Early Childhood Education

            For my nature walk Raven, Alex and I went to Gibbons Park, located off of Grosvenor St. It’s quite a large park, with many different features such as several parking lots, picnic sites, picnic shelters, swimming pools, a wading pool for children, tennis courts, play areas and play structures for children, and a foot bridge that allows you to exit the park by walking over the Thames river. There are also many forested areas, pathways leading all throughout the park and even paths that are marked yellow and red, indicating that they are wheelchair accessible. Dogs are allowed in the park, but they must be on a leash at all times. Overall, the park looks like it’s well-maintained and there are phone numbers available on park signs if individuals need to report issues such as dangerous debris or obstructions on pathways. It was my first time visiting this park, and despite it being winter, I really enjoyed my visit!   ...

Outdoor education is becoming increasingly common in early childhood classrooms. Teachers and early child educators take advantage of the time spent outside with students to explore around the perimeter of school, venture out into local parks and forests and teach the children all about the environment around them. Despite how enriching this experience is for students, there are underlying frictions that come with outdoor education, forest pedagogies and its connection to Indigenous peoples and settler colonialism.               According to the Kindergarten Program, connecting students to the natural world increases their physical, emotional, and spiritual health and wellness. Learning outdoors fosters children’s curiosity about the world around them (The Kindergarten Program, 2016). This demonstrates just how important it is for children to get outside, explore, question, wonder, inquire, experiment and en...