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Our Approach
Outdoor & Nature-Based
Being outdoors and connecting with the natural world are skills all of us can learn. Five years ago, Mrs. Dee decided to shift her special needs preschool class outdoors and start gardening. The children with challenging behaviors were able to have more physical space to move and more successful sensory experiences for their often overstimulated bodies. The atmosphere calmed and the whole group thrived.
Since this experience, Mrs. Dee has been busy helping with international, national, and state-wide nature-based learning advocacy efforts. In the midst of her collaborative advocacy efforts, she opened Out Back Learning in 2019 and temporarily closed due to the pandemic. In re-opening Out Back Learning in 2024, Mrs. Dee gets to come full circle and welcome children back into the value of nature-based learning, right back in her backyard.
A recent review of research has shown "that time in nature is linked with mental well-being, overall health, and cognitive development for children. ... Experimental studies ... reported reduced stress and blood pressure, improvement in cognitive function (attention and executive function), and enhanced pre-frontal cortex brain activity, which drives emotional regulation" (Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence).
Home-Based
Mrs. Dee grew up in a home-based childcare settings with her Nana and Grandmother caring for her and neighborhood children.
Her personal experience and her early babysitting experiences revealed to her the incredibly positive impact that home-based care can have on young children and their families.
The close-knit and homey setting of our home-based learning environment offers Out Backers the sense of security that is needed to be able to take healthy risks necessary for their growth and development.
Community-Based
When Mrs. Dee walks with a group of Out Backers to the local park towards the end of each session, they are able to learn and practice safe habits of looking both ways before they cross the street and take in the surrounding natural and built elements like a prickly pear cactus or a "STOP" sign.
Children often are separated from their local communities, tucked away in childcare centers. Children want to connect with neighbors and community helpers such as postal workers and garbage collectors. When Mrs. Dee and the Out Backers explore the neighborhood, they can connect in safe and nurturing ways that everyone benefits from.
Blended Educational Philosophies
Mrs. Dee’s educational influences extend through generations, time, and location.
Dr. Maria Montessori’s belief and encouragement of child-centered environments influence Mrs. Dee’s educational approach.
Mrs. Dee’s belief in teaching is rooted in her Nana and Grandmother’s ways of living. They both lay the foundation for who Mrs. Dee is as an educator today by providing safe and loving home environments that allowed Mrs. Dee, her cousins, and neighborhood children to feel secure and resilient.
Mrs. Dee is influenced by her contemporaries in the field of nature-based education who she “grew up” with while being a part of the Prescott College Center for Nature and Place’s Summer Institute community of learners and leaders. Mrs. Brooke Ahlegian’s Waldorf-inspired approach in the forests of the Pacific Northwest opened Mrs. Dee’s eyes to not just Waldorf but also Reggio Emilia inspired environments. Mrs. Cassandra Ellis’ reflective approach with children and families offered Mrs. Dee the opportunity to remember the many reflective practices she had utilized in behavioral health. Mrs. Sylvia Collazo's approach to inclusion in nature-based settings solidified Mrs. Dee's understanding of the foundational importance of inclusive in the outdoors. And how can she forget learning about emergent curriculum from Mrs. Megan Gessler!
The list truly goes on with other colleagues who have exposed Mrs. Dee to unique ways of being in nature with young children.
All The Places We Play & Learn
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