Bringing Nature In and Going Out To Nature Presenter: Diane Kashin Ed.D, RECE
Children belong in nature, it is in their nature. Being able to play freely in and with nature is vital to children’s healthy development and supports their learning in wondrous ways. This session will focus on ways teachers can program for children outdoors using the best classroom – the one without a roof. Teachers will be encouraged to go beyond the fence to nature’s playground and learn how to look closely for sparks and investigative triggers that support inquiry learning. This interactive session will give teachers a taste of possibilities for outdoor learning and will involve the discussion of bringing the outside in, which is not a substitute for outdoor learning but a way to enhance the outdoor experience. KickStart 5777 Intensive Workshop - 9:35 am to 11:35 am. This workshop is designed for ECE teachers and directors, education directors, family engagement specialists, and K-1 teachers.
Diane Kashin Ed.D, RECE is a registered early childhood educator in the province of Ontario in Canada. Diane taught early childhood education at Seneca College at both the degree and the diploma level. Diane's doctoral thesis: Reaching the Top of the Mountain: The Impact of Emergent Curriculum on the Practice and Self-Image of Early Childhood Educators was published in 2009. Diane has written two textbooks with Pearson Canada; Playing and Learning in Early Childhood Education (2012) and Empowering Pedagogy (2016). Diane has worked in a volunteer capacity for many years in the early learning community and is the past president of the Association for Early Childhood Educators of Ontario and the current chair of the York Region Nature Collaborative. Diane retired from Seneca College in 2014 and is teaching part time at Ryerson University in Toronto. Diane writes a blog to support professional learning in early childhood education: http://tecribresearch.wordpress.com and loves to engage in continuous professional learning face to face and through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Diane presents workshops and keynote addresses in Ontario, across Canada and internationally. Her passions are emergent curriculum and supporting the forest and nature school movement.
