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Education and Care
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INFANT CURRICULUM
Connecting with Infants is a comprehensive curriculum for infants from birth through eighteen months. The curriculum was developed through a contract with the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education.
The curriculum focuses on:
Responsive care and positive relationships between caregivers and infants
An environment that is nurturing, safe, healthy and inviting for infants
Positive relationships with families
CONNECTING WITH INFANTS
The curriculum reflects the Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards:
Birth through 60 Months, adopted by the Arkansas Early Childhood Commission in April 2016, specifically in these domains of development and learning:
Social and Emotional Development
Cognitive Development
Physical Development and Health
Language Development
Emergent Literacy
TODDLER CURRICULUM
Adventures for Learning, a comprehensive curriculum for children from eighteen through thirty-six months, has been developed and revised through contracts with the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. Programs using the Adventures for Toddlers curriculum can easily transition into the Adventures in Learning curriculum for children from three through five.
ADVENTURES IN LEARNING
The curriculum features 30 toddler topics in eight focus areas. Each toddler topic is introduced with children’s books. Some of the books are familiar ones that can be purchased while others can be made by the teachers. All patterns for books to be made are available as attachments. The curriculum is flexible, allowing teachers to choose from the 30 toddler topics and to decide how long to explore a topic with children.
Play & Learning
Things that Grow
More Animals
On the Go
Animals in Our World
Clothes We Wear
About Me
Family & Community
MEET OUR DIRECTOR
Hello, I’m Wendy, the director at The Nature Academy. Passion often guides us toward a particular field of work, and while this holds true for me, my journey unfolded later in life. I frequently say, “This field picked me; I did not pick it.”
Childcare was not a career I initially envisioned for myself.
However, one day I assisted a friend with her program, and that experience changed everything. Since then, I have never looked back, and my passion for this field has only continued to grow. I returned to school to further my education in Early Childhood, and I now have 14 years of experience in the field.
Through hard work and dedication, I have become an AHA Certified CPR Instructor and an Early Childhood Adult Educator. I take great pride in teaching and coaching other childcare providers, contributing to Arkansas's goal of fostering the best childcare providers and programs in the state.
At The Nature Academy, I have set high standards for childcare, emphasizing each child’s future success, health and safety, early childhood education, and learning in a natural, individualized environment. These principles reflect my deep commitment to nurturing young minds and helping them thrive