at 10:11am: Hi Christina. Great to hear of your work. The attached brochure might at least spur some thinking about your playspace. Best wishes. 25%20Easy%20Nature%20Play%20Ideas%20for%20Early%20Childhood%20Cente...

Comment by Christina (Tina) Person on December 17, 2010 at 7:00am: I'm so excited for this group! I've worked at an environmental preschool for 19 years and think ECE and Nature is how it should be for all children. The non profit school I work at is on Forest Service land so we have nature all around. My major goal is to transform preschool playgrounds from plastic structures and artificial surfaces, to natural spaces for children to explore. Any thoughts?