This week Brooke is joined by early-childhood educator April Hepokoski for a fascinating discussion about all things child-led and nature-based learning.

April is the founder and teacher at The Little Barnyard Preschool in Duluth, Minnesota, where she centres learning around being outside in nature every single day. April also founded a zero-waste living group on her local community, where she shares tips and tricks for living with less waste as well as lobbying the city council to make changes in her town.

There are so many parallels between slow living and the approach of nature-based learning, and April is a prime example of someone taking action into their own hands in every aspect of her life. We hope you enjoy this inspiring (and practical) chat about learning, nature and grassroots change.

Questions featured in this episode:
When did you first become interested in zero-waste living?
How did you structure a localised zero-waste living group?
What is the philosophy or mission of The Little Barnyard Preschool?
What caused you to combine child-led learning with nature-based learning?
What does nature-based learning look like on a day-to-day basis?
What do parents say? What benefits and differences do they see?
How can people begin to bring this philosophy into their own home if there are no nature-based learning offerings in their area?
What can educators do to start to bring nature-based learning into their school? Any resources or recommendations on how to start the conversation?
Do you have any tips for bringing zero-waste principles into the classroom?

Looking for more Slow?
Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season2/
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Sign up for our love letters
Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

This week Brooke is joined by early-childhood educator April Hepokoski for a fascinating discussion about all things child-led and nature-based learning.
April is the founder and teacher at The Little Barnyard Preschool in Duluth, Minnesota, where she centres learning around being outside in nature every single day. April also founded a zero-waste living group on her local community, where she shares tips and tricks for living with less waste as well as lobbying the city council to make changes in her town.
There are so many parallels between slow living and the approach of nature-based learning, and April is a prime example of someone taking action into their own hands in every aspect of her life. We hope you enjoy this inspiring (and practical) chat about learning, nature and grassroots change.
Questions featured in this episode:
<ol>
<li>When did you first become interested in zero-waste living?</li>
<li>How did you structure a localised zero-waste living group?</li>
<li>What is the philosophy or mission of The Little Barnyard Preschool?</li>
<li>What caused you to combine child-led learning with nature-based learning?</li>
<li>What does nature-based learning look like on a day-to-day basis?</li>
<li>What do parents say? What benefits and differences do they see?</li>
<li>How can people begin to bring this philosophy into their own home if there are no nature-based learning offerings in their area?</li>
<li>What can educators do to start to bring nature-based learning into their school? Any resources or recommendations on how to start the conversation?</li>
<li>Do you have any tips for bringing zero-waste principles into the classroom?</li>
</ol>
Looking for more Slow?
<ul>
<li>Find show notes, resources and links at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.slowyourhome.com/season2">slowyourhome.com/season2/</a></li>
<li>Follow us on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/slowhomepod/">@slowhomepod</a></li>
<li>Sign up for our <a href="https://slowyourhome.com/slowpost">love letters</a></li>
<li>Join the Slow Experiment Club over on <a href="http://www.patreon.com/slow">Patreon</a></li>
<li>Or leave a <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/slow-home-podcast-brooke-mcalary/id985005895?mt=2">rating or review in iTunes</a></li>
</ul>
As always, thank you for listening!

To strive is human, to saunter divine. Welcome to The Tortoise - a podcast that digs deep into the power of slow. Brooke McAlary (author of "Slow", "Care" and "Destination Simple") is joined by her husband Ben for a monthly deep dive into the realities of trying to live slow in a world that won't stop racing. On the third Thursday of every month, join Brooke and Ben for an unscripted, unedited, always candid and usually fun conversation about slow living and how embracing our inner tortoise can impact every part of life: relationships, work, family, community, tech, health, care, personal growth. If you’re burnt out, overwhelmed, frustrated at the sheer pace of life or just looking for a sign to slow down, this is the podcast (a plodcast!) for you.

To strive is human, to saunter divine. Welcome to The Tortoise - a podcast that digs deep into the power of slow. Brooke McAlary (author of "Slow", "Care" and "Destination Simple") is joined by her husband Ben for a monthly deep dive into the realities of trying to live slow in a world that won't stop racing. On the third Thursday of every month, join Brooke and Ben for an unscripted, unedited, always candid and usually fun conversation about slow living and how embracing our inner tortoise can impact every part of life: relationships, work, family, community, tech, health, care, personal growth. If you’re burnt out, overwhelmed, frustrated at the sheer pace of life or just looking for a sign to slow down, this is the podcast (a plodcast!) for you.

Good conversations on what it really looks like to live a slower life.

The Tortoise with Brooke McAlary

To strive is human, to saunter divine. Welcome to The Tortoise - a podcast that digs deep into the power of slow. Brooke McAlary (author of "Slow", "Care" and "Destination Simple") is joined by her husband Ben for a monthly deep dive into the realities of trying to live slow in a world that won't stop racing. On the third Thursday of every month, join Brooke and Ben for an unscripted, unedited, always candid and usually fun conversation about slow living and how embracing our inner tortoise can impact every part of life: relationships, work, family, community, tech, health, care, personal growth. If you’re burnt out, overwhelmed, frustrated at the sheer pace of life or just looking for a sign to slow down, this is the podcast (a plodcast!) for you.

How can we bring the philosophies of zero-waste and nature-based play into modern classrooms? April Hepokoski is an early-childhood educator doing just that and has loads of practical tips to share in this episode.

Advertisement