The Importance of Nature in an Urban Environment: Teleclass Re-cap

We recently held an enlightening and important teleclass, expertly presented by Valentina Van Hise, Co-Founder of The Art Farm in The City – our generous sponsor – an eco-friendly and organic facility which teaches children about nature, animals and how to better care for our planet.

Let’s face it – city kids aren’t rolling around in the grass, making mud pies or jumping in a pile of leaves every day. We all know, and experts continue to tell us, that children learn through hands-on experiences. So if children aren’t having these everyday encounters in an urban environment, how and when are they getting exposed to nature?

Valentina highlighted the importance of exposing your child to nature in an urban environment – through gardening, composting, cooking and animal care.

In case you missed it, you can listen to the recorded teleclass HERE.

If you’ve wondered whether it’s better to raise children in the city or the country, this class illuminated how the best of both worlds is possible, as Valentina covered topics such as why it is so important to expose and teach children about live animals and nature, how  you can expose your child to nature when it’s not a part of their everyday life, instilling healthy habits at an early age with whole food cooking, giving your child an understanding of the natural world and where food comes from, and more.

Please check out the following resources that Valentina has shared for your ongoing reference and support:

• Benefits of Connecting Children with Nature
• Connecting Young Children with Nature
• How to Instill a Love of Nature in Your City Kid

Make sure to check out all the ways you and your children can be a part of nature and healthy eating at The Art Farm by going to http://www.theartfarms.org/afic/

Generously sponsored by

The Art Farm offers preschool programing for ages 2, 3 and 4 year olds. Music and art toddler classes, a gentle separation play group, drop in times to visit their petting zoo and play in their space, cooking classes, after school animal science classes, birthday parties and a variety of camps. All of these programs learn about live animals, how to hold and pet them, to care for them and their natural environments. The Art Farm also does live animal outreach program in over 80 schools in NYC. In such a technological dominated society, Valentina and The Art Farm strive to continue to teach children the basics of life and how to care for their natural environment. The incredible connection between children and animals promotes the love of nature and the outside world, which is especially valuable in a city environment.

Valentina Van Hise is one of the founders of The Art Farm in The City, which will be celebrating its 15 year anniversary in 2017. She has a bachelor’s degree in music education, and previously taught in the Board of Education, focused on music curriculums as well as General Pre-K through Fifth Grade education. Valentina created and implemented all of the Art Farm’s Mommy and Me Curriculum and toddler curriculums, and works directly with her staff on their unique curriculum to make sure The Art Farm values are being represented in all of their lessons. Valentina also oversees all of The Art Farm in The City operations, ensuring that families are receiving quality programming and experiences. Valentina is a mother of 3 who lives with her husband in NJ with their 2 boys, 7 and 4, and their daughter who just turned a year. She was raised around vegetable gardening, whole food cooking and farms, and continues to instill these values in her children.

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