42 results for group: early-childhood-educators

Games and Activities to Move You – Using Drama and Games to Enhance Nature Connection

This we know. Kids yearn to move and they have an active imagination. Why not capitalize on this by integrating dramatic movement to enhance a child's understanding of the natural world? We'll make a working tree using our bodies, we'll learn to authentically stalk like foxes, we'll fly like geese and learn what they can teach us about leadership. Jacob will share some tips and tricks for engaging children by showcasing some fun, tried and true games and activities that get children moving and imagining. He'll share some resources that have been useful in his more than 35 years of teaching outdoor education. Kids will only be moved to protect ...

Documenting Children’s “Worlding”: Towards the Development of Common Worlds Pedagogical Documentation Practices

In this session, early childhood educators and professionals (post-secondary instructors, advocates, researchers) will gather to discuss pedagogical documentation in the context of nature-based programs. How can the experiences of children and the more-than-human both be represented in documentation? In this facilitated discussion, participants will be invited to share their current practices of documentation with the children in their care, as well as discuss examples of documentation provided. Informed by recent common worlds research, the aim of this session will be to inspire new perspectives, develop new practices, share and connect with each ...

Reading into Belonging and Well-being with Children’s Literature

Books can be an important vehicle for supporting a sense of belonging and well-being within a learning community. They can offer important invitations to discover, learn about, and discuss diverse perspectives. Have you thought critically about the books that you are bringing into your work with children? Who is represented within the books available in your classroom? In this workshop, we will explore some of the opportunities offered by children’s literature with regards to bringing diverse perspectives into outdoor experiences, take a closer look at some examples of children’s literature, and discuss tools that can help with selecting childre...

Nurturing Nature’s Joy

Reconnecting with the natural world is just as important for adults as it is for children. This workshop is dedicated to promoting the power of play within us, the adults, who will lead by example to inspire future generations to cherish and enjoy the wonders of nature and the outdoors. Through reconnecting with our personal 'why', sharing practical insights and reconnecting ourselves with the wonder of nature, this session will leave participants inspired and invigorated to continue to promote and celebrate the importance of outdoor nature play. This workshop will focus on nature as an overall experience that promotes curiosity, creativity and ...

The Evaluation of a Nature-Based Childcare Program: Findings, Lessons Learned and Next Steps

Childcare programs delivered outdoors can provide an opportunity to reintroduce, reinforce and supplement outdoor play during early childhood. In addition, outdoor childcare programs may positively affect practitioner wellbeing, professional engagement and the quality of education being delivered. However, there remains a gap in the literature regarding the health and developmental impacts of nature-based childcare programs and more research is needed. As part of the Canadian Centre for Outdoor Play, researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute are evaluating a nature-based childcare program in Ottawa, Ontario, ...

Nature Knows No Limits: Promoting Inclusion and Accessibility in Our Outdoor Classroom

Join us for an inspiring and informative workshop where we will explore the transformative power of outdoor education in promoting inclusion and accessibility for all students. In this workshop, we will delve into the realm of limitless possibilities that nature provides, regardless of physical abilities. Through engaging activities and captivating storytelling, we will highlight personal experiences working with neurodiverse students and students in wheelchairs. Discover how a year of learning outdoors can be successful and enriching, no matter the challenges or limitations faced by students. Participants will have the opportunity to gain practical ...

First Nations Games and Environmental Connections

Time to get off your bums, because motion is lotion for the body. Come learn a series of First Nations games from around Canada that can be used in the classroom on a rainy day or preferably outside. Using the experimental model that the wilderness speaks for itself. The games will show the environmental connection that First Nations have to the land and its animals. Plus the games are a lot of fun and using simple debriefing skills you can sneak in a element of environmental learning for your group. No fitness requirements, good for all ages, even old teachers. Bonus: 3 cool outdoor knots for the knot impaired.

Exploring Indigenous Ways of Knowing to Inspire Elementary Writing In/From Forest School

This workshop will lead participants through an interactive exploration into how using Indigenous ways of knowing and learning techniques in place-based outdoor education can be a springboard for exploring and creating written texts. A recipient of a McDowell Foundation Educational Research Grant, this session presents hands-on, evidence-based practices for educators that are based on: (1) Brayboy and Castagno’s recommendation that the “oral traditions and storytelling central to many tribal communities can and should serve as foundations for the written and text-based literacies required by and developed within schools” (p. 43); and (2) the ...

Land-based Play and Co-learning through Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing

Discover the transformative power of Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed seeing in Early Childhood Education (ECE) in our immersive workshop. Participants will embark on a journey to cultivate ethical space on the land while weaving together Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews. Through engaging land-based play experiences, participants will explore the interconnected web of knowledge and learn to braid the gift of multiple perspectives with intentionality. The workshop will offer an opportunity to embrace wholistic learning, (re)connect with Aki/Land, and develop culturally appropriate pedagogical practices. Join us for an enriching experience that promotes ...

Empowerment through risk

In this workshop we will discuss an important first step towards supporting outdoor/risky play: our own state of emotional regulation. Looking at our unique perspectives on what we deem to be risky through the lens of our lived experience and beliefs, we can find ways we can expand our comfort zone and engage with the natural world in a safer way. Layering in what we know about our nervous system, our animal instincts and our need for time in nature we can explore how we can be an emotional safe space for children, our colleagues, parents and most importantly, ourselves. With interactive conversations, brainstorming sessions, sit spots and time for ...