Investing In Our Future: A Non-Traditional Approach to Early-Childhood Education

"There is no better setting for a child to be themselves and open to learning than in an outdoor environment." This is the message of Little Forest Explorers and their Founder, Laura Engel, as they take early childhood education back to its roots...literally.

On the latest episode of Elevate & Accelerate, we sat down with Laura to dive into the cutting-edge neuroscience behind their methodologies to create a continuous learning environment around a child to thrive. Laura shares how the children in their program are benefitting from this unique approach, and how her organization isn't a preschool, but instead a launchpad for learning and adaptability.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction and overview on the topic of the show

1:49 - Laura's upbringing and skills as an adaptive learner

6:20 - Finding a passion to educate

7:30 - Laura's realization on the traditional school system

10:37 - Almost everything done at Little Forest Explorers is non-traditional

16:28 - "School isn't really for me"

21:50 - The pushback and misconceptions that Laura and her program experience

28:50 - Teaching self-regulation to a child

35:52 - Acknowledging your child's feelings and connecting with their feelings

39:40 - Key takeaways

42:46 - Where you can learn more about Little Forest Explorers

44:15 - Closing remarks