Nature-based preschools are powerful programs that fuse early childhood and environmental education to develop a child's lifelong connection with the natural world. With the number of this unique, cutting-edge program growing throughout the country, many nature centers are asking, "Is a nature-based preschool right for us?" Establishing a Nature-Based Preschool helps answer that question, and provides a how-to guide to move from concept to implementation.
Teaching Off Trail describes the transformation of Peter Dargatz, a national board-certified teacher, and public school coordinator, from an anxious assessor to a fair and fun facilitator of learning. It shares his personal professional journey detailing his evolution as an educator while simultaneously offering strategies for readers to implement Peter's unique teaching philosophy to increase opportunities for play, creative expression, and personalization in both the indoor and outdoor classroom. In his own classroom, Peter brought learning outside by creating a nature kindergarten program that emphasizes community partnerships, service learning, and meaningful and memorable experiences in the outdoors. Teaching Off Trail aims to inspire educators, administrators, and parents across all levels to turn their outrage for today’s educational system into outreach that promotes passionate and purposeful problem-solving. He incorporates techniques often seen in private educational settings like Reggio and Montessori—student-centered, self-directed experiential approaches to learning) and shows how they work within a public school system.
Structured around the 4 seasons, this guide to outdoor learning and activities is packed with kids games, crafts, and skills to encourage your young ones to get outdoors—come rain, shine, or snow. The Forest School ethos of nature-based play and learning encourages children to develop confidence, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence—and it’s exactly what’s needed in an era when childhood problems such as obesity and anxiety are on the rise. Building on the success of the bestselling Play the Forest School Way, here is a brilliant selection of brand-new games, crafts, and activities to get kids developing new skills and exploring the natural world all year round. Structured around the four seasons of the year, each chapter is full of step-by-step games and activities that harmonize with the weather and seasonal nature patterns, including nods to seasonal festivals such as Easter and Christmas. Activities include: Spring: Nettle Soup; Wood-cookie-Man; Earth Day Birthday Cake; Dandelion and Lime Tea Summer: Bark Masks; Blackberry Ink and Feather Quill Pens; Nature Watch; Animal Tag Autumn: Evergreen Paintbrush; Baked Apples; Den Building; Leaf Stitching Winter: Elf Carving; Compass Treasure Hunt; Charcoal Pencils; Animal Track Casts At Forest School, children return to the same location again and again, building a lasting connection with a specific part of the natural world. Each of the four seasonal chapters in A Year of Forest School includes a description of an extended session (combining active and quieter activities, plus an idea for foraging/cooking), capturing this key part of Forest School play and providing inspiration for parties, themed learning days, and outdoor adventures.
Nature-Based Learning for Every Preschool Setting is designed to provide ideas for all early childhood educators ranging from novice nature educators to highly experienced nature educators in a wide range of ecosystems, including forests, cities, prairies, coastal, and deserts. It includes background information on a range of nature topics, reproducible parent newsletters, sample play-based lesson plans, guidance and health and safety issues related to nature activities, ideas for free/inexpensive equipment and materials and for big ticket items, ideas for family involvement, and connections to early childhood learning standards. Chapters are divided by nature topic so readers can dip in right away where they want to start exploring.
Teaching in the Outdoors provides a practical guide for getting students outdoors and helpful suggestions for maximizing the outdoor learning experience. It features the best articles on outdoor education ever published in Green Teacher magazine, including tips for leading fantastic field trips and the proper technique for class hikes.
Nature-based preschools are powerful programs that fuse early childhood and environmental education to develop a child's lifelong connection with the natural world. With the number of this unique, cutting-edge program growing throughout the country, many nature centers are asking, “Is a nature-based preschool right for us?” Establishing a Nature-Based Preschool helps answer that question, and provides a how-to guide to move from concept to implementation.
