why story
Why the change?
why story
Why the change?
No one really knows what the children of today will need to thrive in the future.
Our world is advancing more rapidly than ever before - technologically, economically, and socially - so who's to say that the jobs our children are being prepared for will even be around when they're old enough to do them? It's a little scary, and definitely food for thought.
This is why we created Kids Love Nature. We feel deeply that an evolved, integrated approach to early years is needed to make the best of the future for everyone. At this critical stage of childhood, it's our mission to make every day extraordinary for as many children as we can.
The Approach
Transcend and include
The Approach
Transcend and include
An approach informed by a deep understanding of human development and learning.
The Kids Love Nature approach is in international demand — in urban and natural settings alike. We wholeheartedly believe that a connection to nature is a vital missing ingredient in early years education — one that cities can often benefit from the most.
It's easy to see why. The result of our approach is a kindergarten where your child has their unique intelligence catered to. A growth-centric environment where they'll learn what it means to be a valuable citizen of the world - all in a beautiful, dynamic learning space. It's the kind of place where a child can come to deeply understand themselves, and not only discover that pursuing their dreams is a natural part of life, but that doing so can make a positive impact on the planet.
We strive for this every day, because the experiences your child has from birth to five are the most important they'll ever have. It's a time of immense growth, where intellectual strengths need to be nurtured, and allowed the space to expand and develop. The extent to which this need is met will determine how well our children adapt and thrive as grown-ups.
Backstory
Why us?
Backstory
Why us?
What we know now is hugely different from what we knew 30 years ago, yet the way many children are educated has hardly changed at all. We created the Kids Love Nature approach to reflect the scientific understanding of our time, and to meet the cultural needs of our children. There's no better way to ensure they're prepared for the future.
Co-founder
Alex Shepherd
Alex is a qualified Montessori teacher who also owns two outstanding Montessori nurseries with his wife, Helen.
He has been delivering the highest quality early years practice to children and families since 2001. Alex leads training courses for early years practitioners, teachers, parents and university students across the UK and most recently in China.
Co-founder
Ben Walliman
Ben has worked with children, families and professionals in the early years sector since 2002. Amongst other things, he's been a Reception Teacher, Early Years Adviser, and Head of Early Years Service.
He has trained thousands of teachers and early years practitioners in all aspects of delivering high quality early learning experiences.
Our work
In the community
Our work
In the community
Everyone at Kids Love Nature wants to make a difference for children and their families. We see it as our responsibility to make connections to our local communities.
Our vision goes further than our kindergarten. We want to explore how the Kids Love Nature approach can be used in a variety of contexts to support children’s development and enhance family life, indoors and out. Here are just a few things we're doing in the wider world:
- Through our Children’s Centre projects we build emotional resilience in children and support parent-child relationships by connecting families to green spaces. As part of this, training in the Kids Love Nature approach is provided to Children’s Centre support workers and families.
- Our current research and development projects include working with Eco-Schools England and Liverpool John Moores University to develop sustainability in education for the early years. As part of our adventure at Marwell, we've created a joint post to provide research into the impact of our approach in partnership with Marwell Wildlife.
- We support charities through fundraising at our family days. Parents give generously with their time and money to enable us to support local and overseas charities.
- Our vision also includes parent education. We love to share what we're discovering and learning with parents through our regular talks and training programmes.
If the Kids Love Nature approach has resonated with you in some way and you'd like to learn more, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're always happy to answer questions, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.