Join us April 22 at 2 PM ET with Dr. Arianna Pikus to explore how outdoor learning supports child development and educator well-being.

Are you interested in learning natural and affordable ways you can engage children in outdoor spaces in your child care program? Join us for "Nature Play at Home" to learn how to implement a naturalized outdoor learning environment in your own backyard. Participants will gain hands on knowledge of different play settings they can add to their outdoor spaces and easy ways to create a dynamic and engaging outdoor space. Each participant will leave with materials to start implementing right away.   

We will look at the Spiral of Inquiry and four foundational nature routines – Circle, Nature Walk, Nature Journal, and Sit Spot- which offer a flexible framework for responsive, inquiry-based outdoor learning. Rooted in inclusion and guided by respect, responsibility, and reciprocity, we will look at this new resource that bridges curriculum, well-being, and Land-based practice in ways that are both practical and transformative.

We will be joined by 6 incredible educators who will all provide insights and perspectives: Lauren MacLean, April Pikkarainen, Leona Prince, Heidi Wood, Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert.

In this action-focused webinar designed for program leaders and administrators, experienced early childhood nature-based program leader and author Dr. Rachel Larimore will share her Trail Map for Leading Change—an approach for inspiring and supporting staff as they move toward nature-based teaching. In previous ECI webinars, she focused on the big picture of the Trail Map for Change and Step 1: preparing yourself as a leader. In this webinar, she’ll focus on Step 5 of the Trail Map: reimagining teaching practices to embrace nature-based pedagogy.

Gardening offers many opportunities for natural learning to occur all year long. It’s a hands-on activity that provides fantastic health benefits as well as numerous developmental outcomes that promote cognitive, motor, and sensory skills appealing to a variety of learning styles and ages to connect, challenge, and problem-solve.

Learn what to plant and how to maintain and encourage ownership in your gardening pursuits to eliminate the frustration of trampled garden beds and planters that can easily become sensory bins. This webinar will encourage, educate, and demonstrate that simplicity is the key to any gardening adventure; start small and ‘grow’ from there.  

Kisha Reid talks with Alison Bomba about her work as an experienced child and adolescent psychologist. She focuses on Nature Play as a tool to support her work. Dr. Alison Bomba is a psychologist, author, speaker, consultant, and community volunteer.

We often talk about curiosity in early childhood education. how we encourage it in children, how we observe it, and how we support it through play and learning. But what about educator curiosity? In this episode of The Everything ECE Podcast, we explore the shift from focusing solely on children's curiosity to reconnecting with our own.

In this episode, host Dr. Rachel Larimore emphasizes the importance of being able to notice and name the learning happening in children's nature-based play.

In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty is answering the question many educators ask: How do we keep nature play, loose parts, and risky play alive when licensing rules feel like a wall? The good news? The wall might actually be a doorway. Rusty explores the relationship between educators and licensors. At first it can feel tense. Someone arrives with a clipboard. They inspect logs, spoons, mud kitchens, and climbing trees. But licensors are there for a reason. Their job is to protect children.