Children and Nature – Page 4

Forest Kindergarten at Seaside Playgarden, Jacksonville, FL by Lynn Coalson

October 20, 2014

Lynn Coalson writes: Greetings from sunny Northeast Florida, home to Seaside Playgarden, a LifeWays Representative Program, and the first in Florida. The Seaside Playgarden, located just two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, is a perfect place for children to explore, grow and create. We focus on the whole child: head, heart and hands and offer […]

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Planning With Intention, By Mary O’Connell

February 27, 2014

“Focus more on who your child is than on what your child does. Remember, you are growing a person, not fixing a problem.” L.R. Knost Emily and I are currently taking a class together about the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards. The class, despite being held from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Wednesday nights (yawn!), is

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The Art of Apples in the Fall

September 13, 2012

Because young children love stories, and magic, and anticipation, it can be especially enriching for children if we add those three aspects to any project that we do with them. Let’s take the idea of making Apple Crisp: it can be done in half a morning. Simply chop up some apples, stir in some cinnamon

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Children In Nature

July 9, 2012

Here at The Orchard, our in-home, LifeWays-inspired child care place, being outdoors, rain or shine, hot or cold, is a given. It is also a challenge because, although we value and promote unstructured free play outdoors, we look for opportunities to share nature together. Apart from unstructured, surprise encounters with nature, this happens in two

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Milwaukee LifeWays Gains Paradise Farm

July 9, 2012

Paradise Farm is the home of the new garden for LifeWays Early Childhood Center in Milwaukee. Mary O’Connell, director of LifeWays, and her husband Jim have recently become owners of this historic farm about 45 minutes northwest of the city. It’s the perfect location to grow natural, pesticide-free produce for the children and caregivers at

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