Hi I'm Belinda White,
I'm passionate about how children thrive through attachment, belonging, autonomy and contribution. I believe fundamentally that deep nature connection nurtures these in a way nothing else can! Hi, I'm Belinda White, owner and operator of Apple Star Learning
Nature Connection Mentoring ~ BI / SEA ~ Tutor ~ Nanny
My present offerings are:
Adventure~Play Nature Days ~ Trout Lake
2 Fridays monthly, 11:30-3:30
Parent Participation Optional
4.5-7 year-olds
A new half day, all weather, outdoor program with a seasoned Coyote Mentor. Covid guidelines for social distancing and adults / mentors wearing masks when within 6 feet will be upheld. Who and What: ~ Home learners, families in the public school system looking to nurture nature connection, and myself, a passionate educator~mentor with over ten years experience in alternative modes of education including democratic, inquiry-based and Coyote Mentoring; and, working with small groups and individuals as a forest-school and art~play teacher. We’d like a ratio of 4 students to 1 adult, options to have one rotating parent volunteer each week. Parent-participation is also an option. If you are looking for a combination of engaging nature connection, and a non-coercive, attachment-friendly, inclusive approach to learning through hands-on, immersive, play-based, wild-crafty mentoring and more…
Come for a TRIAL class March 19th and potentially April 2nd. I’d love to chat and see if Adventure~Play is the right fit for your family / child. Drop by Facebook https://www.facebook.com/applestarlearning or contact me by email at [email protected] to find out more! We look forward to some wild and connected learning with your child/ren. Adventure~Play Nature Days ~ Jericho / Spanish Banks
Tuesdays 10-2 (TBD)
Parent Participation Optional
5-8 year-olds Parent Participation Optional
1.5-4 Parent participation Required
This program will focus on multi-age, Nature Immersion, loose parts and embodied play, with a gentle, loose container that focuses on emerging curiosities, diverse inclusion, compassionate communication, and sensory games,age-dependant! Summer and September Availability:
Art~Play / Specialized Summer Camps / Learning Pods for Summer and Next Fall
Contact me with your ideas! East Van based, but open to travelling to other locations. Nanny Share / Small Pre-School Outdoor Learning Pod / Embodied~Play
Book me once a week to nurture your child/ren’s connection to self, nature, and other! About Me:
I combine over 30 years experience working with children and adults of all ages, a deep love of life-long-learning, and my need to understand and apply compassionate, non-violent communication, big impact play, deep nature connection, S.T.R.E.A.M education and more. I believe fundamentally that we learn best when we are happy, safe, and welcomed for who we are, and what we bring to the group. It takes a lot of patience and observation to honour each child's uniqueness and invite them into a group experience in the ways that work for them. This is what I aim to do, whether I am working with children from 1 to 5, or 5 to 13! I gently introduce environments, natural loose parts or other supplies, exploration, sensory games, embodied or risky play, wild crafts, and / or tinkering and arts~Play, without coercion or fixed outcomes. My focus is on relationship, process, discovery, child-lead learning. There is no cookie-cutter style finished "product" or “benchmark” to achieve. Each child's ideas, contribution, learning styles and needs are nurtured. While, I arrive each day with a planned ideas to inspire or guide, I notice each child's suggestions, expressions, stories, and will lead the class in a way I hope honours what's bubbling up. Time spent exploring and imaging in contact with nature, and urban environments, noticing, gathering, creating stories with the raw materials and settings adds to each child's creative learning. Social skills of listening, sharing ideas, agreeing and disagreeing, seeking consent, collaboration and so on are greatly improved in the wide and inclusive embrace of nature. I am a mother, a teacher / mentor / facilitator / nanny and alternative education consultant. I am a story-teller and photographer too. I am a single mum, co-parent of a 16 year-old who does not home learn. He is one of my greatest teachers! He's a Thinker-Tinker, Introverted processor, extroverted expresser, hands-on, focussed learner, who loves films, music, cooking, personal training, art, nature and moving!! I am a thinker-talker, spontaneous, extroverted processor, multi-taser, creative analyst, intuitive, compassionate mentor who functions best in service, making connections, and building my community. I stopped my day job as an ESL teacher and started Bumble Bee Home Daycare to stay home and nurture my sons' and a small handful of children's needs for attachment, and free play, and I'm so glad I did! Through this process I encountered home learning, unschooling, inquiry-based learning, child-lead learning, Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, Coyote Mentoring, attachment theory, RDI and NVC. I learned along-side my son and all the other children who have graced me with their company, laughter and unique experience of the world. After running my home daycare, I supported several families home schooling, and since then have been working towards a balance of nannying, photography and home learner classes / tutoring / consulting. What I have learned over the years through heart-centered, non-coercive parenting and teaching that centres on trust, honouring natural rhythms of season and age, is that each of us has an incredible gift, our own unique way of learning, processing, expressing and attaching. When allowed to freely learn and offer up that gift, we shine! There's more than one way to cut an apple! What happens if we don't cut it the conventional way? What happens if we leave the core in? We get a beautiful star! A star that reveals the core and the seeds inside and lets the light shine through. My Experience and Education:
I have over 16 years caring for children of all ages, 20 years teaching ESL, 16 Early Childhood, tutoring, 10 home learning, and 5 years offering workshops at Firemaker. I have been a photographer and storyteller on and off since I was 13. I have never had my work published, but am starting to be recognized for my photography. The themes that inspire me the most are how we learn, how we attach and belong, how we thrive through play, contribution and belonging, and how nature connection is essential for all of these. I have a degree in Communications. I have attended one Neufeld Conference, and finished several NVC classes. I have read and practiced extensively in the areas of Un schooling, Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and many alternatives to Public Education, as well as compassionate, attached parenting, Non Violent Communication, and RDI. For two years, a few years ago, I spent a very long time healing form a knee injury. During my time off work, I volunteered at my son's school doing workshops that combined Art-Science-Math. I have a deep desire to bring more nature connection, and cross-curricular learning to the public school system. I hope you have found this information useful. Please do not hesitate to contact me with further questions, to try out a drop-in class, or to inquire regarding setting up another class. kindly,
Belinda White
[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/applestarlearning
