What does a Reggio-Inspired Nature Program look like?

Thank you for looking into Lexie’s Little Bears Child Care. My name is Lexie Biegun and I am the Owner and Pedagogist of this Reggio Inspired, nature program.

I am incredibly inspired by nature in my everyday world and intertwining the beauty of the Reggio philosophy has allowed me to develop a truly unique West Coast pedagogy of my own. Using the land and the forest as the third teacher, we incorporate many of the (philosophy’s) practiced by educators around the world such as the Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio-Emilia and forest school teachings. In my humble opinion, none of the philosophies offer a “perfect” pedagogy, so we take the best parts from each of them to create a super-powered collaboration of practice unique to the land we stand on. As we work towards reconciliation it is also very important to remember the First peoples who once lived on this land long before us and to honor their teachings through song, dance and language. 

We currently have 4 programs on our 4 —acre campus including two infant/toddler buildings, a multi-age centre, and a pre-school age program. Ideally, we will be building more infant/toddler and pre-school spaces on the property soon.

The Bear House: Offers a beautifully handmade building to 25 children ages 30 months to Kindergarten. This large “home-like” facility has multiple rooms that peek into each other through large windows purposely placed between rooms. The huge cubby space was designed and crafted using the trees from our property, as well as all the tables, shelving and the Atelier (art studio) The Bear House also has a large outside covered deck or (outside Atelier) where children can bring the arts outdoors even when it’s raining…