Educating Children Outdoors
Amy Butler. Educating Children Outdoors: Lessons in Nature-Based Learning. Comstock Publishing Associates, 2024.
This book is a compilation of the work that Amy Butler has done with public school teachers and classes over the past 20 years. She provides a wealth of information to start an outdoor program with elementary students. Included are various routines that help children engage with the natural world and proven seasonal lessons to expand their environmental knowledge and awareness.
Check out the ECO website for even more resources to help you create nature-immersion experiences for your learners.
Amy has worked with public school teachers and classes to help them be immersed in the natural world. Her program called ECO (Educating Children Outdoors) was created at the North Branch Nature Center in Vermont.
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A positive and caring attitude toward the environment is a critical component of environmental literacy, and research shows that most attitudes are formed early in life. Providing young children with frequent opportunities to experience the beauty and wonder of the natural world, develop positive emotional connections with their immediate surroundings, and care for plants and animals establishes a necessary foundation for learning about environmental issues and taking appropriate action later in life. In addition, a growing body of evidence documents the many benefits that time spent playing and learning in nature has on children’s healthy development. View more resources in the Early Childhood EE PRO Picks collection >