Nature and Spirituality During the Early Years

This practical and easy-to-read guide shows you how to integrate nature connectedness and spiritual development into your early childhood teaching, whether in a nature-based forest program or a more traditional one. It uses a research-based framework to illustrate ways nature and spirituality can contribute to quality of life during the early childhood years and beyond. Detailing favourable conditions for supporting children’s connectedness to nature and spiritual development--including positive relationships with adults and peers, violence-free environments, and respect for other living things--the book emphasizes the idea of children’s whole-body engagement, challenging the idea that spirituality is relevant to the mind and spirit only. This guidebook is essential reading for all early childhood educators, program directors, families, and anyone working with children and young people.

Ruth Wilson, Ph.D., has been an educator and teacher educator for over thirty years and has devoted most of her career to connecting young children with nature. She recently worked as curator for the Children & Nature Network Research Library, an online resource of scientific literature relating to children and nature.