Becky DelVecchio, Ph.D, project coordinator of EEL’s Statewide Professional Development Academy, recently co-authored an article with early educator Sara Becker for Exchange Press’s Exchange magazine, a quarterly publication that focuses on early childhood leadership and advocacy.
“Building a Nature Program, from the Inside Out Part 1: How Sara Becker Started the Wildwood Learning Center,” documents the founding of a nature- and play-based ECE program in Hopkinton, MA, by Sara Becker, who saw how her son took to nature-based learning:
“Quickly, Sara realized the nature program was not a break from learning, it was likely the best educational path for Xavier. It was such a profound experience that Sara began reading everything she could find about nature programs,” write DelVechhio and Becker. “When Xavier aged out of the nature-based program at six years old, Sara created a new program that would serve preschoolers and school-age children.”
DelVechhio co-authored the piece as part of her effort to use her voice as a scholar to amplify the work of a program and a team of educators that might otherwise go unrecognized. “There is so much good work happening in our field, and I feel like we have the responsibility to make it visible whenever and wherever we can,” she said.
