Learning Unboxed 156. Connecting Kids to Their Community & Environment with Jen Olson & Tasha Ball
Education starts from the moment we take our first breath, but we often only give it our full attention as kids get closer to their careers. Today we’re going to be talking about our littlest learners and how to prepare them for further education and their futures.
Willowell Foundation’s “Wren’s Nest” program, a holistic, interdisciplinary, and sensory-based approach to learning, and a companion program to Willowell’s nationally-recognized outdoor high school program The Walden Project. The goal of Wren’s Nest is to foster students’ independence and an initial understanding of their interconnectedness with the whole world.
Joining us are Tasha Ball, the administrative director of the Willowell Foundation, and Jen Olson, an early childhood educator and teacher at the Wren’s Nest. We talk about embracing kids’ natural curiosity and desire to explore, getting them immersed in nature, and how we can scale outdoor education.
To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org
We unbox:
- What Wren’s Nest does and how it works
- The value of learning outside the classroom
- Trusting kids to rise to their capabilities
- How Willowell incorporates state-required learning
- Scaling outdoor classroom programs
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