(Guilford Co.) Wishview Children’s Center
Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers NLI (Guilford Co.) Wishview Children’s Center Wishview Children’s Center, located in Greensboro, NC plans to improve their infant and toddler spaces. Currently, their infant area is covered in artificial turf, and they would...
(Guilford Co.) Willow Oaks Child Development Center
Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers NLI (Guilford Co.) Willow Oaks Child Development Center Willow Oaks Child Development Center in Greensboro, NC has an infant/toddler space in a courtyard, surrounded by a building on three sides. The entire space is currently...
(Guilford Co.) UNCG – North Drive Childcare Center
Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers NLI (Guilford Co.) UNCG – North Drive Childcare Center The UNC-G Child Care Education Program North Drive location would like to naturalize the area around their existing primary pathway and add settings for gathering and outdoor...
(Guilford Co.) UNCG – Curry Childcare Center
Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers NLI (Guilford Co.) UNCG – Curry Childcare Center UNC-G Child Care Education Program – Curry Building provides childcare on UNC-G’s campus. The existing infant space at this location is not connected to the building. In order to...
(Guilford Co.) UNCG – Brent Woodson Carter Center
Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers NLI (Guilford Co.) UNCG – Brent Woodson Carter Center UNC-G Child Care Education Program – Carter Center serves children on UNC-G’s campus. The site has a large concrete area, which the center is planning to convert into a...
(Guilford Co.) Shepherd’s Way Day School
Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers NLI (Guilford Co.) Shepherd’s Way Day School Shepherd’s Way Day School serves infants up to school-age children in Colfax, NC. As a part of the Healthy Starts Infant/Toddler grant, they would like to create an area within the toddler...
(Guilford Co.) Macedonia Child Development Center
Healthy Starts: Infants/Toddlers NLI (Guilford Co.) Macedonia Child Development Center Macedonia Child Development Center, located in Greensboro, NC, hopes to start serving infants soon, in addition to the infants and preschoolers, who currently attend the center. ...
LET’S GET OUTSIDE!
Early childhood outdoor play and learning resources.
A National Research Agenda Supporting Green Schoolyard Development and Equitable Access to Nature
Research NLI A National Research Agenda Supporting Green Schoolyard Development and Equitable Access to Nature Authors: Stevenson, Kathryn; Moore, Robin; Cosco, Nilda; Floyd, Myron; Sullivan, William; Brink, Lois; Gerstein, Dana; Jordan, Cathy; & Zaplatosch,...
Using Our Senses
Leaflets NLI Using Our Senses Download the PDF - English Herbs are stimulating natural elements used for children’s hands-on learning. Using herbs children have the opportunity to apply their senses to explore not only the properties of the plants, but to understand...
Trail Mix
Leaflets NLI Trail Mix Download the PDF - English As children make their own trail mix, they learn about different types of healthy foods. They also become more familiar with vocabulary relating to different types of food (nuts, dried fruit, seeds, grains) and with...
The Farm
Leaflets NLI The Farm Download the PDF - English Creative arts such as drama and pretend play allow for creative and imaginative expression. The creative arts engage children’s minds, bodies, and senses. Creative play activities invite children to listen, observe,...
Sorting Our Seasons
Leaflets NLI Sorting Our Seasons Download the PDF - English Creating hands-on activities encourages learning and enhancement of children’s development. For this activity, children have the opportunity to categorize items associated with specific seasons, build their...
Scarecrow
Leaflets NLI Scarecrow Download the PDF - English As children work to create a scarecrow for the orchard, they learn several new vocabulary words including orchard, scarecrow, scare, and crop. By naming their scarecrow, they’re also introduced to how spoken and...
Pumpkin Seeds
Leaflets NLI Pumpkin Seeds Download the PDF - English When roasted and lightly salted, pumpkin seeds have a nutty flavor. They are also nutritious, providing a rich source of protein and vitamins. Roast pumpkin seeds in the fall to celebrate the season–pumpkins can be...
Puddle Play
Leaflets NLI Puddle Play Download the PDF - English Parents and teachers know that few experiences delight children more than water play. It is important for even very young children to experience water play and begin to understand the characteristics of water. This...
Pebble Play
Leaflets NLI Pebble Play Download the PDF - English Mathematics and language skills are fundamental to children’s readiness for school. Practice, progress, and success in acquiring these early skills are highly predictive of later academic achievement in multiple...
Leaf Necklaces
Leaflets NLI Leaf Necklaces Download the PDF - English Learning Objective: As a stimulating exercise, threading leaf necklaces strengthens children’s fine motor skills and builds their hand-eye coordination. This activity encourages children to practice their...
Ice Painting
Leaflets NLI Ice Painting Download the PDF - English Learning about water and ice is age-appropriate activity that stimulates children’s senses and enhances their fine motor skills through creative design. Making artwork encourages young children to practice hand-eye...
Harvest Time
Leaflets NLI Harvest Time Download the PDF - English Gardening with young children is one of the best ways to get them interested in healthy eating and where food comes from. Gardening activities also foster STEAM skills and language development as children observe,...
Garden Yoga
Leaflets NLI Garden Yoga Download the PDF - English Physical exercise is a great way to promote growth and development. By engaging in whole-body movement, children can express themselves and develop crucial motor control skills. This simple but captivating activity...
Fence Weaving
Leaflets NLI Fence Weaving Download the PDF - English Almost all childcare centers have a chain-link fence around the outdoor play area. Most often, it is used for little other than defining the boundaries for outdoor play. As a standalone component, it is dull,...
Extending Seasons
Leaflets NLI Extending Seasons Download the PDF - English A cold frame is simply a box set on the ground, topped with framed polycarbonate plastic sheeting, greenhouse film, or sometimes glass, usually hinged on the north-facing edge (in the northern hemisphere)....
Let’s Go Outdoors! Webinar
A conversation about childcare outdoor play and learning during the pandemic.
Grow It, Smell It, Eat It
Leaflets NLI Grow It, Smell It, Eat It Download the PDF - English Herbs are special edible plants that can be used to introduce children to new scents and tastes in the garden. Planting herbs and watching them grow can also help children develop an appreciation for...
Garden Path
Leaflets NLI Garden Path Download the PDF - English As children work to create a path through a garden area, they manipulate both heavy and light materials, thus practicing a variety of motor skills. Working around a garden also fosters interest in growing healthy...
Fruit or Vegetable?
Leaflets NLI Fruit or Vegetable? Download the PDF - English As children explore and taste different types of fruits and vegetables, they learn about different types of healthy foods. They also become more familiar with vocabulary relating to different types of food...
Fairy Soup Kitchen
Leaflets NLI Fairy Soup Kitchen Download the PDF - English Fairy soup kitchens encourage outdoor dramatic play, aimed at increasing children’s creative expression and imagination. Creating a fairy soup kitchen represents a unique form of helping expand...
Eating and Sharing
Leaflets NLI Eating and Sharing Download the PDF - English A focus on healthy eating can include the idea that all living creatures need food to survive. Healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are eaten–not just by humans– but by many other living creatures, as...
Launching a low-cost garden in three steps
Resources NLI Launching a low-cost garden in three steps Outdoors with nature is the healthiest place to be, where exuberant play, motivated learning, and gardening fun awaits! In solidarity, NLI offers resources to support families schooling at home, teachers and...
Birds and Bird Habitat
Leaflets NLI Birds and Bird Habitat Download the PDF - English Science Knowledge & Skills refers to the emerging ability to gather information about the natural and physical world and organize that information into knowledge and theories. Young children are often...
Ball Play and Experiences
Leaflets NLI Ball Play and Experiences Download the PDF - English Physical development using balls includes physical well-being, use of the body, muscle control, and motor development. These physical tasks and skills are foundational to young children’s learning....
Oakland Declaration
The Nature-Based Learning Network gathering at the Children & Nature Network International Leadership Summit provided an opportunity to create an international declaration on nature-based learning.
Preschool Gardening Activity Guide
The Gardening Activity Guide is designed to expose young children to seasonal fruit and vegetable gardening in childcare centers. Based on the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) model, the guide…
NLI Online Certificate Programs
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments was developed with early childhood professionals in mind and Designing Early Childhood Outdoor Environments was developed for design…
COVID Support we’re all in this together!
Early childhood outdoor play and learning resources.
Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day! Check out these activities that you can do at home to celebrate.
Fairy Villages
Leaflets NLI Fairy Villages Download the PDF - English Fairy villages are homes for elves, fairies, and other beings of children’s imagination. They provide enchanted places that stimulate creative, dramatic play in make believe settings. Creating a fairy village...
