Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/wonder-growing-connections-through-a-pandemic/5025826/
“We believe it’s important for children to be supported in developing life skills through holistic nature-based learning.”
—NACC’s Universal Principles for Connecting Children with Nature, worldforumfoundation.org/nacc-up
“We believe this moment calls for focus on equitable access to safe, nurturing environments and flexible pathways to enrollment and participation that are responsive to the cultural, economic, medical and emotional contexts families experience.”
—The Inside Out Advisory Group, insideoutside.org
As the COVID pandemic closed classrooms and limited children’s in-person connections with their teachers, caregivers, and friends, none of us were untouched by the challenges. Through it all, we have clearly learned that early educators are not a frail bunch. We respond with heart-driven persistence and creativity. The following two stories—from the Wisconsin Nature Action Collaborative, United States, and from the Ministry of Education in Bhutan—perfectly illustrate how, together with children, we can choose to let challenges inspire us to adapt and grow, just as plants do, and how in growing gardens, children themselves experience wonderful opportunities to grow and learn.
Growing in gratitude,
Kirsten Haugen
Supporting Bhutanese Children to Learn at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Karma Gayleg, ECCD Specialist
Ministry of Education, Bhutan
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended lives across the ...