Educational programs in nature - In August, enjoy every last minute!

Enjoy the summer... and prepare for the future!

August is here, and with it come days that make us want to enjoy the outdoors until the very last minute. But it also brings intense heat, reminding us that summer is a season that requires us to be adaptable!

At our centres, children continue to explore, play, and discover. Our educators strive to turn every moment into an opportunity for learning and play. This month, we revisit the Pikler approach and its links to the Reggio Emilia model, the progress of our nature program, and our strategic retreat.

Happy reading!

Mathieu Lambert
Daycare Forest Project Coordinator – outdoor pedagogical leader, Carrefour francophone.

Two visions intersect

The Pikler approach:

Last month, we told you about our new climbing structure at Boréal des tout-petits, inspired by the Pikler triangle. It was installed to encourage the children at Boréal des tout-petits to climb, explore, and develop their motor skills while having fun.

But what is behind the name “Pikler”?

The Pikler approach comes from a Hungarian pediatrician, Emmi Pikler. It is based on a simple but very important idea: children learn to move better when they are allowed to explore at their own pace. They are not put into positions they are not yet familiar with; they are given time to figure out for themselves how to climb, descend, roll, crawl, etc.

This type of structure allows them to test their balance, strengthen their muscles, and, above all, gain confidence in themselves.

The Reggio Emilia approach:

The Reggio Emilia approach comes from Italy. It sees children as resourceful, curious, and capable individuals.

One of its principles is that the environment in which children grow up is a “third teacher”: it must be beautiful, welcoming, and inspiring to encourage discovery and experimentation.

The two visions:

When you think about it, you realize that these two approaches have a lot in common:

They respect the child’s pace and learning process.
They trust the child’s curiosity and abilities.
They rely on a stimulating environment that encourages children to try, observe, and create.

And when we watch children play, we see that a climbing structure, like the one we installed at Boréal des tout-petits, is much more than just a motor skills game:

It is a space for experimentation: children test their strengths and limits and discover what they are capable of.
It is a place for collaboration: children climb, encourage each other, and work together to overcome obstacles.
It is a support for the imagination: a net can become a suspension bridge, a slide can become a mountain, and a whole adventure takes shape before our adult eyes.

Strategic retreat

On Thursday, July 31, 2025, several employees of the Carrefour francophone de Sudbury were invited to a strategic retreat to discuss the results of the forest program research and to develop the next steps for our early childhood centres. The retreat took place at Northern Water Sports in Sudbury.

To ensure our continued success and fully integrate with the philosophy of the Carrefour francophone, it was important to reiterate our mission to promote the vitality of French and bring our cultures together, as well as our vision:

We are educational leaders.
Our programming inspires and enriches minds.
We touch families from generation to generation.

The forest program is designed to be inspiring and enriching. It benefits children, educators, families, and partners alike. It offers young children authentic outdoor experiences that spark their curiosity, stimulate their creativity, and build their self-confidence, while sowing seeds of knowledge and respect for the environment that will grow well beyond early childhood. Much more than just “going outside to play,” it is a living learning space where nature becomes an infinite field of exploration.

Que connais-tu de ta forêt ? (What do you know about your forest?)

During the strategic retreat, staff took part in an outdoor icebreaker game called “What do you know about your forest?”

The activity presented a fun challenge: comparing our ability to recognize the logos of large commercial companies with our ability to identify what nature has to offer: flowers, trees, etc.

Both entertaining and educational, this game kicked off the day on a warm note, while reminding us of the importance of knowing and preserving our natural environment.

Would you like to try it?

How to play:

Solo: simply click on “Play solo,” select “Classic Mode,” and choose your username! (Note that you will be playing against bots).
Group: designate a host who will start the game by clicking on “Present Live” and selecting “Classic Mode.”

The host will then receive a game code to share with the other players.

Participants go to kahoot.it, enter the code, and… let the game begin!

Play « Que connais-tu de ta forêt ? »

Why do we recognize logos more than elements of nature?

The power of repeated visual exposure is often underestimated. This is known as the mere exposure effect: the more we see a visual image, even without paying attention to it, the more our brain unconsciously registers it. This phenomenon is based on implicit memory, a form of passive learning that occurs without conscious effort.

By replacing ubiquitous advertising logos with educational visuals, such as flowers with their names, maps of countries with their capitals, or multiplication tables, we can transform our environment into a learning tool. All we need to do is display these elements in strategic locations around the house (mirror, refrigerator, computer screen), then renew them each week to maintain attention.

The result: by seeing them repeatedly, we naturally retain the information. This simple approach can be applied to many areas: foreign language vocabulary, wall maps for history and geography, mathematical formulas, music basics, or even discovering the world of the forest.

By filling our environment with visual knowledge, we promote constant learning, without constraints or mental overload.

The Childcare Nature team:

Mathieu Lambert on a decorative bicycle in Downtown.

Observe, document, and secure the environment of our playgrounds.

This summer, Érick and I have been tasked with analyzing the terrain so that we can then secure our outdoor spaces. Our mission is not limited to checking for dangerous branches, but also extends to revisiting the basics of the program, which aims to identify the different layers of the play environment: trees, soil, flora, etc.

The objective is twofold:

To document our findings.
To analyze the risks.
To propose recommendations to reduce the risks to an acceptable level.

Why not give it a try yourself?

Look at this photo and identify a hazard, then rate the risk on a scale of 1 to 10.

Next, suggest a solution to reduce this risk. You can then reassess the risk in the same way, on a scale of 1 to 10.

You may be surprised at how easy it can be to make a space safe. Feel free to send us your thoughts; we would love to hear from you.

I hope you enjoy the beauty of nature to the fullest, savor every moment with your family, and let yourself be carried away by the simple joys of summer.

These moments are precious: they feed the imagination, strengthen motor skills, and create shared memories. We are happy and proud to have the opportunity to accompany your children on these wonderful adventures!

Until we resume, see you soon to continue dreaming, building, and playing outdoors!

Mathieu Lambert
Daycare Forest Project Coordinator – outdoor pedagogical leader, Carrefour francophone.

Le Carrefour francophone souhaite offrir ses remerciements

Nos partenaires de projet : PLAYLearnThink, Collège Boréal, Centre éducatif des Premières Nations, Métis et Inuit et la Pavillon Shkode (Cœur du feu);
nos partenaires de recherche : Centre d’innovation sociale pour l’enfant et la famille et notre bailleur de fonds : Emploi et Développement social Canada.