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Homebody 06:05 AM 02-09-2018
My husband and I recently took a training class on getting children more involved in the outdoors. The class was located at a Montessori school. While we were there we discovered that the school is a Certified Nature Explore Program. This is something that any daycare center or home can apply for. My husband thinks it would make a great selling point in getting new clients. My question is have any of you ever heard of it, or are actually certified? Do you think this is something parents would value?

Here is the website:
https://natureexplore.org
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Blackcat31 06:10 AM 02-09-2018
Originally Posted by Homebody:
My husband and I recently took a training class on getting children more involved in the outdoors. The class was located at a Montessori school. While we were there we discovered that the school is a Certified Nature Explore Program. This is something that any daycare center or home can apply for. My husband thinks it would make a great selling point in getting new clients. My question is have any of you ever heard of it, or are actually certified? Do you think this is something parents would value?

Here is the website:
https://natureexplore.org
I think it is a very interesting and cool idea!
We live in the northern part of the country where being outdoors all the time isn't always possible but there are still several programs in our area that are nature based/outdoor style programs and families really seem to love them!

Here's a link to read about one of them
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Homebody 07:11 AM 02-09-2018
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I think it is a very interesting and cool idea!
We live in the northern part of the country where being outdoors all the time isn't always possible but there are still several programs in our area that are nature based/outdoor style programs and families really seem to love them!

Here's a link to read about one of them
Thanks for the link. My brother and his family moved up to the Minneapolis area years ago, and we went up to Deluth during a visit to see them. Minnesota is such a beautiful state. Honestly i think people there spend more time outdoors then here in the KC area.

Reading that article reminds me so much of what it was like when I was a kid growing up. Its nice that there are places like these for parents to send their kids to, but at the same time it's sad that they have to send them to these places for them to have these experiences! Driving around on the weekends in neighborhoods I just don't see kids outside playing anymore.

We are lucky in that we have a 1 acre lot, and I have a lot of ideas of what I would like to do with our outdoor area for the kids. I would love to provide for them the same experiences I had as a child (but in a safer manner - I was a bit of a tomboy and risk taker )

This program though can be for home daycares with normal size yards too. You aren't limited by size.
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Ariana 09:35 AM 02-09-2018
We have them here in Ottawa (Canada) too and they have training programs for it. Part of me wants to do it but part of me feels like I already do it to an extent. I used to take my daughter to their half day drop ins so I got a feel for how everything was run.

I think it is a great selling point BUT the type of parents who like that kind of thing are very much “crunchy” and big into attachment parenting/cosleeping that sort of thing. I used to advertise with pictures of my loose parts backyard and my natural philosophy and I attracted a lot of kooks with kids with attachment disorders!
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Homebody 10:23 AM 02-09-2018
Originally Posted by Ariana:
I think it is a great selling point BUT the type of parents who like that kind of thing are very much “crunchy” and big into attachment parenting/cosleeping that sort of thing. I used to advertise with pictures of my loose parts backyard and my natural philosophy and I attracted a lot of kooks with kids with attachment disorders!
Oh boy! I definitely want to avoid that. Attachment parenting is fine to a certain point, and if you plan on being a stay at home parent. But some parents take it to an extreme, and then think their kids can handle being in a group daycare setting.
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MissAnn 11:33 AM 02-09-2018
My program is one of these and still listed. I haven’t recertified in several years. It wasn’t much if a selling point. You have to add to it every year. I can still have a natural program without more work.
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Homebody 12:39 PM 02-09-2018
Originally Posted by MissAnn:
My program is one of these and still listed. I haven’t recertified in several years. It wasn’t much if a selling point. You have to add to it every year. I can still have a natural program without more work.
That's what I was wondering if getting certified would be worth the trouble and empress parents. Or, would it be just as good if we did our own thing and have a nice natural setup in our yard and just advertise it that way. Thanks for the input!
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MissAnn 01:15 PM 02-09-2018
Originally Posted by Homebody:
That's what I was wondering if getting certified would be worth the trouble and empress parents. Or, would it be just as good if we did our own thing and have a nice natural setup in our yard and just advertise it that way. Thanks for the input!
When I got certified current parents loved it. They watches the transformation and were part of it. Since then, not as big of a deal. Also, tree cookies and logs rotted and I didn’t have replacements.

On the other hand it was not terribly hard to get certified. It did give me thrill and kept me excited for my business.
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