2026-2027 Early Childhood Educators Nature-Based Cohorts
For early childhood educators just beginning to incorporate nature into their practice, or those who want to deepen their practice-10 Ohio Approved Hours! Including 2 SUTQ PD Topic Hours
By completing all of the meetings, participants of this cohort will have earned their entire annual required 10 hours of Ohio Approved PD with 2 hours of PD topics prior to the June 30, 2027 annual deadline.
We will work together in a small group cohort structure to grow your nature-based early childhood practice. Over the course of several weeks, YOU will connect or reconnect with the importance of connection to nature in childhood and connect with nature yourself on the 1200 acres of Wildflower Child & Family Center’s beautiful location at Carriage Hill MetroPark.
At our first meeting we will identify areas of interest and opportunities to grow in the near future and also set goals for your future. Throughout the series, resources and activities will be shared and practiced with the group. We’ll help each other each month by discussing the rewards and challenges of working in this way! An added benefit is a deeper connection to the other educators working in the field who are also taking children outdoors each day.
PRICE
Each Cohort is $75 per person, please reach out to meredith@ohionaturallyeducation.com to register a group! This series is designed to be taken together, please reach out if you have taken some of these courses previously or have a specific interest in one week’s topic. We may be able to accommodate you.
LOCATION
Wildflower Child & Family Center located at Carriage Hill MetroPark in Dayton, Ohio. We are right off of I-70 at the Rt. 201 exit; this is convenient to Dayton, Springfield, Columbus, and Cincinnati.
Fall 2026 Cohort
August 4, 2026 6:00pm-8:00PM
In our first meeting we will design your journey and make sure these courses apply directly to your classroom. We'll co-create messages for families that will set your class up for nature exploration in the 2026-2027 school year! We will discover the benefits of learning and playing outdoors through current research. This is helpful when talking to directors, colleagues, and families.
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Nature Stories Project Creation
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Exploring the Power in Learning Outdoors!
October 6, 2026 6:00pm-8:00PM
Seeds are all around us. In this workshop we will examine not only the science of seeds, but also the cultural, metaphorical, and practical applications of seeds in the early childhood classroom. Together we will examine free to low cost ways of looking at our world through a lens of seeds and growing things. This is a fun hands-on workshop that you will be able to bring back to your children right away!
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Seeds All Year
December 1, 2026 6:00pm-8:00PM
Bringing it all together, we examine how we can increase the children's (and our own) connection to nature through multiple strategies. Local resources and materials will be shared.
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About, In, With, and For Nature*
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What's in your backpack? Stakeholders, Roadblocks, Advocacy-Oh My!
September 1, 2026 6:00pm-8:00PM
Next, participants will experience routines that help with outdoor "classroom management" and design skill progressions that set children up to explore and discover throughout the year. We will also look at participants specific outdoor spaces and note opportunities for learning as well as growth.
We also look at participants specific outdoor spaces and note opportunities for learning as well as growth.
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Inside, Outside, Beyond: Creating Environments, Routines, & Progressions for Nature-Based Learning*
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Outdoor Classroom Landscape Analysis & Design
November 3, 2026 6:00pm-8:00PM
Getting beyond the theory and need for children to play learn outdoors, this workshop offers preschool teachers practical and emergent activities, lessons, and teaching practices that create connections to nature in the autumn and early winter. Whether you are in a park, your playground, or the hedgerow by the parking lot-nature and the cycles of the seasons are all around us waiting to be discovered. Participants will learn to identify the differences between healthy risks and potential hazards and how they align with licensing rules.
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The Low Down on Fall & Winter Slow Down
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Teacher & Child Skills for Risks found Outdoors
Coaching Available
Cohort members will have the opportunity to schedule 1:1 time or time together as a team to discuss or practice outdoor teaching skills. Observations at Wildflower Child & Family Center are possible.
*denotes SUTQ PD hours
Spring 2026 Cohort
January 5, 2027 6:00pm-8:00PM
In our first meeting we will design your journey and make sure these courses apply directly to your classroom. We'll co-create messages for families that will set your class up for nature exploration in the 2026-2027 school year! We will discover the benefits of learning and playing outdoors through current research. This is helpful when talking to directors, colleagues, and families.
-
Nature Stories Project Creation
-
Exploring the Power in Learning Outdoors!
March 2, 2027
6:00pm-8:00pm
Educators often want to start a school garden, but how to get started? What do we do when something doesn't grow? Sun? Water? What can we do if we are only a 9 month school? Learning and Development standards aligned lessons will be shared including planting activities, planting schedules, and activities throughout 10 months out of the year. This is a fun hands-on workshop that you will be able to bring back to your children right away-no matter the scale of your gardening dreams!
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Gardening with Preschoolers
May 4, 2027 6:00pm-8:00PM
Bringing it all together, we examine how we can increase the children's (and our own) connection to nature through multiple strategies. Local resources and materials will be shared.
-
About, In, With, and For Nature*
-
What's in your backpack? Stakeholders, Roadblocks, Advocacy-Oh My!
February 2, 2027 6:00pm-8:00PM
Next, participants will experience routines that help with outdoor "classroom management" and design skill progressions that set children up to explore and discover throughout the year. We will also look at participants specific outdoor spaces and note opportunities for learning as well as growth.
Participants will learn to identify the differences between healthy risks and potential hazards and how they align with licensing rules.
-
Inside, Outside, Beyond: Creating Environments, Routines, & Progressions for Nature-Based Learning*
-
Teacher & Child Skills for Risks found Outdoors
April 6, 2027 6:00pm-8:00PM
We'll walk a journey through the definition, benefits, implementation, material selection, progressions, and joy of working with loose parts in the indoor classroom, the outdoor classroom, and beyond. Participants will get to experience hands on the power of loose parts as we demonstrate the deep learning and development that happens when toys and materials have no right way to be used.
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Loose Parts: A creative and natural approach to learning*
Coaching Available
Cohort members will have the opportunity to schedule 1:1 time or time together as a team to discuss or practice outdoor teaching skills. Observations at Wildflower Child & Family Center are possible.
*denotes SUTQ PD hours