Clip: Nature & School...

At every screening of Mother Nature’s Child, viewers respond that they would like teachers and school administrators to see the film and consider policy changes to include more outdoor learning, for both the superior understanding students gain and for their health and well-being. In this out-take from our footage, Misha Golfman, Director of Kroka Expeditions, is talking to parents whose teens have just completed a six month semester in the wilderness, recommending that children bring the insights and energy from their experience back to their schools when they...

Profound Laboratory of Change...

Stephen Kellert of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies was one of several experts featured in Mother Nature’s Child. In this out-take from our footage, he talks about the factors that have contributed to the loss of nature in children’s lives over recent...

Clip: Teacher’s Take on Technology...

We featured Rob Hanson’s sixth grade class in Mother Nature’s Child. After our time at their school, we all wished Rob had been our teacher when we were young! Rob makes good use of both technology and time in nature. To learn more about how Rob incorporates the outdoors in his curriculum, click...

Interview Clip: “Anybody Can Do Th...

Why should we think we always have to know the answer to every question our children ask? Producing Mother Nature’s Child, we kept hearing about parents and teachers who avoid taking children out in nature fearing that kids might ask questions them they don’t know how to answer. But experts tell us that when children realize their questions are actually real, their interest level increases and they become motivated to search for the answer! Isn’t this exactly what we want for our kids? And researching the answer becomes a great opportunity to integrate...

Views of an urban parent...

Here’s a mother whose preschooler participated in Amy Beam’s Beyond the Walls program at the Franklin Montessori School in Washington, DC. We featured Amy’s work in the preschool section of Mother Nature’s Child. This young mother was amazed at the powerful and positive effect of her four year old son’s outdoor time with Amy. His growing interest in the natural world had spread through the entire family — everyone was learning from him! How do you feel about her...