About this event
Interested in connecting with fellow educators?
The Early Childhood Hoosiers Outdoors (ECHO) Network is designed to support education practitioners wanting to get students into outdoor learning settings. We meet on the second Monday of odd months at 4 pm by zoom.
The words we use matter. What we do matters. Join us for a conversation with Bonnie Cretton (Woodsong Forest School, TN) about the importance of building rituals into education. Ritual practices help ease transitions, impart information, and create belonging with students and families that extend beyond the classroom boundaries and after graduation.
This month’s speaker, Bonnie Cretton, founded Woodsong Forest School in 2018. Today Woodsong has over 150 students and 25 staff. She is also an instructor for the Forest School Teacher Institute and has supported hundreds of educators as they have received training in nature-based education. She has a master’s in education at Lee University and holds a Level 3 Forest Kindergarten Master Teacher Certification endorsed by Southern Adventist University, which was attained through participating in Wauhatchie Forest School’s Teacher Training program with Dr. Jean Lomino. In 2023, Bonnie founded Wholly Wild, a retreat for teacher transformation hosted at Woodsong each spring.
The purpose of this network includes:
- A group of peers: Connecting educators and administrators for support, guidance, encouragement, troubleshooting, etc.
- A common space for sharing resources and best practices
- Opportunities for professional development
- Shared advocacy and continuing education around nature-based programs
- Program observation
- and more!
The network was inspired by a surge of interest in program formats such as Nature Preschools, Forest Kindergartens, and Forest Schools; however, it is an inclusive group for those working with young children in any format. Our interests center on developmentally-appropriate educational opportunities for children in outdoor settings, whether in the woods, on the prairie, or in the schoolyard.
We want this network to be dynamic and responsive to emerging needs of participants. We encourage you to join us on this journey of mutual exploration and learning!