I am excited and proud to announce an upcoming training event on April 14 from 9-12:30 at Beverly Hills Preschool in Alexandria sponsored by NoVA Outside.

The day will open with an intriguing panel on The Value of Risk.

Sissy Walker of WISE Educational Services will present a session on the how’s and why’s of  Inquiry-based Outdoor Learning.  Sissy is a Master Naturalist and has many years of experience leading a progressive Reggio-inspired program and training teachers in this authentic approach.

Sandra Redmore, director of the Green-School-Award-Winning Clarendon Child Care Center, and chair of the APS Advisory Committee on Early Childhood will present on The Logistics of Outdoor Learning– sharing her unique, on-the-ground perspective on how to make it work.

I will be presenting on, what else, Creating Great Spaces for Natural Play and Learning.

After the breakout sessions, we’ll have hands-on skill building activities including: How to Plan and Plant a Container Garden with Children, How to Build Ephemeral Structures on the playground using free materials, and of course, our favorite– Building with Cob. Cob is a mixture of clay, sand and straw.

You’ll leave with real skills you can use with children immediately plus lots of thought provoking ideas and valuable new understandings that will change the way you think about the outdoors.