'Bringing the Outdoors Back In'
4C's 22nd Annual Early Childhood Conference
Saturday, May 2, 2009
For event photos
"Restoring Nature to the Lives of Children" will be the topic of the keynote address at 4C's Early Childhood Conference Sat., May 2, at the Oasis Conference Center in Loveland, Ohio. This is the 22nd year for this event developed especially for teachers, directors and family child care providers.
Keynoter Ken Finch is founder and president of Green Hearts, one of the country’s first nonprofit conservation organizations entirely dedicated to restoring and strengthening the bonds between children and nature. A national speaker, Finch will share research and anecdotes about how we can bring "nature play" back to our children—all accompanied by thematic cartoons for a bit of playfulness!
Frequent free play in rich natural environments, a treasured part of childhood for generations, is now vanishing at an incredible pace, says conference organizer Julie Witten. Not only is this kind of outdoor play a vital stimulus for young childrens' growth across the entire developmental spectrum, she emphasizes, but research has also found that it is the most common source of lifelong conservation values.
"We are now recognizing how important 'nature play' is," she says, "and a broad range of initiatives are beginning to
restore it to the lives of young children—both within child care settings and in the home environment." By choosing "Bringing the Outdoors Back In" as the theme for this year's conference, 4C hopes to add impetus to this movement.
Conference sessions will include topics such as:
- unstructured play in the outdoor environment,
- the playground as a classroom,
- field trips,
- natural playscapes,
- teaching strategies for indoor and outdoor environments,
- playground design and
- outdoor play requirements.
Download list of workshops that can be used by programs participating in Step Up To Quality for the specialized training requirement, after completing the required pre-requisite trainings.
Register online today!
View
the official conference brochure with details
Download a registration form
Pregistration deadline: Tues., April 28.
Register today to reserve your
spot!
For questions, call:
Julie Witten,
Institute for Early Childhood Excellence Coordinator
513-221-0033, x1226 |
