Your host for this event is the:
Your presenters for the day are Brittany Caldwell and Christina Pickles
We all learn best through play. Come experience outdoor play and process art through hands-on sessions with Christina and Brittany!
Time and Date
Saturday October 4, 2025
8:30am - 4:00pm
Location
Red Deer
Kerry Wood Nature Centre
6300 45 Ave, Red Deer, AB T4N 3M4
Fee
$162.75
- Includes pastries and coffee Saturday morning
- Lunch on Saturday
- 2 workshops - 2.5 hours with each presenter
- Want to register 3 or more educators? We can offer a 10% discount. Contact Christina for the code to use during registration.
Who should come?
Do you work with young children between 0-7 years old?
This day is for you.
Are you looking for inspiration and practical ideas to support you in getting children outdoors?
This day is for you.
Do you want to connect with other educators in your community?
This day is for you!
Are you looking for a hands-on, interactive and fun day?
This day is for you.
During this day, you will attend the following two workshops.
Process Art Outdoors with Brittany
In this hands-on, nature-based workshop, early childhood educators will explore how process art can thrive in outdoor environments. Through open-ended invitations using natural and open-ended materials, participants will engage in the creative process themselves while practicing our process art formula and reflecting on how to support children's artistic expression. Together we will discuss how to design process based art activities, how to reflect and expand on the provocations we provide and how to document this kind of learning in meaningful ways. Lastly, we will discuss practical tips and tricks to reduce barriers to outdoor art play.
Educators will:
- Understand the philosophy of process art and how it differs from product-focused activities, especially in nature-based setting
- Work with a system/formula to develop process art activities based on materials providers already have access to.
- Reflect, scaffold and document learning based on the process art provocations they develop.
- Gain confidence in setting up open-ended, outdoor art invitations using natural and repurposed materials by addressing common barriers and concerns such as material affordability, transportation, clean-up and more.
Brittany has a passion for the great outdoors and was raised on the importance of art and community. She was a competitive dancer for most of my formative years and am now a certified jazz dance teacher. She has her early childhood education worker certification in Alberta, as well as my field leader hiking guide certification through the Outdoor Council of Canada. She believes in the importance of connection, being playful and creative.
Brittany runs a variety of programs in the Calgary area that support childcare programs in deepening children's connection to the outdoors and supporting educators in embracing the possibilities and importance of outdoor play in the early years. Learn more about her work here: https://www.creativeseeds.ca/
Outdoor Play in the Early Years with Chistina
Everything is possible outside - children are more physically active, the natural world enters through all the senses, and community connections are made. In this workshop, we will explore the reasons for getting outdoors and our role as adults in these experiences. You will come away with inspiration and practical ideas to create engaging outdoor play spaces and experiences. Come ready to play outside, no matter the weather!
What is covered:
- Review the key roles of adults in providing time, space, and materials for outdoor play.
- Learn about loose parts and engage in loose parts experiences.
- Build your repertoire of outdoor play experiences for children.
- Build positive connections with the land and natural world and enjoy time outdoors.
Christina Pickles is an outdoor play advocate and founder of Get Outside and Play, an organization that ensures more outdoor play in early learning and care settings, schools, and communities through events, presentations, workshops, and consulting.
She has been supporting outdoor experiences with people of all ages for 25 years and 10 years ago, pivoted her work to put play at the centre of everything she does. She believes play is the best way children (and adults) connect with the land, their communities, their bodies, and each other.
She lives along the Bow River in Calgary Alberta and can be found walking her dog Clover or chasing after her adventurous 10 year old.
Schedule for the day
You will attend two sessions, one in the morning and a second in the afternoon. One session will be delivered by Christina Pickles and the other by Brittany Caldwell.
8:30am - 9am Check-in and coffee
9am - 9:20am Opening
9:20am - 9:30am Move to first workshop
9:30am - 12pm First session.
12pm - 1:00pm Lunch
1:00pm - 3:30pm Second session
3:30pm - 4:00pm Closing