Early Childhood Nature Educator

Seeking a Lead Collaborator, an Assistant Collaborator, and After School Program Lead for a Small Nature School in Petaluma, California.

Positions to be filled immediately or August 1 start date at latest.

Hours:
Lead Collaborator: Minimum 30 hours per week, 8:00am - 2:00pm M-F, maximum 40 hours 8 :00am - 4:00pm.
Assistant Collaborator: Flexible / Depends

After School Program Lead: 30 hours M-TH 12:45-5:45pm

Philosophy: Our program is rooted in love and respect for young children and for our community. Our core values are movement, play, relationships, and inquiry in nature. We are inspired by social constructivist models of education such as Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, and Forest Schools. Our vision is a liberated curriculum of child-centered, co-authored learning, restorative justice, creative expression, and decolonization. We embrace risk-taking, learning through mistakes, questions, and problems. Therefore, the “teacher” is a Collaborator, one who values the process of learning as a means to build dispositions toward greater engagement.

Location: We are a farm based school in west Petaluma, CA. We spend our time fully outdoors tending our garden, foraging for wild plants, digging and mixing in the mud kitchen, and immersing ourselves in all kinds of weather, with brief time spent inside a little barn caring for our guinea pigs and doing projects. It is important that applicants love being outside and feel a sense of wonder in nature. Bonus is a background in outdoor or nature education, gardening, ranching, biology, ecology, movement, dance, or other creative discipline that integrates mind and body.

School Culture: Social, emotional and physical safety are our top priorities. We engage in a culture of listening; we use responsive, positive, non-shaming language to guide children through challenges. We build our program around the child’s needs rather than expecting them to conform to our needs. We hope to hire a collaborator who is as comfortable in the position of learning/following/growing as they are in the position of leading/guiding/organizing/taking initiative. Diverse applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

COVID Safety:
● We follow CDC guidelines for childcare.
● Employees must be vaccinated.
● Children and adults are NOT required to wear masks.
● Health screenings are conducted at drop-off.
● Hand washing and sanitizing happens frequently throughout the day.

Qualifications:

● At a minimum, you love children and have some experience and/or training in early childhood care or education, with knowledge of social constructivist philosophies such as Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio Emilia approach.

● You have some ECE units and knowledge of developmentally appropriate curricular planning.

● You are energetic and prepared to play active games with the children, lift/carry children or move outdoor furniture or materials when needed.

● You are confident in communicating and collaborating with coworkers and director; you are prepared to communicate and build relationships with parents and caregivers.

● You are prepared to document and make note of children’s play, behaviors, and learning developments.

● You are willing to observe, reflect and make meaning of the children’s ideas and play with the goal of extending and deepening their engagement.

How to apply:

Please email a resumé along with a cover letter that states why you are interested in the position and what qualities you bring to the community. Please offer some days and times within the next two weeks that you can be available for a video interview.

After the interview, we will schedule a visiting teaching day. A sample teaching video can be sent instead if needed.