Hand-In-Hand Early Years Nature Education Program is an outdoor educational program designed to offer a unique early childhood learning experience for three- to five-year-old children.

Our classroom is the natural environment of Cumberland's Coal Creek Historic Park. Our chairs are the logs, our pencils are the sticks and our possibilities are endless.

The program, to start in September, will run Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to noon in the outside environment, as this is an outdoor environmental educational program.

If there is severe weather, it may be necessary to use the picnic shelter.

There will be two Early Childhood Educators who will teach a maximum of 16 children.

Expanding on the Ministry of Education鈥檚 Early Learning Framework, the emphasis will be on a nature and play-based curriculum, and will encourage preschoolers to engage their environment through art, music, games, physical activities and group learning.

The model for our nature educational program is comprised of two components: Ecology and Adventure, and Education and 2 stages: Seeds & Roots. Seeds are three-year-olds. They meet Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon. Roots are four-year-olds who meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. The price for Seeds is $169/month and Roots is $244/month.