About

Hello and welcome to Nature Play on Vancouver Island, a blog about nature play and Reggio Emilia inspired practice. I love to share the discoveries that my students, families as an educator and some of the wonderful activities that we enjoy, especially in the forest or at the seashore. 

I am a Kindergarten teacher, with more than 24 years of experience in the field, with a Masters in Early Childhood. Much of my experience has been in preschool, multi-age and kindergarten where I love to collaborate with children, parents, teachers, student teachers and conduct research. In fact I am so passionate about sharing my nature program that I published a teacher handbook, Outside Our Window: developing a primary nature program, and present regularly on it across BC. 

I have received the 2019 Prime Ministers Award for Teaching Excellence; Certificate of Achievement!! Such an honour and a way to celebrate both Outdoor Education and Reggio Emilia Inspired Practice!!! 

I recently retired from Elementary Education to open a independent small multi-age Reggio Inspired, Nature School with my daughter, also a Reggio Inspired Educator. We are in the process of becoming a non profit society and work hard to support our community. We are outdoor mornings in the forest or at the seashore, and indoor early mornings and afternoons.

I also work as a educational consultant and present widely on emergent curriculum, Reggio Inspired programs, primary nature programs, differentiating instruction. I am passionate about using the learning environment as a third teacher, and love to work with teachers (and teams) to transform their indoor learning environment. I am inspired by the Reggio Emilia program and have recently planned my third trip to Reggio Emilia, Italy to participate in their work study program.