Nature/Outdoor Education in Early Childhood: Community of Practice Part 4 Sylvia Kennedy-Godin October 24, 2019

Explore the benefits and challenges of incorporating more nature based play and outdoor education in your early childhood program. Join other educators who recognize the value of children being outside with time and space to fully engage with the natural world, no matter what the setting! Participants are invited to these interactive sessions where they can experience more nature themselves with short hikes that focus on respect for nature by noticing signs of wildlife, trees and plants, habitats etc. These are followed by facilitated discussions on both the challenges to expanding nature offerings and the positive experiences that reinforce our commitment to foster this sense of wonder for the children in our programs.In this session participants will: 1) identify 2 obstacles to incorporating more nature into our individual programs and explore how we could overcome those; 2) develop a personalized map of our own outdoor spaces and understand how a “sense of place” benefits young children. This training is appropriate for infant/toddler and preschool teachers and the caregivers who support them.