David Sobel 
The Sky Above and the Mud Below [EPUB ebook] 
Lessons from Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens

Part I: Getting Organized
1.
Before Taking Children Outside: Preparing Children and Teachers. How to ensure that the children are safe? How to encourage focused learning in nature? How to maintain control in the “wild” outdoors? How to educate parents about outdoor clothing and developing a clothing management system. Providing appropriate gear for low-income families.
2.
Scaffolding Nature Play. Nature-based Early Childhood Education is both about play and work, fairy houses and literacy. How do teachers set up the time and space outdoors to encourage children to sink into deep play? Letting go and letting children explore. The virtue of mud kitchens, forts, and puddles.
3. Policies and Practices for Outdoors Programming. Risk and play management. Sensible sticks and stones policies. Fire policies and procedures. How not to lose children. What are the rhythms and different components of an outdoor day—whether it’s every day or just once a week?
4.
Working and Celebrating with Families. Communicating with parents about the unique aspects of nature-based programming. Organizing parent and community events around the solstices, equinoxes, and other natural events.
Part II: Curriculum
5.
Language Development and Literacy. How can early language, letter recognition, phonics, and writing skills be developed outdoors?

David Sobel has spent the last twenty-five years working in the field of child development, place-based education, and parenting with nature. He currently serves as Senior Faculty in the Education Department at Antioch University New England in Keene, New Hampshire. His expertise and passion led to being identified as one of the “gurus and rock stars of environmental education” by
Teacher magazine and one of the 2007 Daring Dozen educational leaders in Edutopia magazine. David is the author of Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens and The Sky Above and the Mud Below.