Our Grow & Guide field guide is an easy-to-use guidebook for facilitators bringing Montessori outdoors. Each manual provides clear instructions and detailed illustrations for preparing the environment and presenting the materials using the natural rhythms of the seasons. Printable materials are included.
Autumn: An invitation to gather, settle into routine, and notice the world turning.
Winter: An invitation to slow down, rest, and root deeply alongside the natural world.
Spring: An invitation to wake up, plant, and grow with the returning light.
Summer: An invitation to reach high, run wild, and dance with the sun.
In addition to our field guides, we offer a comprehensive training program for early educators who want to incorporate nature into their practice. Whether at home with your own children, in a classroom, in a forest, a homeschool co-op or in whatever way serves your needs, this program allows you to chart your own path to outdoor education.
Grow & Guide is a unique training course that presents a variety of resources and materials, offering a deep exploration of the concepts behind our Wild Hearts Nature School program. Participants will complete a variety of meaningful assignments which relate directly to their teaching experience and provide opportunities for practical application of the course material. Weekly virtual meetings are optional but encouraged so participants in each cohort can work on projects, collaborate, study and share reflections to build a rich and supportive learning community providing additional opportunities for integration of course topics.
The program we created here at Wild Hearts is a truly unique, blended program and deserves a training program that reflects its distinctive nature. Our focus is more on gaining a true understanding of the “why” behind our practices and asks learners to take a deep look inward to find their passion and bring it to the children in front of them. Learning modules look at specific materials, teaching and planning strategies, but also invite guides to consistently reflect on their own unique teaching and learning style and experience as well as on their own inner development. We believe that adults must first understand themselves including their motivations, their strengths, their areas of growth, in order to serve their students.
The child must remain at the center of our work as educators and facilitators, so it is essential that we can see beyond our own needs and desires and place the child first. We have developed a rich training course which integrates best practices for early childhood education as reflected in the most up-to-date research. Some of the main resource components of each Learning Module include webinars, videos, recorded lectures, texts, articles, visuals, podcasts and tools for classroom use based on the following topics:
- The Prepared Environment
- Positive Discipline
- Early Childhood Development
- Educational Philosophy & Pedagogy
- Outdoor Classroom Materials & Planning
- The Science of Observation & Documentation
- Creating an Anti-Bias, Anti-Racist & Culturally Aware Learning Environment
- The Importance of Music & Movement
- Exploring and Understanding Process Art
- Self-Reflection and Spiritual Preparation: The Guides Journey
- Meaningful Family Connections
- Professional Expectations and Practices
- Feedback as the Key to Unlocking Growth
Learners participate in a variety of hands-on assignments and reflection in each module to demonstrate their growth. Regular meetings and reviews with course instructors are prioritized and a final project is submitted at the end of the course.
Webinar-style workshops in any of these areas can also be purchased a la carte.
Contact us for pricing and details.