Calendar of events
Upcoming Samara events, workshops, & speaking engagements
Interested in scheduling Dr. Rachel A. Larimore for an event? Learn more here.
Ohio’s Annual AEYC Conference (2024)
Samara’s Chief Visionary, Dr. Rachel A. Larimore, will be presenting two concurrent sessions at this year’s conference!
Join thousands of educators from Ohio, across the nation, and around the globe for an extraordinary experience at the foremost event tailored for early childhood educators, directors, and advocates!
Preschool Naturally: An outdoor & nature-based learning campference
We are excited to co-host this event for preschool educators! This conference, in a camp-like setting, will be a chance to dig deep into practice through theory and hands-on workshops. Workshops will be led Dr. Rachel Larimore (Samara’s founder), Ferncliff Nature Preschool staff, and A-State Childhood Services staff.
Natural Start Alliance's Nature-based Early Learning Conference
Join hundreds of professionals around the globe for the Nature-Based Early Learning Conference, hosted by the Natural Start Alliance. Explore the role of nature and education in promoting healing, addressing injustice, and helping children, families, communities, and the planet thrive.
Rooted in Play: The Power of Place Conference
This is an experiential conference focusing on a place-based approach inspired by educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy. This conference will provide information and hands on learning opportunities to support participants, whether you are a novice, an experimenter or an expert in your journey.
Dr. Rachel Larimore, Samara’s Chief Visionary, will be providing the Friday keynote as well as multiple conference sessions.
The conference is being held in a nature-based setting at Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center in Carbondale, Illinois.
Please note this event requires conference registration. You can register here.
Maine's Annual AEYC Conference (2022)
Samara’s Chief Visionary, Dr. Rachel A. Larimore, will be one of the keynote speakers at this Maine’s Statewide Early Childhood Education Conference October 28-29, 2022. (Teacher Tom will be the other keynote speaker, so we strongly encourage you attend both days!) The conference is for educators who work in early childhood from birth through elementary school.
Natural Start Alliance's Nature-based Early Learning Conference
Join hundreds of professionals around the globe for the Nature-Based Early Learning Conference, hosted by the Natural Start Alliance. Explore the role of nature and education in promoting healing, addressing injustice, and helping children, families, communities, and the planet thrive.
Natural Start Alliance's Nature-based Learning Virtual Conference
We are excited to once again be sponsoring Natural Start Alliance’s annual Nature-based Learning Conference! Samara team members Rachel Larimore and David Catlin will also be presenting.
Registration is now open for the largest national gathering of nature-based early education professionals.
Join hundreds of professionals around the globe for the Nature-Based Early Learning Virtual Conference, hosted by the Natural Start Alliance. Explore the role of nature and education in promoting healing, addressing injustice, and helping children, families, communities, and the planet thrive.
Attendees have access to more than 50 interactive live sessions, 24-hour access to more than 60 on-demand sessions, and, new this year, Natural Start is offering the opportunity to virtually tour up to six unique, high-quality nature preschools in the US and around the world. You also get year-long access to session recordings so you can revisit your favorite presentations, gain continuing education credits throughout the year, and get the most out of your conference experience. Visit conference.naturalstart.org to learn more and register.
ECCE Council Malaysia 2021 Virtual Conference
Rachel Larimore will be one of several speakers at the ECCE Council Malaysia’s Virtual Early Childhood Education Conference this year. Her presentation will be “Learning Beyond Walls: Integrating Nature into the Early Childhood Classroom.” Each presentation will be followed by perspectives from practitioners. This is sure to be a great event with perspectives from all over the globe. Click here for more information or to register.
Environmental Education Association of Indiana
Rachel Larimore will be joining the Environmental Education Association of Indiana for their VIRTUAL conference November 6-8, 2020. She’ll be presenting a keynote titled Shifting from Teaching About to Teaching With Nature: Learning from the Nature-Based Early Childhood Education Movement. She will also be presenting a 3-hour workshop on nature-based pedagogy called, The Devil is in the Details: Considering the Logistics of a Nature-based or Forest Preschool.
For only $50 you can have access to the entire conference live AND for one-year after. Register here!
Froebel USA Conference
Rachel Larimore will be presenting at this year’s Froebel USA Conference in Boston, MA. Other presenters at the event include:
Barbara Beatty — "Early Kindergarten Pioneers in Boston"
Julie Bennett — "Froebel Gift Play Techniques"
Norman Brosterman — "Kindergarten: The Lost World"
Scott Bultman — Preview of The Garden of Children documentary film series
Alicia Carroll — "Early Childhood STEM"
Tiffeni Goesel — "Connecting the Froebel Gifts"
Kristina Lamour Sansone — "Rhoda Kellogg’s Child As Designer"
Peg Oliveira | Gesell Institute — "Assessing Child Development"
Cathy Topal / Lella Gandini — "Beautiful Stuff from Nature"
Helge Wasmuth — "How Kindergarten Came to America"
Click here more information about the event and to register.
Nature-Based & Forest Preschool Business Planning Workshop: Helping your business take flight
Facilitated by Rachel Larimore & David Catlin of Samara Early Learning, LLC
Registration is $135 and includes all presentation handouts, worksheets and business templates, and lunch.
Click here to register for this workshop.
(Please note, registration for the Nature-Based Learning Conference must be completed separately here.)
This one-day business planning workshop is being offered in conjunction with Natural Start Alliance’s annual Nature-Based Early Learning Conference. Our goal is to help your nature-based or forest preschool dream take flight. This one-day workshop will not only help you get started, but also provide you the road map for accomplishing your vision. We will begin with an overview of the business planning process, then we will guide you on questions to ask and tools to answer those questions—all specific to the unique business needs of nature-based and forest preschools. We will provide specific guidance related to these topics:
· Key decisions (e.g., mission, goals, administrative model, partnerships)
· Programming plan (What will the program look and feel like?)
· Site plan (How do I determine if a site is right for my business?)
· Building plan (What does the ideal physical space look like and how can I achieve that vision?)
· Marketing plan (Who is the target market? How do I reach them? How do I identify potential competition?)
· Operating plan (How do I identify the nuts and bolts of my program such as schedule, registration process, insurance, etc.?)
· Financial plan (How do I identify and track start-up and operating expenses?)
· Risk analysis (What might go wrong in my business plan and how might I respond if it does?)
The workshop itself will be a mix of presentations and small-group interaction and problem-solving. All of these activities are designed to ensure you leave the workshop having made substantial progress on your business plan. Yes, you’ll leave with more work to do, but our goal is for you to leave with a clear road map of next steps to quickly and efficiently make your preschool a reality.
Thank you to our partners in offering this workshop:
Natural Start Alliance's 2019 Nature-Based Early Learning Conference
Rachel Larimore, Founder of Samara Early Learning, will be presenting a concurrent session with David Catlin, titled “Learning from each other: A facilitated discussion on the challenges of starting a school” and a research posted titled “Development of the NAture-Based Education Rating Scale (NABERS) for K-3 Education” at Natural Start Alliance’s Nature-Based Early Learning Conference, July 31-August 3, 2019 in Manchester, NH. Conference registration is required to attend these presentations. Click here to register! Also, please check the conference program for session times and locations.
Note: Rachel Larimore and David Catlin will also be presenting a one-day nature-based preschool business planning post-conference workshop on Saturday, August 3. For more information or to register for this event, please click here.
Summer Institute: Achieving Quality - Best Practices in Early Childhood
Rachel Larimore will be presenting two concurrent sessions as part of The Ohio State University’s Summer Institute: Achieving Quality—Best Practices in Early Childhood. This conference requires registration. For more information or to register, click here.
NAEYC Professional Learning Institute
Rachel Larimore, Founder of Samara Early Learning, will be presenting a concurrent session, titled “Learning beyond walls: Integrating nature into the preschool classroom” at NAEYC’s Professional Learning Institute June 2-5, 2019 in Long Beach, California. She will also be joining Gryphon House, publisher of her new book (Preschool Beyond Walls: Blending Early Childhood Education and Nature-Based Learning) in the Exhibit Hall. Conference registration is required to attend these presentations. Click here to register! Also, please check the conference program for session times and locations.
Irvine Nature Center's Nature Preschool Conference
Rachel Larimore, Founder of Samara Early Learning, will be presenting the keynote, titled “Guided by the ‘Why?’—Making Intentional Decisions in the Nature-based Early Childhood Classroom” at Irvine Nature Center’s Nature Preschool Conference April 12-13, 2019 in Owing Mills, Maryland. She will also be presenting a concurrent session titled “Going to the Great ‘Beyond’.” Conference registration is required. Click here to register!