Kortright offers a suite of professional development workshops to support teachers embracing the outdoor setting in their teaching.
Led by qualified, experienced teachers and Early Childhood educators, these workshops may be offered either online or in-person.
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Contact us to get started:
info@kortright.org
ONLINE WORKSHOPS
Nature and Outdoor Play in All Weather
Format: Online
Time: 1.5 hours
Capacity: 15-100 participants
Availability: Year-round
Cost: $1,500
Wondering what to do with families and young children in the rain and snow? This fun and creative workshop will give participants ideas and examples of how we can support young children (1-12) and their families as they play outside in all weather.
Engage in conversation and examples of winter activities, rainy day fun, and what it really means to dress for the weather!
Participants will also have an opportunity to see what programming at The Nature School looks like, with examples of nature-based play that can be altered for various ages.
Get Them Outside! Building Capacity and Confidence in Early Years Educators
Format: Online
Time: 1.5 hours
Capacity: 15-100 participants
Availability: Year-round
Cost: $1,500
This informative and engaging workshop will help educators to find the confidence to take young children outdoors year-round.
Engage in conversation about the importance of playing outside in all weather, including how to dress for the elements and tips and tricks for staying comfortable.
This workshop will also look at the need for risky play in early child development and will support educators with resources and strategies for how to address parent concerns.
Participants will also have an opportunity to see what programming at The Nature School looks like with examples of nature-based outdoor play activities!
Forest School Principles
Format: Online
Time: 1.5 hours
Capacity: 15-100 participants
Availability: Year-round
Cost: $1,500
What does it mean to put nature and a child at play at the center of learning?
At The Nature School at Kortright, children and educators, together, build relationships with the land through their repeated access to the natural spaces that The Nature School has to offer.
Explore how educators support children’s play, which is driven by their curiosity and the process of inquiry all rooted in their connection to the land.
IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS
Inquiry-Based, Emergent, and Experiential Learning
Format: In-person
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Capacity: Maximum participants: 25
Availability: Year-round
Cost: $2,500
Learn different educational models of child engagement in the outdoors. This approach to learning is child led, child-centered, exploratory, unhurried and fun.
Participants in this workshop will get an in-depth tour of The Nature School and will experience hands-on activities and land-based unstructured free play ideas and activities that are great for early years programs.
Health and Safety Risks in the Outdoors
Format: In-person
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Capacity: Maximum participants: 25
Availability: Year-round
Cost: $2,500
Liability, risk, and safety are three words that inevitably come up when planning and delivering programs for children in the outdoors.
During this session, staff will become familiar with foreseeable risks that exist in the outdoors, identifying likely sources, performing dynamic risk assessments, and implementing proactive approaches to mitigate the identified risk.
Techniques to safely engage children in outdoor activities will also be covered in this session.
Outdoor Skills
Format: In-person
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Capacity: Maximum participants: 25
Availability: Year-round
Cost: $2,500
In this hands-on session, participants will learn various “hard skills” required to operate successfully and comfortably in an outdoor environment.
Fire starting, tarps, knots, stoves, outdoor cooking, whittling wood, plant identification, ideal site selection and more will be covered in detail during this session.
OUTSIDE ALL YEAR
This series of workshops is designed to build confidence in ECEs new to teaching in an outdoor setting.
Sessions will be themed according to the season, packed with ideas for activities to engage students in their space and what is happening in the natural world at that time.
Through increased familiarity with the outdoor setting and the seasonal changes, children will build confidence and begin to develop a sense of belonging and ownership of their outdoor place.
Sessions can be booked individually or as a series and may take place at Kortright or local to you.
Embracing Winter
Format: In-person
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Capacity: Maximum participants: 25
Availability: Winter
Cost: $2,500
Weather can be challenging, but clothing choices can help and there is so much fun to be had outside in the winter!
Take a closer look at animal tracks and hideouts, snowflakes and ice structure – with or without snow. Come play with us outside and we will show you a world of wonder that you can share with your children.
Spring Outside!
Format: In-person
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Capacity: Maximum participants: 25
Availability: Spring
Cost: $2,500
Spring is full of activity in the natural world – plants are waking up from winter dormancy, animals returning from migration or hibernation. This session will get you close to all the action and guide you through the changes that are happening before your eyes!
Leave the session with your pockets full of games, nature-based crafts, and other activities to engage children with the outdoors in spring.
Sounds of Summer
Format: In-person
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Capacity: Maximum participants: 25
Availability: Year-round
Cost: $2,500
Hear that buzz? Is it one of hundreds of native bee species – or perhaps a periodical cicada emerging from 17 years under the leaf litter to live just a few weeks as a winged adult.
Gain valuable knowledge about the natural world in summer and add to your toolkit of provocations and inspirations to use with your children.
Fall into Nature
Format: In-person
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Capacity: Maximum participants: 25
Availability: Fall
Cost: $2,500
Experience the magic of fall – few things are as beautiful as a forest full of sugar maples in autumn!
We will explore different types of trees and learn why the leaves transform in the fall, focus on some significant native animals, and learn what fall means for them.
All this through the lens of early childhood education – experiential and inquiry-based learning.
Loose Parts Play in Early Childhood Education
Format: In-person
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Capacity: Maximum participants: 25
Availability: Year-round
Cost: $2,500
Explore the concept of loose parts and how these open-ended materials can foster creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in young children.
In this hands-on session, you will engage with different types of loose parts and experience the learning opportunities they provide. Learn how to build your own loose parts collection and how to incorporate it into your own classroom environment.
We will discuss safety consideration and best practices for managing loose parts in educational settings.
