On Wednesday, July 31st, early childhood educators from across the nation will board buses in Manchester and travel to Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center in Laconia for a tour of the nature-based preschool.
The stop at Prescott Farm is part of a day-long field trip offered to conference attendees. Fledglings Nature-Based Preschool is a fully licensed program that uses the Prescott Farm property as the backdrop for helping students ages 3-5 become lifelong learners and create meaningful connections to nature, the self, and others.
Conference attendees will be guided on the tour by Preschool Director, Jayne Hastings. With the preschool out of session for the summer, Hastings will share what’s special about nature-based learning on the Prescott Farm property by highlighting unique learning spaces and a Q&A about how Fledglings educators use the cycle of the seasons and natural world to facilitate learning and pique curiosity in young children.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by The Natural Start Alliance as a leader in nature-based education for young children,” Hastings said. “As we share our successes and other lessons learned, we will also be listening to and learning from the other educators as they tour our property. It’s really a priceless opportunity!”
The Natural Start Alliance offers the field trip to conference attendees as an opportunity to gather new ideas and inspiration by visiting model nature-based early learning programs.
The Natural Start Alliance is a network of people and organizations that believe that all young children need frequent opportunities to experience, learn from, and care for nature and the environment through high-quality education. The Alliance, a project of the North American Association for Environmental Education, serves as a backbone organization to focus and amplify the collective impact of the people and organizations that share this common vision. The Natural Start Alliance’s annual conference is the nation’s largest professional event for teaching, administration, research, and advocacy in nature-based early learning.
Prescott Farm is a nonprofit 501c3 organization dedicated to providing year-round environmental education programs for all ages and a place in the Lakes Region community that encourages curiosity, discovery, fun and connection to the natural world. For details about Fledglings Nature-Based Preschool, WildQuest Camps, School & Community Programs and more, visit prescottfarm.org or call 603-366-5695.